Wouldn’t it be great if all the people in your organisation were inspired to come to work every day, happy, engaged and loved what they did while there, and felt fulfilled when they went home? This is what we call a Happy And Engaging Place To Work! Many would say that it’s an impossible ‘pipe dream’, however it can be achieved, and I’m going to explain how.
Happiness and engagement at work is no longer just nice to have, but actually imperative for business success. A great deal of research and studies have been conducted to prove the impact happiness and engagement has in the workplace.
To name but a few:
300% more innovation (Harvard Business Review)
44% higher retention (Gallup)
37% increase in sales (Martin Seligman)
31% increase in productivity (Greenberg & Arawaka)
125% less burnout (Harvard Business Review)
66% fewer sick leaves (Forbes)
51% less turnover (Gallup)
After years of experience and research, one thing became clear to me, and that is, it’s not quite as simple as just coming up with organisation core values in order to improve happiness and engagement in the workplace, although that is one part of a much larger picture. I found that there are a number of key drivers an organisation needs to get right in order to achieve an overall Happy And Engaging Place To Work. The following 5 Drivers, which spell the word P.L.A.C.E., and form part of our Happy And Engaging Place To Work Model, are fundamental to success:
People: You need to ensure that you have the right people in your organisation. Organisations don’t succeed, people do and it’s the people who will create happiness. They should not only be a good job fit, but also need to be a good team fit as well as a culture fit. In addition to this your people need to love what they do, be optimistic by nature, positively inspired, and find purpose and meaning in their job.
Leadership: It needs to start at the top of your organisation with an inspirational purpose and a clear vision which everyone is aligned to, understands and contributes towards. The leadership team needs to be a cohesive team and be credible and respected while inspiring their people. It’s very difficult to create a Happy And Engaging Place To Work if the leaders themselves are not happy and engaged! Happy leaders create happy organisations.
Agility: Your organisation needs to be agile for growth, adapting to constant change with exciting opportunities for people to grow along with the organisation’s success. This will enable people to stay engaged and not stagnate and become bored.
Culture: Culture shouldn’t just happen, it should be intentional and built and molded over time. Authentic core values should form your DNA. They should not only be discovered and defined but also lived, celebrated, and embedded in everything you do. Your people should be aligned to your culture and enjoy working together creating camaraderie.
Environment: You need to create an awesome environment which matches the culture of the organisation, where people are literally inspired to come to work every day.
This is an overview of our Happy And Engaging Place To Work Model. Get in touch with us for more information.