4 Strategies that Lead to Happier Employees & a Healthier Bottom Line

By: Kathy Kent Toney, President of Kent Business Solutions

Help Your Employees Love Their Jobs to a Profitable End

I recently spoke to a client about his anticipated return-to-work. As a VP at his company, he was working 60-70 hours a week prior to the shutdown. He’s really enjoyed working from home—interruptions have been minimal, he’s getting more work done, and it’s been nice to not have to get dressed for the office every day, like this guy hilariously demonstrates.

Now that my client is back in the office, he’s not only facing the same old challenges, but a whole new set as well. And with things changing every day, it will continue to be like that for a while—for a lot of us.

With so much uncertainty these days:

• How can we make decisions that will help us navigate everything with grace and agility, to more effectively position our organizations for success?

 

• How can we not only ensure the safety of our employees, but increase their satisfaction and engagement?

 
Here are four things you can do to help with that:
 
1. Create Clear Connections
Most people crave a sense of belonging and want to make a difference. Employees that see a direct linkage between what they do and how it impacts the organization, and society in general, are going to be more inspired and productive.

Companies that can step back from their everyday way of doing business to assess how they can make clear connections between individuals, their jobs and the organizational purpose/mission will most often come out ahead.

2. Expand Workforce Development Efforts
A lot of organizations have been guilty of just placing workers in roles based on what they’ve always done in the past, because it’s a tried-and-true approach. Many of these employees feel pigeon-holed and frustrated by this. Countless employees are capable of so much more!

Organizations now have an opportunity to re-evaluate how they encourage and offer more opportunities for employees to fulfill their potential. This is not the time to pull back on workforce development efforts! Companies that encourage employees to fulfill their potential have a greater chance of building a more resilient workforce that can more effectively weather difficult times like we’ve been experiencing.

3. Maximize the Relationship between Employees and Technology
COVID-19 has challenged the idea that machines can completely replace humans.  Just look at the evidence of non-essential, robotic-based factories being shuttered for weeks on end! Interactions between workers and machines are so much more powerful together than on their own.

Organizations that embrace the idea of finding ways to integrate teams of employees and technologies will be the most successful in the long run. They’ll not only be able to streamline costs, but provide greater meaning for the workforce.

4. Leverage the Power of Knowledge Management
During this crisis, people’s hunger for information on the pandemic reached epic proportions. Could there be a way to carry over a thirst for knowledge and translate it to running a business more effectively?

The answer is “yes”. Companies can encourage a culture where knowledge sharing and creation becomes an everyday occurrence. That way, when a valuable employee walks out the door, all the knowledge he has accumulated in his or her brain doesn’t walk out with them.
 
If you want to grow in any of these areas, I would love to help!  The areas I’m really focusing on right now are People/Technology Integration and Knowledge Management. I’m becoming more fascinated with ensuring a more seamless experience between the two, with an emphasis on IT systems and Artificial Intelligence. 

And I’ve partnered with someone to help with that!

In my previous LinkedIn article about Accelerate, Michael Cantu’ talked a little bit about this. And I’m excited to announce that we’re partnering to help companies who want to prepare their organizations for success—to streamline and automate their business processes as a means to increase efficiency and profitability.

If you’re interested in learning more about preparing your business for the future, we’d love to have a chat with you! Click here to schedule a 1:1 discussion.

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