by Joe Phelps,
CEO The Phelps Group

With the free market determining the labor costs (salaries) in most products and services, the most important value-added component a company can offer its people increasingly will be job satisfaction.

Extensive research has been done on what’s important to us in our jobs. The conclusions of most studies, and my personal observations, are that the following ten points are the main components of job satisfaction.

1. Recognition for a job well done – Mark Twain said he could live for two months on a good compliment. It is widely known that recognition is the number one motivator of people.
   
   
2. A healthy working environment – clean, well-lit, adequate space; the proper equipment; and inhabited by people who care and who communicate in an honest, timely fashion. Some companies have workout rooms and bring in trainers to help their teams achieve optimum health.
   
   
3. Meaningful work – trading your time in life to help achieve something worthwhile. This can be something within the company, the community or even global. Reminding your team that everything they do touches other people adds meaning to their lives and work.
   
   
4. Responsibility – people need to believe that they are responsible for their own actions, and that they are trusted. Self directed teams give people clear responsibility. They are also the ultimate delegation tool for busy executives.
   
   
5. Accountability – a feeling of ownership and of outcomes. It is a sense of the proverbial buck stopping with every single person and not in the lap of someone far down the line. People on self-directed teams willingly hold each other accountable as well as themselves. Accountability is the ability to follow through with your commitments.
   
   
6. Equitable compensation – linked not to longevity or rank, but to performance; being treated like partners; possible equity in the business can be important. There are numerous ways to do this such as ESOP, phantom stock, etc. Talk with a compensation expert to find out what is best for your company, and then put the plan into action.
   
   
7. The chance to learn – opportunities to grow into more significant positions with greater responsibility and ultimately, to increase one’s value to the organization. Supporting the team members in getting advanced degrees or improving their skills through classes or conferences is a great way to open this door for them.
   
   
8. The chance to do great work – not just work that meets minimum standards and expectations, but quality work: A+ work! Ask your team what it takes for them to do their job really well and ask if they’ll commit to that standard.
   
   
9. Understanding – knowing how the work relates to the realization of the overall goals of the business. Sharing the company goals, and getting input from your team at your annual meeting is a great tool for getting buy in and creating understanding.
   
   
10. The chance to work with interesting, motivated, responsible people – whose personal and professional goals are in alignment with one’s own. Encourage your team members to introduce great people to your company, you never know when you’ll meet someone who is a great fit.

Now, take just a moment to review the list again. It becomes obvious that the concept of a self-directed worker deployed on a self-directed team is a natural system for making sure many of these needs are met.

Credit:
About the Author:
Joe Phelps is the founder of The Phelps Group, one of the nation’s leading integrated marketing communications agencies located in Southern California. Phelps, who started his agency 20 years ago with one client, Fender Guitars, was named the "Entrepreneur Leader of the Year 2000" by the Los Angeles Advertising Association, is a Belding Award-winning writer and has been featured on the cover on Inc. magazine. At his agency, and prior to that at NW Ayer and Grey Advertising, Phelps managed multi-million dollar campaigns for many of America’s and Japan’s top companies. Phelps’ revolutionary business model is used as a case study at numerous universities, including Northwestern, Colorado, Pepperdine and USC. He may be contacted at (310) 752-4400 or through the website at www.pyramidsaretombs.com.

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