By Stephen Tweed
Did you know: Happy Employees …
- are 43% more productive
- are 86% more creative
- take 66% fewer sick days
- have 51% less turnover
- have 41% less accidents
- bring 37% higher sales.
Happier employees = happier clients = a more successful home care company.
Last week I was attending our National Speakers Association Convention – “Influence 2015” – in Washington DC. This was one of our best conventions ever with some great general session speakers and very valuable breakout sessions. I came away with some terrific ideas, tools, and techniques to continue growing our business at Leading Home Care.
Delivering Happiness
One of the most interesting general sessions was “Delivering Happiness” by Jenn Lim.
Jenn Lim is the CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, a company she and Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos) created to inspire happiness in work, community, and everyday life. Do you know Zappos? They are a leading seller of shoes online, and they have a huge distribution center here in Louisville just south of the UPS World Port air hub.
In 2005, Jenn created the first Culture Book for Zappos – now on its 7th edition – and has produced them ever since. In 2009, Zappos was sold to Amazon.com in a deal valued at $1.2 billion on the day of closing, and in 2011, Zappos was #6 on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. The Culture Book has become a global symbol of how companies can successfully create cultures based on happiness and be profitable at the same time.
In 2010, Jenn led the launch and management of Tony’s first book (Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose) which sold o
ver 280,000 copies worldwide and hit #1 on numerous bestsellers list (including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today). It was voted one of the best business books in 2010 by NPR, Inc. Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, remained on the New York Times list for 27 weeks and has been published in over 17 countries/languages because of her efforts.
Employees are Disengaged
In her speech, Jenn told us that according the Gallup, 87% of workers in America are disengaged. We have certainly seen that in home care, and there are plenty of data to show the negative impact of disengaged employees. What if we, in home care, could find ways to re-engage our caregivers and our office team members? What if we could recruit and hire caregivers who bring a work ethic and an attitude than makes them more likely to engage? What if we could recruit, select, develop, and retain happier employees?
Take a look at the bullets above and you will see some potential outcomes of hiring better caregivers.
What Makes Employees Happier?
According to Jenn and Tony Hsieh, there is a science of happiness that can help us grow happier workers. The elements of this science suggest that workers are looking for:
- A sense of control – workers want more control in their daily lives, including their work life.
- A sense of progress – workers want to feel that they are making progress, and that they are growing in their personal and professional lives.
- Connectedness – workers want to belong. They want to be connected with others.
- Vision / Meaning – workers want to see a desirable and possible future, and they want to do work that makes a difference.
Jenn told us that “Passion plus Purpose equals Business Profits. Passion plus Purpose equals Personal Happiness and Pleasure”
Happier Caregivers
What would your home care company look like if you have happier caregivers who came to work with a sense of passion and purpose, who felt like they were in more control of their lives, who are connected to you and your office team, and who get meaning from caring for your clients? If you would like to explore this, go to Amazon and order a copy of Delivering Happiness. Study what worked for Zapppos. Then explore how the Caregiver Quality Assurance program from Leading Home Care can help you recruit, select, train, and retain happier, more productive employees at all levels of your company.
