The economy has forced many companies to layoff workers, reduce salaries, and eliminate bonuses. With fewer employees, the workload may be significantly more substantial. Employees that are overworked or fear being laid off may exhibit a bad attitude or poor morale.
Chances are if you own a business, you are well aware of the direct correlation between employee morale and customer satisfaction. If employee morale is low, their attitudes and performance are most likely affecting your business.
Boosting employee morale doesn’t have to be costly or time consuming. There are many simple ways to boost employee morale in your everyday work setting.
1) Acknowledgment
Offering simple acknowledgments to an employee that has performed a job exceptionally well will quickly boost their morale. Recognize accomplishments and offer words of praise. You may consider having a quick meeting to highlight weekly accomplishments or even create a bulletin board that lists exemplary performance. The employee will appreciate that you notice their efforts and will strive to seek your recognition.
2) Rewards
You could consider offering small rewards for satisfactory work. Perhaps you could bring in donuts to share with a team of employees who worked hard to sell a new product. You may consider offering a paid hour off or extended lunch break as a reward. These rewards may seem small but they will motivate the employee to continue their hard work.
3) Management Interaction
A majority of employees complain that their bosses and supervisors do not even take the time to greet them in the morning. Many times employees wish to have their voices heard in the company. Spending a few moments each day with your employees will lead to discussions and perhaps new insight. It will also allow a first hand view of the issues that are being dealt with on a daily basis.
4) Respect
Although it seems obvious, members of management may not be giving employees the respect they deserve. If a supervisor laughs or ignores an employee’s suggestion, it may lead to resentment. If a suggestion is brought up, give it consideration and respond to it appropriately. If it cannot be implemented, explain why. If it is reasonable, implementing it could be a huge boost to that employee’s morale.
5) Environment
Create an environment that employees feel comfortable spending a great deal of time in. Be sure that there is proper lighting, heating, or air conditioning, as well as the tools and equipment that they need to function. Employee morale may be lower in the early morning hours, so you may consider offering coffee or tea to wake up your employees.
By implementing small changes, you will begin to notice a considerable boost in employee morale. Simply greeting them or asking how their weekend was can start the day off right. Surprise employees by offering rewards and words of acknowledgment.
During a time when employee morale may be at its lowest, management can take a few moments out of their day to ensure that they have happy employees that will lead to happy customers.
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