How firms are working on staff happiness
▶ Well-treated workers lead to higher retention rates and bigger profits for employers, writes Gillian Duncan
Every morning when she gets to work, Lina Fahmy faces a choice – whether to put on her superhero cape.
She is one of two employees at digital marketing agency Red Blue Blur Ideas who have been rewarded for embodying the company’s motto: “Do the right thing.”
Their prize, awarded quarterly, is being allowed to wear a cape in the office.
“For the first week I wore it every single day because I wanted to gloat and show off,” said Ms Fahmy, 24, from Egypt, who is a researcher and analyst with the company.
“Now I have it beside my desk. I don’t wear it all the time but I do sometimes still put it on.”
The agency’s meeting rooms are also themed from comic books, with names such as Gotham City and the Bat Cave. But they are not the only unusual aspects of the office – there are several breakout areas, giving staff the opportunity to work from a sofa, beanbag or even an exercise ball.
The company has introduced policies such as hot desking and working from home to encourage staff creativity. Anyone who does work from the office is treated to a breakfast each morning.
This is just one of many companies placing an increasing emphasis on treating its staff well in the hope that it translates to happier workers, higher retention rates and bigger profits.
“Digital talent here, especially in the region, is very hard to come across,” said Lisa Hodson, the company’s recruitment manager.
“We do a lot of headhunting, so when we have the right people in the business we want to make sure they are happy and in an environment where they can be their best version of themselves.
“It’s about us as a company and making sure we are successful but we also put a high emphasis on making sure they are learning and developing in their career so they stick with us.”
Several studies show this is a strategy that works.
A survey by the University of Warwick found that happy staff were 12 per cent more productive. And at Google, a company well known for treating its staff well, an increased investment in employee support led to a 37 per cent rise in staff satisfaction.
The Happiness Hub, a Dubai company that delivers tailored “happiness solutions” for companies, conducted a survey in the UAE to find out what company people wanted to work for.
“One third of people said Google and when we asked them why they wanted to work for them, they said it was because of how they treat their staff,” said Fiona Barron, chief executive of The Happiness Hub.
“They don’t care what Google does. It’s because they know Google invests in its employees.”
After recruitment agency Michael Page Middle East started to put greater focus on flexibility and recognition, the company recorded a 30 per cent year-onyear increase in revenue.
“We credit the performance directly with our drastic drop in employee turnover rate this year. We’ve seen a low employee turnover rate of 10 per cent, the lowest globally across the Page Group,” said Leith Ramsay, the company’s regional managing director.
“The initiatives undertaken through the year have paid off in Michael Page having an all-time record year since the company established its Middle East operations in 2006.”
Jumeirah Group is another company that places an emphasis on treating its staff well. The group was recently named one of the best employers in the UAE by Aon Hewitt, a human resource consulting company, for the second year in a row.
Jumeirah was up against 350 organisations with 275,000 employees across the region.
“In our company we have 14,000 employees and we were one of nine organisations to be named the best employers in the region,” said Jumeirah’s chief human resources officer, Ellen Dubois du Bellay.
But what is really interesting is the emphasis Jumeirah places on junior employees, who are considered the most important staff members in the company.
“They are the ones who are closest to our guests on a day-to-day basis and so how they are recruited and how they are developed is more important, frankly than how managers are treated,” Ms du Bellay said.
The company spends a lot of time thinking about who it wants to work for the group, and all the employees in its hotels have to be personally approved by the property’s general manager. Staff are considered the greatest asset and a key differential in a competitive industry.
“There is such a small margin of difference between companies now. So the one thing that truly differentiates them is the culture and the happiness of their employees,” she said.
Part of that happiness is bringing meaning to work by achieving a positive worklife balance, particularly for millennials.
“It’s not just that they want a job any more,” Ms Barron said. “It’s about what they are going to get from it.”
Ms Fahmy, a millennial, said: “When you go to work you are not dreading going to work. You look forward to seeing people.
“I was off last week and the whole time I was like, ‘Oh I wonder what they’re doing at the office?’ I felt I was missing out not being there.”
We also put a high emphasis on making sure they are happy and developing in their career so they stick with us LISA HODSON Talent acquisition manager with RBBi