Work Environments That Work: A Healthy and Happy Office

Sales is a tough gig – without a happy office, your sales team will come in day after day unwilling to give it their all. Our calls demand that we are ready to take whatever comes our way. Coming into the office disinterested and apathetic to make calls and excel will create high turnover and lackluster results. What is it that makes Acquirent such a great place to work? Below are three ways that we make our office an office place to work, and how you can implement this within your own office.

A Happy Office Has Meaningful Incentives

We’re in sales to make money, and we work hard to make sure everything gets done. But work should be more than just a means to an end. Many companies will come up with fun incentives to get employees on the phones, but elevating things even further will ensure maximum productivity.

In our office, we have a special contest called President’s Club, where the top ten salespeople are given an all-expenses paid trip to Mexico. The flexibility of the rules allows new contests to earn chips towards this vacation at slow points throughout the year. The photos and stories that come back from this show how much fun the trip was, encouraging employees to try harder to get in on the next year.

Lower level incentive contests can also be implemented, but make sure that the rules are fun and the prize is meaningful. Small denominations of Amazon gift cards, for instance, can be used in the short term to promote good behavior. Know what motivates your employees, and use that to encourage them to get on the phones.

Team and Company Bonding

Outsourced sales means that people on our teams represent a variety of clients who handle things differently. In spite of that, we share the common identity of being Acquirent employees, and take pride in it. While we are seeing each other every day, we spend time outside of the office together as well. Happy hours, company picnics, and even comedy nights at Second City let us spend enjoyable time together.

Having events in the office can also promote productive behavior. For instance, we have events like #ThrowBackThursday, where employees submit photos of themselves when they were younger and display them on monitors around the office. Guessing which pictures of people are who is exciting for employees to see.

You don’t have to have after-hours events to have a happy company. But spending time outside of work lets people get to know each other and be friendly. This means the time spent in the office feels less like a competition and more like a team. Team communication means that employees can share sales ideas and cheer each other on. It means they’ll be on time to work knowing that they will be in the company of friends.

Encourage employees to spend time with each other outside of work. More often than not, that energy will enter the office. Happiness is contagious, and bolsters productivity.

A Happy Office Has Open Communication

Rigid corporate structures can be necessary for more serious, rule driven work like insurance policies. Some people thrive in these hierarchical environments. But more often than not, people are looking for jobs where they feel comfortable and welcome. Millennials in particular seek comfortable office work, and tech companies in particular have understood this need and how it drives talent to come to their doors. You hear all sorts of crazy things: yoga lessons in the office, dogs and cats coming in to visit, even decked out snack bars and cafeterias.

You don’t have to blow your whole budget on these sorts of odds and ends, but maintaining a casual environment can go far with retaining talent. Acquirent has an open office, meaning our CEO Joe Flanagan sits next to the rest of us, and our managers sit next to every team. Maintaining this open concept allows greater communication and less siloed divisions between management and the sales teams.

Communication and cordiality are two important aspects that any office should look to maintain and foster. As soon as the trust between people is broken, it becomes difficult if not impossible to regain. This kind of open office format ensures a sense of honesty and trust.

Conclusion

There are plenty of ways to make your office a happy office. Going the extra mile to make your employees excited to come into work comes with all sorts of unwritten perks. Choose to make your office a better place, and the quality, productivity, and energy of your work place will improve.