Few will argue the positive impact of implementing proactive measures within a business to boost employee morale. However, it is the execution of these well-intended programs that are often the cause of more unhappiness within employees. As we all know, an unhappy employee is a direct cause of low productivity and a low bottom line. Often leaders such as managers, supervisors, or directors will see negative results and simply think that the employees just don’t want to work. As we all know, this cannot be further from the truth. Therefore, we’ve compiled our top seven ways to boost your employee morale properly and effectively.
One of the easiest things to do when it comes to employee morale is to create an open and honest line of communication with your employees. This, however, does not mean stating that “My door is always open” as it often leads to little or no communication. Instead, take action and speak to your staff on a regular basis. Take short breaks, walk around the office, and spark up a casual conversation. You will be surprised by how much people will open up to you. In addition, this line of communication can possibly help you with conflicts between co-workers and even yourself. If you and an employee enter arbitration, avoid a lengthy arbitration process. Doing so will be better for all parties involved and allow you to continue with your goals.
One of the most misunderstood concepts about invectives in the workplace is that you don’t have to offer thousands of dollars in prizes or bonuses. Business leaders tend to make the mistake of either being so cheap to the point of being insulting with their incentives to being so grandiose that it discourages their staff. The sweet spot, so to speak, of an effective incentive, is offering something that the employee know is attainable and useful during their everyday work life. A few great examples of this are purchasing them a brand-new office chair, extra time for lunch, bring a pet to work and so on. As you can see, these incentives are not breaking the bank but are also not offending your employees.
One of the most frustrating things as an employee is constantly finding ways to get lunch and eat before our break is over. A great way to increase employee morale is to provide this service to your employees at least once or twice a week. Not only will they appreciate the gesture, but you’ll always have your employees in the office ready to get back to work as soon as lunch is over. If you’re a smaller business who may not have the budget for this, consider still doing this for your employees but maybe once a month. Although not readily visible, these types of actions do carry great ROIs for your business in the form of productivity.
Earlier, we spoke about opening a line of communication with your employees. As stated, we deem verbal communication extraordinarily useful in allowing employees to be heard. However, not all employees are open to sitting down with the boss and pouring their hearts out. This is where employee feedback comes into play. One of the best ways to gather feedback from your employees is through an anonymous online survey. This strategy allows even the most reserve of employees to have their voices heard. After all, it’s called employee morale, not some employees and some not morale. In addition, the act of receiving feedback can often help improve small are large misunderstandings about your own performance with the company.
One of the most popular incentives right now is the rewarding of time off or vacation time for hours worked. This can be a very effective tactic that benefits both the employee and the employer. Although most large companies already offer a set amount of vacation time, employees will no doubt work hard to earn a little bit more extra time off from work. This is also a good thing for the mental health of employees as there is a need for a healthy work-life balance.
As a new generation of people enters the workplace, so do new preferences. One of these is the yearning to work from home. Although most jobs require you to go into an office, business leaders as quickly realizing that having people work from home can be used as an incentive to increase employee morale. Data has supported this with a recent study showing that over 36 percent of Americans would choose the ability to work from home over a pay raise. Similar to vacation time, the incentive of working from home is a big win-win situation for both parties. Employers receive better, more accurate work and employees can be at home spending time with their family without having to sacrifice a paycheck for that week.
Although incentives area great tool to pick up employee morale, there is nothing better than assurance. Assurance that their hard work is being seen, appreciated and eventually rewarded. Therefore, we highly recommend developing a real promotion plan for your staff. Creating a promotion plan provides your employees with the motivation to work hard every single day for something that should pay off in the future. Although small incentives such as free chairs and bring your pet to work are great, they are often not enough from some employees who are only determined to grow with the company. A good promotion plan is one that is measurable, fair and realistically implementable by the business over the long-term.
Running a business is challenging enough, but business owners and managers must never forget that their success starts and ends with their employees. When employee morale is high, you can expect great productivity and results from them. Simply adhere to the list above, and you’ll no doubt lay the foundation for positive results.
