"My employees will be happy because they have to be." Well, that's not likely. An employee's happiness can affect your business in many ways. And unlike many business people believe, an employee's happiness does matter.
Let's start with how it affects your business. Have you ever been to Walmart? Their "mission statement" says that all employees should make the customer feel welcome, yet, they are infamous for having uncaring customers. In fact, grocery stores that focus on customer service are able to thrive off of how bad walmart's customer service is compared to others. Walmart's competitors can't compete with their prices on everything, but if they can do something else better, like customer service, they are able to pull clientele that are looking for an inviting atmosphere. I personally hate when an employee doesn't want to help me, doesn't ask me for help, or has an attitude when they are helping me. These are people getting paid to scare away customers! You have to give people a reason to WANT to come back. If you're rude or you don't provide adequate service, people will find another place to obtain that kind of service.
Many managers say, it doesn't matter if the employees are happy, because they are paid to work, not paid to be happy. I've heard this a lot and even more frightening, I've seen businesses that don't even realize that's how they are treating their employees. It's incredible how many people are working just to make money, not because it's their dream job. That right there, makes it hard to enjoy what you're doing when it seems mundane. If you want your employees to be happy, you have to show them appreciation. Nothing makes an employee feel better than simply being recognized for the hard work they do.
You have to give them proper training. You can't expect an employee to do the job right if they are only watching videos on how to do the job. Get in there and give them hands on training. Then after they are trained, keep coming back every so often to make sure everything is still going well.
You have to give them opportunities to try different positions or tasks. No one wants to do the same thing every single day. By changing things every now and then, it keeps people from getting burned out.
You have to have a positive attitude. The way you act at work and the way you treat your employees, affects them in a major way. Show them you love your job and you have a positive attitude. You'll see that it's infectious.
I once heard, you can't keep doing the same thing, expecting different results, and it's true. If you are wondering why your employees are lazy and don't seem to care, you need to try something different.