Jan 27, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

With next month surrounding Valentine’s Day and Random Acts of Kindness Week, we got to thinking – How do these occasions tie into employee retention, business growth and customer satisfaction?

Gratitude and Appreciation

All too often we focus on things we can improve upon; negativity tends to overshadow positivity.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 64 percent of Americans who leave their jobs do so because they don’t feel appreciated. Employee appreciation affects performance, engagement and health. A study by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania showed that those employees who receive words of gratitude from authority perform 50 percent better on average than those who are not verbally praised.

Try improving your employee retention, job performance and passion in work by showing a little appreciation. Thanking your employees for a job well done or completing all those last-minute assignments before they leave for the day might put a smile on their faces and increase their work performance for the following day. Happy employees also better your customer’s experience and improve satisfaction.

Volunteering Efforts

Getting involved in your community and philanthropy efforts shows your company cares about the needs of your community and that you’re willing to contribute to improve those conditions. It’s a great way to network and build your customer base. Exposing your company in a positive light can make a customer more likely to purchase your products or services. According to Nielsen’s 2014 Global Survey, 55 percent of online consumers are “willing to pay more for products and services from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact.”

Furthermore, volunteering is also a great team-building activity. Building employee interaction outside the office is important to get to know one another, to build that camaraderie environment. Executing a proper team-building activity, one that focuses around your company’s core values, such as volunteering, can help build a positive environment.