When Gap bucked the trend and said it would raise the minimum wage of its employees, it made headline news and brought out those that in favour of it those that are not. Those who prefer that minimum wages remain at record lows, cite it will kill jobs, wherein employers will see profits erode and will in turn outsource those jobs to third world countries. Proponents of wage hikes scoff at the idea and state that a large percentage of the economy is driven by consumer spending and not the stock market. In other words, increase the wage of the employees and they in turn, will spend. In short order, when employees with discretionary income spend the economy spikes, which in turn creates jobs in the very communities where they spend.

It’s important to note that wage hikes in and of itself is not sufficient to tether employees to their jobs. In addition to a wage/salary that’s commensurate to the employees’ work, the environment in which employees perform their task is just as important. So what makes for happy employees? For some companies this is a no brainer, while for others it is herculean task.

Karsten Strauss of Forbes.com sought the advice of Leonard J. Glick, Professor of management and organizational development at Boston’s Northeastern University, and penned an article with the following tips: “7 Ways To Keep Your Employees Happy (And Working Really Hard)” Here are 3 out of the 7:

Money Matters (But Not As Much As You Think)
Compensation packages are a big deal when employees are hired, but once a deal has been struck the source of motivation tends to shift. “The motivation comes from the things I’ve been talking about—the challenge of the work, the purpose of the work, the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to contribute,” Glick explained. When it comes to finding a salary that will allow your employees to feel they’re being paid fairly, don’t bend over backwards to lowball them. If you do, they will eventually find out and not be happy. “If the salary were open, is it defensible?”

Keep Your Team Informed
Business leaders have a clearer perspective on the bigger picture than their employees do. It pays to tell those under you what’s going on. “Things that managers take for common knowledge about how things are going or what challenges are down the road or what new products are coming… they often don’t take the time to share that with their employees,” Glick said. Spreading the intel lets everyone in on the lay of theland and at the same time strengthens the feeling among workers that they are an important part of the organization.

Your Employees Are Adults—Treat Them Like It
In any business there is going to be bad news. Whether it’s to do with the company as a whole or an individual within the organization, employees need to be dealt with in a straightforward and respectable manner. “They can handle it, usually,” said Glick. If you choose to keep your people in the dark about trying times or issues, the fallout could be a serious pain in the neck. “The rumors are typically worse than reality. In the absence of knowledge people make things up.”

You can read the article in its entirety on forbes.com Maybe, your company meets or exceeds all of the advice being dispensed in this article. If so, you are on the right track.

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