Visiting one of our main regional offices recently, I was delighted to find myself surrounded by angels dancing, nightingales singing, violins playing and fireworks blazing in a perfectly surreal incandescent starry sky. Well, not really, but it felt like it. In fact, I found myself in the presence of that most treasured, rare and prized grouping of all: truly happy, radiantly positive, abundantly optimistic employees. You may be thinking what I thought for a brief cynical moment; that it was just a show put on for my good self-given the cursory nature of my stay. However, a few days later I was delighted to see the tempo seemed constant, consistent and sustainable, and the mood of the team remained nothing short of ebullient. Four key learnings were reinforced from this experience of a happy workplace that I am happy to share.
I was struck on entering this particular office by the diversity around me in all its aspects, a diversity strongly encouraged and espoused throughout Bayt.com. I was also struck by the self-expression I could see in terms of the décor, the desks, the dress codes, and also the socialization habits I observed between team members. The happy vibes manifested themselves in casual cubicle conversations, chirpy sales calls, open plan meetings in the pantry and foyer, as well as the light steps and sincere smiles of team members skipping in and out of meetings. Given that this office is also a nucleus for our regional IT innovation activities it came as no surprise that the physical atmosphere and general open-plan ambiance is one that is highly conducive of creativity and innovation. It also came as no surprise that the happiest employees I met during my stay were the best performers and also the ones with longest tenures, suggesting that this particular office was absolutely hanging on to its prize assets. Actually, this is why Bayt.com is one of the best places to work in the Middle East.
Happy employees are productive ones and companies must understand what triggers workplace happiness and any factors that hinder the satisfaction factor in theirs. Study after study conducted by Bayt.com has revealed that employees who feel vested in a company are more likely to put in their all and reach for the stars. One of the surest ways to make employees feel vested is to invest in their training and development and offer them a studied and well-planned career path with ample room for growth. Employees also need to feel personally valued, respected and trusted, and this can be achieved by maintaining a commitment to open and communication across the organization including regular feedback and appraisals and a fair system of promotion, recognition and rewards. Beyond competitive remuneration, well-planned modern physical workplaces, allowances for work-life balance needs and a holistic approach to personal wellness, the simplest most basic ‘investments‘ can be among the most important and effective interactions including smiles, greetings and generally excellent manners, sincerity and cordiality in human relationships, as well as flexibility, compassion, understanding and utmost professionalism – at all times.
Employee turnover in the MENA is high and its costs can be exorbitant. In fact, the Bayt.com ‘Employee Retention in the MENA Workplace’ poll, February 2013, has shown that employer turnover is higher today than it was ever before. At the minimum, they can include costs taken to attract, source, screen, interview, assess and prepare all the admin work for recruitment. They can also include testing costs, travel costs and relocation costs. Inevitably, they also include training and induction costs as well as pay for all the time the candidates are still coming to grips with their role and not yet productive or optimal in their performance. Costs often not factored in but equally significant are negative employer brand implications from disgruntled ex-employees, lower performance associated with reduced headcount, and the lower productivity associated with the generally reduced morale that comes with high turnover companies. Companies need to really invest at both an intellectual and practical level in understanding what technical and soft skills they need for the long run, what the ideal culture fit for their organization is, what is hampering their employer brand and how to ameliorate that, and also how best to perfect and systemize their candidate recruitment process to avoid expensive mistakes. Here are some effective ways to reduce employee turnover in your company.
According to the Bayt.com ‘Employee Engagement in the MENA’ poll, April 2014, 80% of MENA professionals say their company has a fair evaluation system to measure job performance. At Bayt.com everyone is encouraged to feel like an entrepreneur in their own right and the general ambiance is one of cutting-edge creativity where experimentation is encouraged, new ideas are always sought and often implemented, and occasional failures are treated as interim junctures on the long road of learning, development and growth. The great sense of ownership employees feel in the brand, products and client relationships greatly adds to their sense of personal and professional pride and their desire to strive for ever greater boundaries of productivity. Generally, clients and stakeholders who interact with employees who are sincerely loyal to the company and proud of their performance are far more likely to share these emotions and become repeat, satisfied and highly impressed clients. Do your employees’ happiness and well-being matter to you? Here are some more tips from the Bayt.com experts to show your employees that you care.
