10 Basic Employee Needs And How To Meet Them

When looking for employment, employees are looking for a paycheck and a job that meets their needs. These employee needs may vary from person to person, but the basic needs remain the same.

Suppose we follow A Theory Of Human Motivation by A.H. Maslow. In that case, humans have 5 basic needs:

• Physiological
• Safety
• Social
• Self-esteem
• Self-actualization

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs is considered a cornerstone in understanding human needs. This theory gives us a good foundation to formulate the optimal plan to meet your employees' needs.

Why Is It Important To Meet The Needs Of The employees?

Employees are the core of any organization. Happy and well-trained employees are always an asset to the organization. Applying Maslow's Theory of Needs in an organization helps create a roadmap for employee satisfaction.

The following are a few of the benefits that result in meeting the needs of your employees:

• A happy and motivated workforce
• Better employee retention and lower absence
• Increased productivity
• Better customer satisfaction
• Positive brand/company image

Employers who step up and meet their employees' financial, mental, physical, and emotional needs are assured of fostering an engaged workforce that is free to focus on their work. When employees feel a sense of belonging, it translates to a desire to go above and beyond, a focus on career and company goals, and commitment to the company's success.

What Are The Needs Of The Employees?

Let's look into a few of the needs of employees that must meet for a healthier workplace.

Financial Security

Only some employees are focused on the financial aspect of a job. However, fair wages are always welcome.

Although the financial aspect of a job is not always the driving force behind employment, it is the wages that pay for the needs of the employees. This is why financial reward are always welcome when it comes to appreciation of work or for taking on added responsibilities.

Regularly accessing your employees' salaries ensures that your salaries are competitive and live up to the benchmarks against the industry average. Regular assessment of salaries will give you confidence in your organization and discourage employees from looking elsewhere to fulfill their basic needs.

Suggested read : Financial Wellness- An Issue in Overall Employee Wellness

Purpose

"If you have a strong purpose in life, you don't have to be pushed. Your passion will drive you there."
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

The purpose is the driving force behind every person. This cannot be more true for employees. Employees need a sense of purpose that drives them toward reaching their full potential.

The best way to do this is to align the employees' goals with the company's. Make it clear that you value your employees' input and show them how their contribution has made an impact. This positive collaboration makes the employees feel a sense of belonging and ensures they take responsibility for their actions.

You can also create programs that give back to the community. Suppose it is for a cause that most of your employees empathize with. In that case, it will help with employee engagement and help build a positive brand image for the organization.

Security

When we talk about security, it is not just job security but also the secure working conditions of the workplace.

Job security makes employees stick to your company for a long time. Employees feel secure knowing their employer won't abruptly fire them without giving them adequate notice. This uncertainty can hamper the productivity of an employee who is more likely to jump ship prematurely if there is no open communication.

More than 105,000 people have lost their jobs at private startups this year. Bloomberg reported that the pace of tech layoffs is nearing early pandemic levels. Signs like this inspire little confidence regarding job security.

The other aspect of security is the psychological and physical safety of the employees in their workplace.

Psychological safety is about building trust and mutual understanding between managers and employees to make them feel like they belong. Employees must be able to speak their minds without fearing repercussions. They need to know it is safe to voice their opinions even if it is not the same as their managers.

Regarding physical safety, your people need to know that their property and person are in a safe environment, even when working, without the threat of being harmed. There is no worry of physical injury or intellectual and physical property loss. Equipment, tools, workstations, and the workplace should all comply with health and safety requirements.

Employee Development

Every employee wants to feel like they are advancing in their career. Focus on upskilling in the age of digital natives, where technologies change at break-neck speed. Not upskilling is the equivalent of self-sabotaging.

Investing in your employee's professional development is something that you will never regret. Companies like Adobe, Chipotle, and GoDaddy have invested extensively in employee development. They have seen unprecedented growth in their customer service and employee satisfaction.

A few ways to encourage employee development to attract and retain employees are listed below. Check it out to see if they fit your organizational structure.

• Invest in employee education
• Training and development courses to keep up with the industry developments
• Invest in the appropriate tools and systems to make the work of your staff easier
• Leadership courses
• Mentoring and job shadowing opportunities
• Hosting webinars, conferences, and seminars
• Tuition reimbursement

Health And Wellbeing

A healthy but average employee will be more crucial to your company than an unhealthy high-performer. Employers cannot expect their employees to perform at a hundred percent if they are not feeling a hundred percent.

Employee health encompasses not only the physical aspect but also the mental aspects of it. It is not just illness that needs to be kept in mind but the employees' overall wellness. Bad physical health can lead to bad mental health and vice versa.

Having good wellness programs for your employees is always a great bonus for them employees. There are several ways to encourage a healthy work-life balance:

1. Offer flexible and remote working
2. Encourage managers to focus on productivity rather than hours
3. Encourage breaks
4. Regular review of workload
5. Lead by example
6. Consider time off
7. Offer health benefits
8. Acknowledge every employee to be unique

The benefits of a healthy work-life balance are enormous. Not only does it keep your workers happy, but it also makes them more productive.

