To truly scale revenue, shift your focus from sales to fostering happiness in the workplace.
“How are you feeling?” It’s a simple question, yet leaders rarely ask it directly to gauge happiness in the workplace.
Many leaders use questionnaires but hesitate to address their team’s morale directly. In my experience, prioritising team happiness has consistently improved performance and enabled revenue growth.
I have found that a straightforward approach works best. Simply asking, “Hi, how are you feeling about things? Shall we take time to have a chat?” has become an intrinsic part of my leadership style because it is a more authentic way to communicate effectively with my team. It nurtures strong relationships and generates better outcomes.
So why do some leaders overcomplicate happiness in the workplace?
First, they worry about the time required to speak with everyone individually or fear opening a can of worms.
Second, leaders often don’t see happiness as a measurable KPI or know how to accurately measure it to gather ROI data.
This, however, is a significant mistake.
Companies that nurture happy employees are 4.3 times more likely to outperform competitors in the long term. Companies that value and invest in their people experience higher-than-average revenue growth.
Why?
Because their people are happy.
Fact: A great Employee Experience (EX) leads to happy employees who perform better, directly improving the Customer Experience (CX).
Here’s the proof.
A recent McKinsey study, “Performance through People: Transforming Human Capital into Competitive Advantage,” highlights how investing in human capital pays off. Their research found that:
‘Companies with a dual focus on developing human capital and managing it well have a performance edge.
These People + Performance Winners rank among the most profitable firms within their industries. They stand out in two important ways: greater earnings resilience and a superior ability to attract and retain talent. These are key advantages as businesses face economic headwinds, and a war for talent. In addition to building skills, these companies have distinctive organisational capital—that is, their management practices, systems, and culture. They challenge and empower employees while fostering bottom-up innovation to make their human capital investments pay off.’
Their research showed that:
“The companies focused on People + Performance, rather than just performance were 4.3x more likely than the average company to maintain top tier financial performance for 9 out of 10 years.“
McKinsey
And:
‘P+P winners grew revenues 2x faster than Performance-Driven Companies during the pandemic’
These brilliant stats unequivocally prove my long-held belief that happy people perform better and lead to increased revenue growth.
I have shared my thoughts and strategies on how to begin creating a culture of happiness many times, especially while working in my previous company and now in my consultancy business.
I share them here.
Here are my top 5 lessons for creating a culture of happiness in the workplace that delivers revenue growth:
1. Values
Defining and communicating your values is important, but you must live and act on them daily, both within and outside the company.
For example, we defined our values by distilling them into behaviors. For instance, we trained our drivers to be courteous to other road users and pedestrians. When behaviors are aligned with the company’s vision and values, it increases happiness in the workplace as there is clarity, focus, and positive energy.
2. Leadership
“Leadership doesn’t mean you have to have all the answers. But it does mean you care for your team and help them to be the best version of themselves as you unite behind a clear vision.”
I know that I don’t have all the answers and that my team would have better ideas and solutions to challenges so I would always ask them to get involved.
If you’ve built the right culture they will be motivated to help you, so create safe spaces where people feel willing and able to speak their minds and offer ideas without reprisal.
No matter how silly some ideas sound, there may be a golden nugget hidden within – that’s how we developed the first-ever eco-friendly truck for The Body Shop.
If we lacked happiness in the workplace, there would have been low input and fewer creative ideas, and we would have lost a significant client.
3. Clear Expectations
It’s vital that every employee, including you, knows what success in their role looks like. Describe it, document it and measure it. Together agree on the expectations for each employee and provide a positive framework for them to structure their success.
By setting expectations, you’re asking others to meet and exceed them so it’s essential that you also provide them with the tools, knowledge, and freedom to do so.
By setting clear expectations I gave my team the space to grow. They felt empowered to make decisions and put themselves forward for tasks and opportunities that I may never have considered them for. When you empower teams you show trust and this encourages autonomy in their work.
4. Teamwork
My approach has always been ‘We are all in this together.’ As a leader, it’s your job to help everyone understand their role in the business’s success.
In my previous business, we maintained lower-than-industry average staff turnover by focusing on this idea. Most of the workforce worked remotely, being drivers, but we got them involved in the decision-making that impacted their well-being such as gathering their feedback on various truck models and brands when investing in the fleet.
As a result, they felt valued and heard. They understood their role in the decision-making process and why certain decisions were made. It helped them to feel an intrinsic and valued member of the team.
5. Feedback and Candour
Schedule regular sessions to gather feedback from all team members. Develop a culture of candour where people can communicate openly. Encourage feedback, keep an open mind, and be willing to make positive changes.
A refreshing alternative from the usual secret whispers at the water cooler, I learnt that no matter how tough the feedback can be, there’s always a way to flip it around.
When seeking feedback, always ask for the individual’s ideas on how to change things for the better, where to make improvements and suggestions on how to create a better experience.
Again, make them part of the solution to increasing fulfilment, feeling valued, and happiness in the workplace.
Happiness Expert
In addition to my past experiences, I recently spoke with Richard Clarke CEO of Secret Source, on our Lead To Succeed podcast. We explored his approach to achieving happiness in the workplace and understanding the WHY behind it.
It’s a great listen. You’ll hear how Richard achieves happiness in the workplace, the impact it has on business growth, and the importance of having a personal WHY—the reason for being.
• Source for article: McKinsey Report.
To Conclude
From my experience leading and collaborating with teams, I discovered that performance improves when teams have clear expectations and are trusted to be autonomous in their work. As a result, revenue grew to 8 figures and we had happiness in the workplace.
NEXT STEPS
Click on the points below to access the content.
- Sign up to receive my V.I.T.A.L. insights newsletter for revenue growth
- Register for notification of future free live events about securing, sustaining, and scaling new business
- Connect with me on LinkedIn
- Listen to our Lead To Succeed Podcast with Richard Clarke
- Learn more about how to win large client accounts in my book “Winning Big In Sales”
About the Author
Rebecca Jenkins has extensive leadership and revenue growth experience. This includes securing, retaining, and growing multiple profitable client accounts in her previous business.
Rebecca is a specialist consultant in B2B revenue growth and the author of Winning Big In Sales
Her award-winning V.I.T.A.L. method delivers results for businesses wanting a proven way to secure, scale and sustain profitable revenue growth. You can watch and read client case studies here on the RJEN website.
