No two people are the same. The success of the business lies in its ability to identify the needs of its workforce and create an environment which has the power to satisfy them to a great extent. A highly motivated, self satisfied workforce is a treasure to the company. But understanding their needs which are highly susceptible to the changes is by no means an easy task.

The employee expectations are wide and varied. Some work for the love of it, while some use the work to fill the time. A few are motivated by the challenges imposed by the changes in the economic and technical environment. Others use the job as a medium to prove themselves and savour the satisfaction they get from it while most work for money. Whatever be the base line, people expect personal and professional happiness from the job they are involved with.

People expect a fair and positive culture from the organisation without any room for personal prejudices in the evaluation of the work done. An ethical company which gives great importance to the needs of the people have high chances of retaining its people. The company policies and the procedures should be standardised to avoid misinterpretation of them. People expect the company to redraft its policies taking into account the changes in the market scenario, government policies, etc in such a way that it turns out to be beneficial to the employees. For example, the pay structure must be redrafted to incorporate the budgetary changes, the general standard of living prevalent in the market, competitor policy, etc.

Employees expect the company to create opportunities for their growth. Internal job opportunities for instance help the employees to spread their wings to different areas of work within the organisation. Similarly, training and developmental programs must be conducted to make the employees adept to the challenges laid down by the technical and business environment. With globalisation, the need for cross cultural training has become inevitable and the employees also count on the company to provide opportunities to work close with the customer in his premises to prove himself, thereby improve his self confidence.

With regard to the management, the people demand a good communication system which removes any barrier to free information within all levels of the organisation so as to ensure smooth functioning of the operations. An informal organisation is what the people require from a company. Similarly they rely on a good evaluation system and a promotional and incentive plan based on an unbiased and systematic method of performance evaluation. The employees must be given a free hand to take decisions with less interference from the higher levels of management. This improves their confidence, and helps them make the right decisions during the time of crisis. The success of a team leader and a manager lies in his ability to make quick and quality decisions.

An employee perception survey aids in having a clear understanding of the employee needs and this lay the pathway to the company’s success backed by a highly motivated and driven workforce.