Get onboard with Vantage Fit to encourage your employees to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Gamification of wellness with leaderboards and real-time activity tracking encourages better participation of the employees.

Team Cohesiveness

Meeting the social needs of employees is also one of the most important aspects. With a huge chunk of time spent in the office, it becomes necessary to interact socially with your coworkers.

Whether team spirit or the need to be a part of a bigger whole, it is a fundamental part of human psychology to look for companionship. Strong interpersonal relationships across offices are the building block for a successful workplace.

Apart from this is the immediate need for team cohesion. When compared to a cohesive team with dispersed members or communication barriers among them are always at a significant disadvantage. You can form a better and happier team simply by fostering a culture that appreciates the small wins, eliminating bias or politics, or catching up for regular 1:1s the norms.

You can focus on providing opportunities for your employees to connect more to address their social needs. Team lunches, after-work drinks, and social outings are all tried and true methods for fostering strong social bonds.

At Vantage Circle, we provide users with a Social Feed that ensures timely appreciation and instant rewards. You can also easily access the Leaderboard and Hall of fame and appreciate your colleagues for a well-done job. This lets your team know that they are appreciated and that their achievements are all worth celebrating.

Appreciation And Recognition

Hard work needs to be recognized and appreciated. And when the recognition is prompt, it tends to motivate the employees to try harder to perform better. It works on fulfilling the social as well as self-esteem needs of the employees as it makes them feel valued and motivated and gives them a sense of accomplishment to have their work recognized.

A recent survey found employee recognition was most important to 37% of employees. Teams scoring in the top 20% of engagement experience 59% fewer turnovers. Approximately 34% of US workers feel engaged. 53% of workers in the US are not engaged, according to Gallup's employee engagement statistics.

This data reflects why appreciation and recognition are the need of the hour in every organization. It makes keeping your employees motivated much easier as they know their work will always be valued.

At Vantage Circle, we understand the value of prompt and regular appreciation. This is why we have Vantage Rewards that allow you to appreciate and reward your employees with the utmost ease.

Regular Feedback

Feedback is essential to the growth and development of employees. Positive feedback and constructive criticism help develop employees as it helps guide them toward the right path.

SHRM/ Globoforce Survey reveals that:

Organizations that rely on more frequent performance reviews are more likely to use peer feedback, either ongoing or intermittently (38 percent versus 27 percent). Additionally, 89 percent of HR leaders surveyed agree that ongoing peer feedback and check-ins positively impact their organizations.

Compared to annual reviews with no peer feedback, semiannual reviews and peer feedback are nearly two times as likely to be perceived as accurate (81 percent vs. 42 percent)

One-on-one sessions are the perfect platform for constructive feedback as you can help your direct report improve in the correct direction and allow them to share their feedback and insights. These sessions can be very productive for both the employee and the managers because they provide insights into the employees' working process and help them formulate the best way to help them.

Work-life Balance

72% of workers believe work-life balance is very important when choosing a job, and 57% of job-seekers say a poor work-life balance is a dealbreaker when considering a new job.

Work is not the end all be all for everyone. Even though you might be career oriented and ambitious, it doesn't follow that you have to put work above all else, and neither should you.

Employees need to have a healthy work-life balance. Flexible work hours and the ability to work remotely assist employees in finding time for themselves while juggling personal and professional responsibilities. Maternity and paternity leaves, paid vacation, sick days, bereavement leaves, etc., play an important role in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Respect

This is the most important of all the employees' needs. Respect is a basic human need to function as a contributing member of society.

Every employee deserves respect regardless of position- whether at the top of the corporate ladder or a new hire. Employees who feel respected and valued for their work are more likely to feel connected to the company's ideals and leaders.

Demonstrate your respect towards your employees by showing that you value their opinions and suggestions. Take time to get to know your employees at a personal level. Build a rapport and make sure to treat all your employees the same.

You can show respect towards your employees at an organizational level by taking into account their insights and feedback regarding certain projects. Give them due credit for their work with rapid appreciation. You can also reinforce the message of respect by teaching policies and procedures that safeguard employees from bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

Key Takeaway

We have already discussed the 10 basic needs of employees and how to meet them. This list, however, is only some of what there is to meet your employees' needs. With changes in your employees' social conditions, you must constantly look for ways to revamp the company culture and meet their people's needs.

It is a continuous process that cannot be sidelined after being launched once. Constant updates in your company policies and regular surveys are a step in the right direction when it comes to meeting the needs of your employees.

A dreamer and an idealist in a long-term relationship with food and sleep, Lopamudra is more than thrilled to be part of the marketing team at Vantage Circle. When she is not in the vicinity or thinking about food, you can find her curled up in a corner with a good book and music. For any related queries, contact editor@vantagecircle.com.