The Importance of Public Perception
A recent study found that about 64% of global consumers have avoided a brand because of a bad experience they had within the past year. Almost half say they have avoided a company because of its reputation or negative social reviews. We’ve seen this happen many times, even with big corporations. For example, after the Volkswagen chaos of 2015, when the company chose to “cheat” emission testings, the public willingness to buy the brand fell by 28%.
Reviews and public perception are the bread-and-butter of consumer behavior. One study suggests that 97% of participants consider the customer reviews a factor in their buying decisions, and 92% of consumers hesitate to buy products or services when there are no customer reviews.
Benefits of Employee Happiness
Now, customer reviews and employee happiness might not be a clear connection at first. But, when employees are unhappy and not fully engaged, they’re much more likely to leave, which leads to higher turnover rates. In addition, training new employees to treat customers to the standards you have takes time and money. Not to mention, unhappy employees are much more likely to pass down their frustration to your customers. Thus, potentially damaging the company’s public perception.
On the contrary, when employees are happy and engaged at work, they’re more likely to stay, stay committed to bettering the customer experience and work towards the brand’s benefits.
1. Greater Productivity
Happy employees tend to have a better work-life balance and tend to be healthier and more productive. In addition, happiness in their job post means they’ll be more effective as they don’t struggle with the stress and anxiety of someone unhappy at work.
2. Better Work Environment
When people feel happier at work, they’re also less stressed. A more joyful work environment fosters a more productive, creative, and respectful workplace that can be perceived by the public with positive reviews.
3. Increased Creativity
There’s some evidence that proves the link between happiness and creativity. When people don’t struggle with the stress of working unhappily, they have greater mental flexibility. In addition, working in a more balanced environment promotes collaboration, which can boost creativity.
4. Better Customer Service
At last, happy employees means happy customers. They’re more likely to go above and beyond for customers to offer them the possible experience. Satisfied customers are a brand’s best advertisement, as they’ll share their pleasant experience with others and translate into a great business.
Tips to Improve Your Brand’s Public Perception & Employee Satisfaction
The connection between employee satisfaction and engagement and the public’s perception of your company is undeniable. Therefore, it’s essential to look for ways to promote employee engagement and foster a work environment where employees want to be.
Here are some tips to encourage employee engagement:
- Communicate with your employees often and make it a point to meet them at a personal level. Using a tool like Everything DiSC can be a tremendous help in understanding the best way to treat each employee.
- Offer rewards and recognition to employees for their achievements (i.e. bonus checks).
- Provide opportunities to grow and continue expanding their professional careers.
- Allow them to work autonomously, choosing projects or teams or the work environment that best suits their style or needs. In his book DRIVE, Daniel Pink suggests Autonomy as one of the three most important ways of increasing motivation.
Remember to recognize any current issues you see at your organization to address employee engagement. If you notice employees are unhappy or your brand’s public perception doesn’t align with your employee’s happiness, see what’s missing. Create an actionable plan to build a stronger foundation and continue monitoring your progress to help your employee’s engagement rates and your customer’s perception of your brand high.
Please feel free to share with us a story of how you keep your teams motivated. And, give us a call if you want to discuss ways to make your organization more agile or help you personally navigate this difficult time; we’re only too glad to help.
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