In a previous blog post, we examined the link between happiness at work and business productivity, finding that there was a measurable link between workforce satisfaction and bottom line revenue building.
We were so intrigued by this that we decided to dig further, conducting a study of a range of companies, across all roles including C-level, HR, management, sales, and sales support. We wanted to find out what made people feel valued, supported, engaged, and indeed just plain ‘happy’ at work. The full survey results – and conclusions – will be published shortly, but here are some headline findings to whet your appetite…
Asking the right questions
Our survey consisted of a range of questions aimed at building a snapshot of workforce happiness across 2020, building on our previous discussions around the theme of ‘Grow your People’. Although we didn’t want to focus on topics as ‘old’ as ‘the new normal’, we were nevertheless conscious of the fact that the working landscape has changed radically in just 12 months. Our questions therefore started by trying to get an oversight of how people were now working – what percentage were now full time remote? How had this affected the way that teams communicated? And the frequency of that communication? We wanted to discover how engaged people felt with their colleagues and managers – what the concept of the ‘team’ still meant when at a distance and how best to maintain it.
Percentage of respondents working remotely:
- Full time remote working – 38%
- ⅔ of time remote working – 28%
- ⅓ of time remote working – 18%
- Never remote working – 16%
Frequency of communication with managers:
- Very rarely – 12%
- Weekly – 26%
- Couple of times a week – 35%
- At least once a day – 35%
Frequency of communication with colleagues:
- Very rarely – 3%
- Weekly – 7%
- Couple of times a week – 29%
- At least once a day – 61%
Valued, Supported, Happy
But the most intriguing part of our survey was the hardest to gauge – how people really feel. At Mercuri, we’ve long believed that effective care of a workforce is key to a business’s long term success. It’s at the heart of our ‘Grow Your People, Grow Your Business’ philosophy. Having already established that a satisfied workforce is a productive workforce, the question had to be ‘what were the key contributing factors to that sense of wellbeing’? And (we were personally happy to see…) the one answer that leapt out? Training.
Those receiving training felt 3.5x more valued and supported and 3x happier than those who weren’t.
We’ve always known that good training, delivered in an innovative, engaging way, could transform a sales team’s skills – now we know that it can also have a profound psychological impact on the way that they approach the job itself.
Long term growth only happens when teams are happy and staff turnover reduced. And good training holds the key. Overall, those receiving training were over 3x more likely to stay at their company.
What’s coming up?
We’ll shortly be publishing the full report, which will develop the themes we’ve mentioned above and provide granular detail – what kinds of training work best? What are the best digital methods with which to communicate in an increasingly remote environment? What combination of factors can ensure long term workforce engagement?
Note: All percentages are rounded.
