Improving Employee Confidence In The Workplace

Four ways for employers to follow

Worker confidence across the U.S. is lower than it has been for more than a year. 

In fact, a recent survey we conducted alongside HRO Today Magazine showed that the confidence of employees has dropped to its lowest since early 2018. The survey gauged workers’ perceptions of four aspects of worker confidence, including perceived likelihood of job loss, perceived likelihood of a promotion, perceived likelihood of a raise and overall trust in company leadership. And when the results came in – they weren’t good. 

As all managers can tell you – employee satisfaction and confidence are key drivers for business productivity and profit. In fact, a recent Gallup study found that unsatisfied employees can cost the U.S. workforce a total of $300 billion per year.

Thankfully, employee confidence is a metric that can be influenced by a hands-on manager. Here are four ways that managers can raise their employees’ confidence and get their workforce productivity back on track. 

One of the best ways to raise employee confidence and prevent them from fearing job loss is to put in regular face time.

Building a relationship with your employees is crucial – not only because it helps to identify your employees’ fears and concerns, but also to maintain an understanding of when an employee is overperforming for their job title or paygrade.

Unfortunately, as few as 21% of American workers meet frequently with their boss. Here at Yoh, we strongly encourage senior staff to hold meetings with their employees bi-weekly at a minimum. Stronger rapports, and an understanding for both parties on how the employee is doing, with well-communicated improvement plans where necessary, will only raise their confidence and produce a stronger, more efficient workforce. It can also help managers identify what employees are being underutilized or mismanaged in ways that hinder their ability to contribute to the company’s and their own professional goals.  

Often, employees overthink and lose confidence simply because they have no real insight on how they’re actually performing – in fact, 65% of employees actively want more feedback than they currently receive.

But feedback meetings mean nothing if they aren’t accurate, honest and personalized. While it can be tough to give criticism, constructive feedback is essential for the employee’s understanding of their progress and role within the company. 

Feedback surrounding recent accomplishments, how they’re progressing and clear guidance on areas where they’re struggling are key elements of raising confidence levels in staff and giving them indicators for progress.  

Incentives are a great way to raise staff confidence and show your employees that they are valued. With employee confidence falling significantly, it’s more important than ever to properly reward your employees.
Showing a worker their progress with tiered rewards, from verbal praise to a raise and promotion when appropriate is key to showing employees they’re on the right track. It can also strengthen the essential relationship between employees and management. 

Being transparent with your employees is intrinsic to building trust in the company leadership. One way to go about this is to give employees a clear path for moving up in the company – including tangible examples of milestones to hit and candid guidance on how to get there.

Answering questions and using a structured, consistent process for career success is a surefire way for employers to raise the confidence of their employees in all avenues from job security to anticipation of a bump in title, or pay. 

Ultimately, employees that know exactly how to get to the next step will strive for it, growing your company and keeping employees confident about their abilities. 

With worker confidence declining, managers will need to focus on the person – not the numbers. The Worker Confidence Index shows that managers should be consistently checking the pulse of the workforce, and acting accordingly to keep confidence and ultimately morale up.

Companies that make time to show employees that they are valued, and offer personalized support to them, will set themselves up for long-term success with a confident, high-performing workforce.