In a previous blog post, we examined the link between happiness at work, within sales teams and business productivity. We found that there was a measurable link between workforce satisfaction and bottom line revenue building.
We were intrigued by this so decided to dig further; conducting a study with a diverse group of companies, across all roles including C-level, HR, management, sales, and sales support. What makes people feel valued, supported, engaged, and indeed just plain ‘happy’ at work? The full survey results – and conclusions – will be published shortly, but here are some headline findings to whet your appetite…
Asking sales professionals the right questions
Our survey consisted of a range of questions aimed at building a snapshot of workforce happiness across 2020. This builds on our previous discussions around the theme of ‘Grow your People’. Although we didn’t want to focus on old topics, such as ‘the new normal’, there is no getting away from the fact that the working landscape has changed radically in just 12 months. Our questions therefore started by trying to get an oversight of how people are working now:
- What percentage are now working remotely full time?
- How has this affected the way that teams communicate?
- And what is the frequency of that communication?
We wanted to discover how engaged people are with regards to their communication with their colleagues and managers. What does the concept of the ‘team’ mean now, when the team is so remote? How can we maintain team dynamics when we are all remote working?
Percentage of respondents working remotely:
- Full time remote working – 38%
- ⅔ of time remote working – 28%
- ⅓ of time remote working – 18%
- Never remote working – 16%
Frequency of communication with managers:
- Very rarely – 12%
- Weekly – 26%
- Couple of times a week – 35%
- At least once a day – 35%
Frequency of communication with colleagues:
- Very rarely – 3%
- Weekly – 7%
- Couple of times a week – 29%
- At least once a day – 61%
Valued, Supported, Happy Teams
But the most intriguing part of our survey was the hardest to gauge – how people really feel. At Mercuri, we’ve long believed that effective care of a workforce is key to a business’s long term success. It’s at the heart of our ‘Grow Your People, Grow Your Business’ philosophy. Having already established that a satisfied workforce is a productive workforce, the question had to be ‘what were the key contributing factors to that sense of wellbeing’? And (we were personally happy to see…) the one answer that leapt out? Training.
Those receiving training felt 3.5 x more valued and supported and 3 x happier than those who weren’t.
“We’ve always known that good training, delivered in an innovative, engaging way, can transform a sales team’s skills. Now we know that it can also have a profound psychological impact on the way that they approach the job itself.”
Long term growth only happens when teams are happy and staff turnover reduced. And good training holds the key. Overall, those receiving training were over three time more likely to stay at their company.
What’s coming up?
We’ll soon be publishing the full report, which will expand on the themes we’ve mentioned above and provide detail about what kind of training works best. What are the best digital methods with which to communicate in an increasingly remote environment? What combination of factors can ensure long term workforce engagement?
Note: All percentages are rounded.
