Does Employee Satisfaction Make a Difference?
Much has been written about employee satisfaction over the years. We discuss leadership styles that improve employee satisfaction. We make lists of the best companies to work for. We have strategies for empowering employees. We trumpet the importance and value of having satisfied employees.
However a key question remains: does employee satisfaction make any difference in terms of organizational performance? Are satisfied employees any more productive? Do they provide higher levels of customer service? Do they drive dollars to the bottom line?
Data were collected from over seven thousand business units in thirty-six different organizations. The data included information on employee satisfaction and business unit outcomes such as:
- profit
- employee turnover
- customer satisfaction
- productivity, and
- accidents
The researchers found that employee satisfaction was significantly related to each of the business unit outcomes mentioned above. In other words, as employee satisfaction improved, business unit performance improved while employee turnover and accidents decreased.
This research demonstrated clearly that employee satisfaction pays for itself in improved organization performance.
How satisfied are your employees? When was the last time you used an employee satisfaction survey or focus group?
I agree with you. Employee satisfaction does lead to a desire of career growth within the company. Performance and productivity are results of taking care of employee needs hence giving them reasons for loyalty. Thank you for sharing the great insight.
I agree with you. It is essential to give employees a good reason to maintain productivity and remain loyal assets of the organization. Thank you for sharing.