Driving employee happiness and job satisfaction is the cornerstone of any employee retention strategy, as was mentioned in the first half of this article, and the best way to learn about employees’ needs is by listening to their complaints. So, here are the final five most frequently cited problems voiced by employees and compiled by executive search firms expanding from the previous list of most common employee grievances.
Human Resources Lack of Responsiveness
As far as a company’s employee policies are concerned a company’s human resources department is viewed as the decision making branch of an organization. Unfortunately, an issue that will need to be remedied if employee retention efforts are to be successful, far too often, many HR departments fall short of these expectations and fail to meet the needs of the employees.
Too Much Playing Favorites
The perception of favoritism is a major issue for many employees who feel that they are being underappreciated and overlooked as a result of their management picking favorites, returning to the subject of equitable employee treatment. Managers need to take the time to show equal attention and become equally acquainted with each and every one of their employees in order to be truly effective.
Poor Communication
Too often employees complain that their managers do not provide ample opportunity for the employees to communicate with management as well as failing to share information with them effectively. The ability to openly communicate with their managers and provide feedback as a part of the company’s decision making process is key to employee satisfaction and providing them with a sense of value to the organization.
Overburdening
Employees will bolt for the next position they can find if managers try to get as much work out of them as possible, especially to the extent that work gets piled higher and higher until the employees become to weary from stress. Pushing too much work is a problem though, it is necessary to provide employees with enough varied work to keep them stimulated. Also, managers need to be as clear as possible when it comes to communicating these responsibilities to their employees, as giving an individual various duties to perform can often lead to confusion regarding their priorities and specific job function.
Unfriendly Environment
Finally, consideration to the physical environment in which their employees are working needs to be taken by companies. A stark, utilitarian working environment may not be what is called for in the workplace, contrary to what many may believe. Instead, a clean, comfortable environment that is both functional while at the same time providing an inviting atmosphere to which employees will not dread coming is what managers should provide their employees with.
Executive search and hiring procedures are a necessary hassle from time to time that every organization has to carry out. However, organizations can make major improvements in their employee retention efforts, drastically cutting down on the time spent trying to find new employees and ultimately improving the health and longevity of the company, through the simple act of listening to the needs of a company’s employees and doing what is necessary to assuage any complaints and raise job satisfaction.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
