I’m always fascinated with articles and studies on happiness, looking for any detail on how to balance that constant struggle between reaching for more, yet being grateful for what you already have. A few weeks ago, The War Room published an article on the 10 Happiest Jobs based on a study done by researchers at the University of Chicago.
The list has a few predictable careers – Teachers, Artists, and Firefighters, for example, but others, like Psychologists and Financial Services Salespeople were a bit of a surprise for me, particularly in today’s economy.
The list ties into something I took away from the sessions at this year’s TMRE in Orlando as well. In the market research industry, we’re obsessed with learning about our consumers, what drives them, how they make decisions, how to get around the barriers that keep them from becoming our customers. But one of the themes at the conference was the value of tapping into the vast reservoir of knowledge that those who are closest to the customer possess – the front line employees.
Stan Sthanunathan from Coca-Cola mentioned that they send out a monthly question to each employee to gain additional insight on pressing issues. Employees are able to share their thoughts, and, perhaps most importantly, feel heard, and see their input put into action. Best Buy was recognized at a conference earlier in the year for their VOCE (Voice of the Customer through the Employee) program, which is completely based on input from Employees following interactions with customers on the sales floor.
In both cases, the employee feedback mechanisms are designed to be very simple for employees, not requiring much effort, but paying dividends in not only learning more about customers, but in increasing satisfaction for employees as well. Having this kind of program in place to capture employee feedback in a consistent manner may not be the silver bullet – but it is definitely a contributing factor for employee satisfaction, and promotes making the employee feel like a valued member of the company. Now, it might not rise to the level of the 10 Happiest Jobs in America, but it could certainly be a step in the right direction.
If you’d like to learn more about how Quester could help design an Employee Feedback program for your company, contact us for more detail at info@Quester.com.
