SUBJECT: Satisfaction and performance
APPLICATION: Employee retention and productivity

By Thomas P. Sattler, Ed.D., and Julie E. Mullen, M.S.

Generally, the more productive people are, the more satisfied they tend to be. When your employees feel satisfied, they will be less likely to leave. Keeping your staff productive and satisfied can limit costly turnover and increase your business' overall productivity.

Finding good people and paying them well isn't enough to ensure top production. Someone once said, "Money will buy a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of the dog's tail." The answer lies in getting your staff to love what they do and make them realize how important they are.

Job dissatisfaction is caused by several factors. According to the book Making People Productive, some of the top universal job dissatisfiers include being in the wrong job, unclear responsibilities, poor communication, red tape and boredom.

Believe it or not, managers and supervisors have much more control over their employees' satisfaction and productivity than they may realize. The question must be asked, "Are you and your staff doing all you can to keep your employees happy?"

Clarify responsibilities and set goals. To excel in a position, a person needs to clearly understand his/her role and duties. Give employees copies of their job descriptions and explain each area. At the same time, remind staff members that coworkers are part of the team. A few years ago, a group of famous musicians assembled in Los Angeles to record the song "We Are the World." On the entrance of the recording studio, a sign was posted saying, "Check your ego at the door." Although every singer was a star, not everyone had a solo. The world-wide popularity of the production was a result of cooperation and not competition.

Have each member of your staff record several goals. Goals should be specific, reasonable, short-term (three to six months) and long-term (six months to a year). Goals are important to give people a sense of purpose, provide direction and help guide behavior.

Train effectively. How well your employees are trained significantly impacts their performance. Establish training objectives and criteria. and relate all training to its actual work context. Ensure that those who are training enjoy the process and are good at it. It's easy to discourage a new employee immediately by sending him or her to a coworker who resents training them, or is simply a poor trainer. Require trainees to produce some action or hands-on practice, and offer immediate, specific and positive feedback.

Teach time management. Successful time managers get more done in less time. Encourage your staff to be more productive by planning their projects and tasks the day or night before in the form of "to do" lists. Teach them how to set priorities and deadlines, and to focus their efforts on the important tasks first. Explain the 80/20 rule: Find the 20 percent of the total task that will deliver 80 percent of the results. Also, discourage procrastination and ask your staff to accomplish the most unpleasant tasks first to ensure their completion. Maintain efficiency by conveniently locating office items, equipment cleaner and workout cards where they will be needed most often.

Use participatory management. The best way to improve productivity is by striving for the shared goals of employees and managers. By allowing worker input into developing the mission statement, establishing policies and procedures, determining perks, etc., you can improve communication and increase morale and satisfaction. Loyalty can also be enhanced, as people will feel they have made an impact on the organization.

Reduce red tape and bureaucracy. Carefully review your policies and procedures, and eliminate needless paperwork, extensive approvals and pointless rules. Simplify work wherever possible to increase productivity and satisfaction.

Modify behavior as necessary. Positively reinforce desired behavior by providing recognition, praise and rewards. Don't reprimand employees in front of others. Also, be specific in the reprimand. Keep the reprimand focused on the issue.

Maintaining job satisfaction and productivity are keys to retention. The more good employees you keep, the less time and money you'll spend recruiting and training new ones

Happiness on the job can translate into profit-producing workers.

Thomas P Sattler, Ed.D., is a professor of kinesiology and Julie E. Mullen is a graduate assistant in kinesiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

REFERENCES

  1. Nash, M. Making People Productive, San Francisco: Josey-Bass Publishers, 1985.
  2. Manage People, Not Personnel, Boston: Harvard Business Review Book, 1990.

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