The month of July has been a little bleak in the UK. Constant drizzle and cooler than average temperatures mean that many accountants we meet are feeling a little, for want of a better word, ‘meh.’
It’s times like these when feeling happy at work is really important. Your colleagues, your clients and most importantly you as a hiring manager will be happier if your staff are happy. You’ll also find your firm is more productive and profitable too.
Research published by The University of Warwick (Happiness and Productivity by Oswald, Proto and Sgroi) at the end of 2022 found that happier employees were 12% more productive that then their unhappy colleagues. Just imagine suddenly being gifted an additional staffing resource of 12%! Never mind the fact that managing happier people will make you a happier manager and working with happier accountants will make your clients happier, you’ll benefit from greater productivity and less time wasted on managing complaints and disgruntled clients.
So, as we head into the final full month of summer, we thought we’d focus on happiness and offer you our top 5 ways to improve employee happiness.
1. The opportunity to add real value
If your employees don’t feel like the work they undertake has any meaningful impact on the outcomes that matter to their employers, customers and colleagues, they will undoubtedly lose focus and experience more of those aforementioned ‘meh’ days.
If you can ensure that each and every one of your employees knows how important their work is when it comes to the big picture, they will be laser focused on playing their part and you’ll see an increase in their happiness at work as a result.
One really practical action you can take to make this happen is reflective practice. As a team, look back on the wins and the losses you’ve made and audit every step of the process. This will ensure that those who play just the smallest part, understand the impact that their performance and contribution (be it good or bad) has on the end result and they will see their role as having the potential to add true value.
2. The opportunity to work autonomously
In theory, we’re all adults in this business aren’t we? So, affording your staff the gift of trust shouldn’t be too tricky should it?
Now, we know as line managers that it doesn’t always work like that and some employees need to be managed a little more closely than others. But it’s definitely the case that everyone should be offered the chance to get on with their job without a micro manager always on their case. Most capable accountants will thrive when given autonomy to do their jobs and to use their initiative and that will carry through into their overall happiness.
3. Every voice matters
This applies to Apprentices all the way up to Partners. In a happy workforce, there will be no such thing as a stupid question, a silly idea and there certainly won’t be a toxic working environment in which all staff don’t feel able to blow the whistle on malpractice or just offer constructive critique about why they don’t feel a particular system is working as well as it might.
Giving all of your staff the opportunity to contribute their thoughts and ideas is a sure fire way to build a happy workforce. Consider using tools such as away days, team building exercises, creative brainstorming, 360 appraisals and the tried and tested method of just saying ‘what do you think?’ We promise you it’s often just the little things that make all the difference!
4. Praise and celebration
Confidence and happiness are intrinsically linked and there are many small and large actions that we can take as hiring managers that will impact the way our staff feel. If your staff are underperforming then boosting their skills, knowledge and confidence with coaching and training will certainly improve their confidence and happiness at work and that will become apparent one step onwards in the experience that clients enjoy when working with them.
Equally as damaging is a failure to praise and celebrate those who are performing well or in fact exceeding the expectations held within their job descriptions. So, as a hiring manager make sure you’re loudly celebrating the wins and giving credit where credit is due. If your staff are attaining new qualifications or taking on additional responsibility remember that praise and celebrations alongside tangible salary and reward increases and appropriate title changes will mean you have a happier workforce that feels valued and you’ll also enjoy better staff retention levels.
5. Dignity and respect
This one is a reminder to all hiring managers to review their diversity and inclusion policies and practices. The most successful, the most productive and the happiest teams are the ones that work cohesively and respect one another and care about the highs and lows that the others experience.
It’s with this in mind that the happiest teams will want everyone to feel like they are equally able to contribute, so ensuring that the whole team is offered dignity and respect and approach the workload of the firm from an even playing field, will really boost the happiness and morale of all.
If you’re a hiring manager who has noticed a serious downturn in the happiness of your team in recent months or years, there is plenty that we can do to help. Our service as the expert recruitment agency in the niche field of public practice means much more than just finding you great new members of staff. We’re here to partner with you on all of your workforce needs and we’re perfectly positioned to offer high level advice based on our privileged experience working with high flying and suffering firms alike.
