The top 5 drivers of employee satisfaction

Check out the Zenefits article on 5 Things Employees Value More Than Salary. I was honored to share my thoughts (supported by industry-leading research) on drivers of employee satisfaction and job candidate engagement.

I ascribe to the Daniel Pink philosophy about salary. In Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, he says, “The best use of money as a motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the table.”

The top 5 drivers of employee satisfaction

In my experience as a manager for over 15 years, the keys to employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention are:

1) Purpose: People seek work that feels purposeful and meaningful to them.

2) A great boss: People leave or stay for their managers, not jobs or companies.

3) Culture: People are looking for a healthy culture with values in alignment to their own.

4) Recognition: People desire appreciation for the personal value they bring.

5) Development: People feel valued and rewarded when their company makes an investment in their growth.

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When do you feel most satisfied in your work? What would it take for you to be totally satisfied? What one step can you take today to move toward that direction?

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How to appreciate employees so they feel valued

We’ve all heard how important it is to appreciate employees. When employees feel appreciated and valued, they’re more satisfied, motivated, and productive. And they’re more likely to stay in their job.

Research shows a strong correlation between retention and recognition. “Yet a significant majority of employees (79%) don’t feel strongly valued for the work they put in.”

My top tip I shared with Smart Business Hacks:

Let Your Employees Tell You How to Do It

Ask your employees how they like to be appreciated. Everyone is different – from under-the-radar, sincere emails to loud-and-clear public displays. You’ll go much further keeping employees engaged if you take the time to find out their preferences in appreciation. Your employees will feel valued when your appreciation is meaningful and unique to them.

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How do you appreciate others? What type of appreciation helps you feel valued? What one thing can you do today to show appreciation for someone who deserves it?

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How to set goals to get what you really want

Forget SMART: Setting goals based on your values leads to greater achievement and happiness

Originally published in Thrive Global. Tweeted by Arianna Huffington.

We all love a good acronym. From YOLO to OMG, sometimes it feels so good to simplify. However, this simplification can be detrimental when it comes to how you set goals. Focusing on SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) may not be the smartest way to accomplish your goals.

But wait. You’ve been trained and have checklists on how to set SMART goals. What are you supposed to do now?

Yes, SMART goals are helpful in some instances. For straightforward, outcomes-based goals, like a 5% increase in sales by year-end, the model can be useful. However, SMART goals can cause problems when you’re making powerful, positive changes in your life.

A smarter way to set goals

For my leadership coaching clients, setting a lofty, abstract goal is usually more helpful and achievable than a specific, measurable goal. For instance, setting a goal to be a more effective communicator is likely more beneficial than a goal to speak publicly three times over the next six months.

One of my coaching clients, Melissa, found out firsthand the power of setting a lofty, rather than specific, goal. She started coaching with the intention of being promoted within a year. But during our work together, she discovered that getting a promotion without a higher-level, meaningful goal wasn’t going to get her what she really wanted.

The problem with SMART goals for transformational change

If Melissa had stayed with the SMART goal model, she would have felt pressure from the 12-month timeline to achieve a promotion. Her action steps would be for the sake of the promotion – not whether they were good for her or her long-term vision. She also would be working toward an outcome over which she had no control.

There’s nothing more frustrating (and potentially derailing) than putting your heart and soul into a goal you may never achieve due to circumstances out of your control.

The power of values-based goal setting

Research shows that living in alignment with your values leads to greater life satisfaction and emotional well-being. When you set goals based on your values, you’re more likely to achieve them and be happier when you do.

Melissa spent the time to identify her values. She then established an aspirational goal according to what was most important to her: to be an effective leader who has a positive impact on customers and colleagues. From there, she created action steps that moved her toward her goal.

The action steps felt easy for Melissa to do because they leveraged her values of credibility, relationships, and optimism. She was then free to focus on what she really wanted to achieve in her professional life, and she felt good while doing it.

And that promotion? After just three months of establishing her values-based goal, Melissa shared she was being promoted.

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How to be super productive

Want to supercharge your productivity? Check out this Best Life article and my advice in tip 9. Productivity (and its nemesis, procrastination) is a hot topic for leaders of all levels. You’ll find 15 ways to be more productive every day.

Here’s an excerpt from Best Life:

There are certain times during your day where you might feel more confident or willing to tackle particular issues. Shawna Clark, owner of Clark Executive Coaching, a leadership development firm, recommends that you “schedule your challenging tasks during the time of the day when you have the most brainpower and energy.”

How to supercharge your productivity

Know your most productive time of day, and use it to your advantage.

Track your activities for a few days by writing down what you did and how you felt. Find the pattern when you feel most productive. Schedule your challenging tasks during the time of day when you have the most brainpower and energy.

Do your most important tasks first.

Start your day with the things that are most important. That way, something urgent but unimportant doesn’t take time away from the most important activities of your day.

Focus on one thing at a time.

A huge pitfall to productivity is multitasking. As Harvard Business Review says:

You can’t multitask, so stop trying.

Task switching is what happens when you do more than one mental activity at a time. It’s inefficient and ineffective. Task switching fatigues your brain and slows down your productivity by up to 40%.

Set up rewards for getting your work done.

Find small ways to reward yourself when you complete your necessary tasks. This gives you an extra incentive to finish the things you usually procrastinate. Plus, you’ll get the intrinsic reward of completing your work, which feels great.

Find support that works for you.

Experiment to find the tools and support you need to encourage productivity and keep procrastination at bay. Get a task management app (my favorite is Week Plan – goal, time, and task management + to-do list in one), ask for help from a trusted colleague, delegate work that someone else can do, or hire out work that drains you.

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What’s important to you about productivity? What does productivity look like/feel like for you? What gets in your way? When are you most productive?

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