When discussing ways to keep employees happy and return the company to profitability, it’s easy to get caught up in discussing money and profit margins. But there is so much more to keeping your employees happy that it’s important to remember that employee satisfaction is a key driver to your company’s success. The more satisfied your employees are, the easier it is for them to contribute to the company’s overall success and the more satisfied they are, the more likely they are to let others know what a good job they do. Here are just a few ways to keep employees happy.

Pay attention to their career development. People who have the opportunity to advance their careers often take the chance. Employees who feel that they are doing well and are getting the perks that they deserve are usually happy to talk about advancement opportunities. If you don’t offer advancement at work or provide other perks for career development, it might be a good idea to talk to your employees about their advancement possibilities and see if there’s anything that they’re capable of advancing on the field. This can also be a good time to talk about what your company can offer that could help them along their career path.

Seeking employee feedback and addressing the issues they face at work is another area to focus on. Make sure that the company’s technical, cultural, and physical space is employee-friendly and inclusive. You can make use of employee experience management software or similar tools to collect real-time feedback from employees, and later make sufficient changes with the data to keep them happy. Always communicate to your people about what what you can do to improve their work experience.

Employees often appreciate things when they are given. If you offer recognition to employees for a job well done or for a career development effort that they have participated in, you will be creating a great way to keep employees happy without necessarily paying for expensive awards. Even some simple employee appreciation gifts once a while can work wonders on employee morale. Perhaps, you can offer them online gift cards, vouchers, and digital rewards, which can be redeemed quickly by recipients. Know that gift cards, which can be sent easily using gift card API, can work miracles in motivating them and showing that they are valued and wanted.

That said, awards can also be a great way to give employees a sense of recognition and make them feel appreciated, but if you don’t provide other perks to match those awards, you’ll be leaving your employees without anything to show for the appreciation other than an empty wallet. Incentive programs are another great way to reward employees, but they should be more targeted to promote certain career development or specific skills.

It’s not unusual for a company to have a few really good employees, and a few bad ones. This is where having a really effective business leadership development plan in place comes into play. The best leaders not only know how to get the most out of each employee, but they know how to aid employees in the areas where they need help the most. Having an entire staff trained in communication techniques, career development, and other important tools will allow you to see how you can create a high-performance workplace by giving those who deserve rewards as much as those who don’t. When you’ve got great employees, you’ve got a winning team.

If you want to keep employees happy and looking forward to coming to work, you need to start by choosing the right training and development tools for your employees and providing them with ongoing career development opportunities. Having a leadership development program in place is a great way to build a productive team, but it’s equally important to make sure that your employees know how to get the most out of their jobs. Incentive programs are a great way to reward and recognize employees for exceptional job performance, but they need to be more than a temporary quick fix. When you provide your team with consistent and ongoing professional development opportunities, you give them tools they can use every day to make themselves more marketable.

Incentive programs can be a very powerful tool in increasing employee motivation and building a more satisfied workforce. However, if you’re simply giving employees a pat on the back for being a good team player or simply rewarding them for a job well done, you may be missing the mark. In order to ensure that you have an environment where employees are completely satisfied and your work force is thriving, it’s imperative that you offer them non-financial incentives such as quality time, appreciation events and innovative projects. When you make giving employees the tools they need to be successful, you will find that everyone in your team is happier and more satisfied with their position.