Today’s market requires successful companies to possess leading edge competencies as well as dedicated and motivated employees. Employees are the richest resource of any company, with employee satisfaction ranking high on the list of factors that contribute to the overall effectiveness of a corporation. In today’s economy, unhappy employees who may have previously looked for another job have an increased likelihood of feeling like they need to stay where they are. These disenfranchised workers may do unintentional harm to a company by functionally quitting, but not leaving. Corporate consulting can help turn these emotionally divested employees back into contributing members of the team.

Some studies have disclosed that almost half of workers worldwide dislike their jobs while “more than 80% of US workers feel stressed at the office,” according to a Forbes article. ² Micromanagement, ineffective leadership, absence of constructive consequences for underachieving coworkers, boredom from unfulfilling tasks, and mean people at work are among the reasons people identify as causing unhappiness at work. When these conditions exist on the job, employees may feel that management lacks confidence or interest in them. In return, they report lower confidence in management and lower morale overall. ^2,4,5

Methods to address management deficits are readily accessible and teachable. Satisfaction has a percolation effect: it starts with awareness at the top, and succeeds with commitment on the part of leadership to bring that awareness to every level of the organization. Improved intra-company communication, opportunities for learning new skills, regular recognition for achievement and effort, and clarification of company values can pay big dividends in employee drive and commitment to the company.³ Among the key elements that workers have reported as factors contributing to satisfaction include perceiving that the company has a reliable set of values, a vision, responsive leadership and an opportunity to grow with the company¹.

Happy employees have a documented history of contributing to the bottom line in a positive way, with better reports from customers, decreased turnover, much better profitability and improved safety records. ⁵ Inc. Magazine reports multiple simple adjustments in workplace structure like letting employees personalize their workspace, allowing staggered work hours, encouraging friendly competitions and supporting small celebrations, that can dramatically increase employee satisfaction, with noticeable benefit to the bottom line. ⁶

Corporate consulting is a multi-faceted process that includes needs assessment, planning and integration while tracking outcome parameters. Buy-in from upper echelons is a virtual guarantee of employee investment in the process of making work a better, more productive place to be for 40 hours a week.

Sources

1. Folkman, Joe (2013). http://www.forbes.com/sites/joefolkman/2013/11/27/seven-ways-to-increase-employee-satisfaction-without-giving-a-raise/ Retrieved on December 28, 2014.
2. Hedges, Kristi (2014). http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/01/20/8-common-causes-of-workplace-demotivation/ Retrieved on December 28, 2014.
3. Nolan (2013) http://www.jobscience.com/blog/7-simple-ways-increase-employee-satisfaction/ Retrieved on December 28, 2014.
4. Johnson, Rose (unknown) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/key-reasons-job-dissatisfaction-poor-employee-performance-25846.html Retrieved on December 28, 2014.
5. Gregory, Kristen (2011) The Importance of Employee Satisfaction. https://www.neumann.edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/Review2011/Gregory.pdf/
   Retrieved on December 28, 2014.
6. Rubin, Gretchen (2011) http://www.inc.com/guides/201105/7-ways-to-improve-employee-satisfaction.html Retrieved on December 28, 2014.

For more information or a confidential consultation, contact Dr. Miriam Blum.