Morale within the workplace doesn’t measure happiness within an organization, but it directly correlates to how solid a company’s culture is. When employees feel supported and placed in an environment that focuses on their development, they will bring the best version of themselves into their profession each day.
Good employee morale leads to increased productivity and lower turnover, and what hiring manager or member of a leadership team wouldn’t want that?
So, how do you boost employee morale within an organization?
Embrace Transparency
Any employee respects a leader who communicates honestly with them. Every manager should address issues and keep direct reports informed with any company updates or communications they need to know about. Also, sharing positive information, like encouraging feedback on a job well done or positive customer reviews, can impact morale. Loyalty and trust are both built off transparent communication. If an employee trusts leadership within the company they work, they will be more apt to give the job their all and less apt to leave.
Prioritize Training
Making sure employees coming into an organization are onboarded appropriately is common practice, but where the ball is sometimes dropped is when it comes to managerial training. Training should consist of every aspect of a manager’s job responsibilities because leaders affect morale tremendously. These include effective communication, delivering feedback, providing recognition when appropriate, and working within their specific style. What happens when a company doesn’t prioritize training? Keeping well-trained employees benefits companies because the cost of employee turnover can be high, with studies showing that the cost of replacing employees increases with the level of the employee from C-Suite, down.
Also, employees with a sense of purpose and goals to work towards are driven more by motivation than those who don’t. Therefore, companies who invest in the development of their employees experience a boost in productivity. Studies have shown that organizations with a career development program experience up to 250% higher productivity.
Provide Valuable Experience
Make sure employees know how valuable they are. Think of the response you have when you feel appreciated? You might walk around with your head a little higher and more pep in your step. Workplace recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment, and makes employees feel valued for their work.
Employees also feel valued when asked for their feedback. It proves that the leadership team cares about what their staff thinks. When employees feel listened to, they tend to put in more effort or motivation towards the goals set by their leaders. Soliciting feedback is just the first step. The next is for leadership to act on the information provided. Every piece of feedback doesn’t have to be implemented, but it needs to be taken into consideration.
Offer Incentives
Who doesn’t want to work for a company that offers great incentives? These don’t have to be extravagant but can be as simple as encouraging genuine lunch breaks. With only 1-in-5 people actually taking a lunch break, this can be a great place for companies to establish their stance on the importance of giving employees the ability to decompress and refresh. Other incentive ideas include offering the option of a flexible schedule, publicly recognizing employees for a job well done, giving a day off for their birthday, or allowing them to dress casually on a specific day of the week or particular occasions.
What does your company do that helps to boost employee morale, or what do you wish your company did to boost morale? Join the conversation on LinkedIn and check out How to Find the Job You Want Post-Covid.
