If you listen carefully, you’ll have the most to say

You can see it everywhere: the labour market is tight. Employees have more choice and are increasingly deciding for themselves where they want to work — and stay. For employers, this means one thing: those who manage to retain and engage their staff have a clear advantage.

After all, satisfied employees are more productive, more engaged and less likely to leave. But genuine engagement isn’t created by yet another scheme or promise. It starts with listening carefully on the shop floor.

In this blog, we share 7 trends that show how you can systematically improve employee satisfaction. Active listening is central to this — because those who listen well ultimately have the most to say.

Boost employee satisfaction: 7 trends

There are 7 trends in the market that help you measure and optimise employee satisfaction:

1. Listen – Let employees know that you are interested in their feedback and enable them to provide feedback in a constructive manner.
2. Balance – Employees value companies that allow them to work from their comfort zone and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
3. Invest – Invest in the growth and development of your employees and give them the opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge.
4. Facilitate – Ensure an inclusive working environment where everyone feels welcome and valued in their workplace.
5. Reward – A competitive salary and excellent employment conditions are essential for employee satisfaction.
6. Compliment – Let employees know you value them by rewarding and acknowledging their efforts and achievements.
7. Encourage – Building a strong team and a positive working environment fosters engagement and collaboration among employees.

These 7 trends are, of course, all important for you and your employees. But how do you know where to start? Start at the top: Listen. By listening, you’ll find out what’s going on in your teams, and you’ll be able to take action on relevant themes and topics.

Active listening

Listening, active listening, is harder than you think. Why? It means your focus is on the other person and not on yourself.

How do you ensure you are actively listening? Use the LSD mnemonic:

1. Listen – Don’t be preoccupied with replying; focus 100% on what the other person is saying. Take notes if necessary, or summarise in your head.
2. Summarise – Once the other person has given their feedback – and not before (!) – give your response. Summarise what you have heard and ask for confirmation.
3. Follow up – Ask follow-up questions. Don’t make the common mistake of jumping to conclusions.

Employees value companies and managers who are interested in their opinions and who enable them to give feedback. This creates a sense of appreciation and engagement. In doing so, you increase employee satisfaction!

LSD and the MTO

The LSD approach is, logically, applicable in one-to-one conversations. In my practice, I see particularly good results among HR professionals and managers who use this approach within the MTO. This marks a break from the traditional, annual MTO and a shift towards continuous assessment.

Step 1 (Listening) is the initial enquiry. You use the feedback received to carry out an initial analysis (Step 2 – Summarising) and to formulate follow-up questions (Step 3 – Probing). You repeat this process continuously.

The benefits are clear: employees feel heard and you take action based on relevant, up-to-date feedback. And that’s a win-win!

Do also take a look at my other articles on customer satisfaction, for example:

• Shooting in the dark

Roel Schellekens
Founder of askemo