When it comes to your company’s future potential, ensuring that your employees thrive is obviously one of those things that can seem like a non-negotiable, but there is that duality that can occur when it comes to the concept of giving employees what they want. While giving employees what they want is generally a wise strategy and can lead to numerous benefits, how should we approach this in a thoughtful and strategic manner? But also, should we always give employees what they want?
What We Should Focus On
There’s so many flexible working roles that we invariably have to offer flexible working arrangements and recognise that when we hire people, they will demand these components right at the start of their journey with you. Doing so can lead to increased productivity, higher retention rates, and less stressed employees, which are all benefits.
Likewise, employees value that very simple thing they call recognition for what they’ve achieved, either in the form of praise, rewards, or increased pay. Having regular and meaningful communication from managers is also highly valued, and therefore if we remember that employees need to be validated for their efforts, this could strike the right balance between giving employees what they want but actually keeping them for life.
Purpose and personal value are both defined by work. If we can help employees live their purpose at work, it can result in better outcomes within the working environment as well as outside.
The Benefits of Meeting Our Employees’ Needs
There are three key areas:
- Increased productivity and performance. When people live their purpose in the working environment, they are more productive than those who do not. According to WorkRamp, employees who feel a sense of belonging show a 56% increase in their job performance, meaning you should pay attention to the almighty sense of culture that can be fleeting in working environments focused on profit as a purpose.
- Meeting employee needs can significantly reduce turnover, and when employees feel they are able to do fulfilling work, they will naturally stay with your organisation, meaning that businesses save substantial costs associated with hiring and training new staff.
- Employees who receive what they value from their employer are naturally more engaged and motivated individuals, which results in a more positive working environment and better overall company performance.
How Do We Implement This Strategy?
Ultimately, we should understand what our employees value the most. We can do this through focus groups, conversations, or surveys. While meeting employee needs is critical, we should do it in a way that aligns with the company’s purpose and its goals, and this can create benefits for both sides of the equation, particularly if we focus on bringing the right people in at the very outset of the operation.
What we also need to remember is that as we approach this strategy, we prioritise authenticity and consistency. Organisations can chop and change their purpose because they think it may result in more money at the end of the day, but we should meet employee needs in a way that is genuine and sustained.
Should we give employees what they really want? The answer is yes, however, we must remember that it’s about a thoughtful and balanced approach.
