Do You Check How Happy Your Employees Are?

You might do annual employee reviews, but how often do you check how happy and motivated your employees are?

High employee engagement at work is linked to a business’ overall success, and companies such as John Deere are taking that seriously, according to an article from the Harvard Business Review.

John Deere, the agricultural equipment manufacturer, has implemented a system for surveying its staff every two weeks to check in on their motivation and morale, the article says.

“Deere managers believe that frequent monitoring of motivation has become as essential to understanding the health and functioning of their teams as operational and financial metrics are to understanding whether the business is firing on all cylinders,” the article says.

Every two weeks, teams at John Deere review project positives and negatives and employees’ overall feelings about their individual value to the company. The reviews have helped managers identify and correct morale problems before they impact employee performance, the article says.

Your business’ employees might also benefit from similar and frequent reviews. Checking in with your staff regularly may be helpful in achieving consistency in staffing levels, improving customer service and growing sales.

“Without regular, frequent updates on the state of morale, most managers become aware of issues only when they show up in employee performance – e.g., a missed deadline or botched effort – or when the employee quits,” the Harvard Business Review article says.

When employees are happy and motivated, they are more likely to do their jobs well. Find ways to identify and address employees’ frustration or lack of motivation early so you can prevent operational problems and work toward decreasing turnover.

Ask your employees to complete short surveys about their job satisfaction, or set time aside for monthly conversations with each worker. At those brief meetings, ask questions about what your employees like about their jobs, how they would like to grow in their careers with the company and how they think specific projects or initiatives went.