If you are responsible for employees, either as a manager or
a business owner (or both), you'll need to take care of them. This is not just
because you have a moral duty to do so (although you do), but because when your
team are happy and they feel safe at work, they'll work harder, be more
efficient and productive, and be more loyal to your business. This is crucial
if you want to be able to trust them to do their work and not have to
micromanage every tiny element of the business, which is time-consuming, uncomfortable,
and ultimately detrimental to everyone and everything.
So, it's vital that you understand how to boost employee
morale to ensure everyone is happy to do their best at all times. Yet knowing
this and putting ideas into action can be hard “ there are many different
things to think about. With that in mind, read on for some ideas about how to
get started so that you can ensure your employees are as productive and happy
as possible and that morale within the business is high.
Know How To Manage Change
The world of business changes often, and it doesn't matter
what sector or niche you are working in; change is sure to happen. This could
be a change in business practices, a change in the law, or perhaps a change in
how business is conducted “ after all, we recently had a big change in which
many people started to work from home.
Changes can come in a variety of different ways, but one
thing all these ways have in common is that you need to know how to manage the changes. If you can do that, employee morale will be
boosted. If you can't manage changes and either ignore them or expect your team
to handle them without any help, morale will plummet.
Ignoring change within business means that you'll fall
behind your competition and that your customers will start to notice you're not
as efficient or as modern and up to date as you could be. You'll lose business,
and your team (working hard to keep customers happy and to do their jobs well)
will start to wonder why they are bothering to try. Equally, if you are happy
to have change happen but you leave it to your team to deal with, they'll feel
as though you're not helping them (because you're not) and perhaps don't care “
again, productivity and morale will fall.
Understand that even if you like your team to work
autonomously, you still have ultimate control, and if changes need to be made,
you need to be the one making them.
Challenge Your Employees
Employees who have a repetitive job can easily get bored,
even if the job is a necessary one. Doing the same thing over and over will
become dull no matter how enthusiastic someone might be at the start or who
much they want to do well. Equally, if the job someone is given is too hard for
them, they'll be unable to move forward and they'll start to feel as though
they might as well not try hard because they can't do it anyway.
In order to get the best out of your team, you need to
challenge your employees so they're not bored, but not give them so much of a
challenge that they give up and stop trying. It's your task to determine where
that perfect middle ground lies, as hitting this ideal sweet spot will produce
the best work and ensure good morale within your team.
This might involve offering your employees the right
training and tools so they can do their job properly. It might also mean that
you ensure they know you're there if they need you, for example if they have
questions about the task you have set them. In this way, they can be happier
and more confident doing tasks that challenge them, knowing that they have some backup should they
need it. They'll feel more accomplished when the job is done too, helping them
understand they can do more if they want to. As you can see, this would
increase morale quite easily, and it's a simple thing to do once you know what
everyone's strengths and weaknesses are.
Have A Good Onboarding Process
If you want your team to have good morale, it really needs
to start from the beginning. If someone joins your organization and they are
put off from the start because they are just thrown in at the deep end, or they
realize that no one really feels comfortable in their jobs, there will be very
little morale around. These new employees may even feel so uncomfortable that
they leave very soon after being hired, meaning all the time, effort, and
expense to find them is wasted, and you'll have to start all over again.
When it comes to the onboarding of new employees, it's crucial you set the right tone from the start. Have
a set of processes in place so that everyone who joins gets the same training
and information and is taken care of in the same way. This will help them get
settled in and ensure that those around them who have been through the process
before can help them if they have any questions (which will help to foster a
sense of team immediately).
The onboarding process is not something that you can make up
as you go and it's worth taking the time to think it through and put the right
systems in place. From a tour of the office to a physical handbook as well as plenty of training, it all needs to be in
place from the start.
Have Regular Team Building Activities
You might not think that team building activities are a
great idea. After all, doesn't it mean everyone will be out of the office for
the day and no work will get done? Although that is accurate, the results you
get from the activities you all participate in will be worth one day of
unanswered emails and calls to be returned tomorrow.
Note that we said these should be activities you all
participate in. This means you as well as your employees. If you can be as involved as possible, your team will look on you more favorably. You don't have to be
everyone's friend (and it's often best to stay a little apart because
discipline and an objective view are all but impossible when you're friends
with someone), but joining in and being part of the team does mean a lot, and
it is something that can help with morale.
Team building in general is a great morale booster. Spending
time with colleagues away from the office gives everyone the chance to get to
know people better. When this happens, they will be happier at work and
therefore more productive, which leads to better morale.
On top of this, you can use the opportunity to look at
people's strengths and weaknesses which, as we mentioned above, will help you
challenge them in the right way. Doing this in an office environment is not
always easy, so taking everyone out of that environment and looking at what
they can do and, perhaps more importantly, what they are willing to do, is a
great way to help yourself help them and boost morale at the same time.
Pay Attention To Their Physical And Mental Wellbeing
Morale is directly linked to how an employee is feeling. If
they are unwell in any way, morale will be lower “ they'll just want to get
their work done and get home. Or they might not come to work at all.
Of course, you can't control whether they get sick or not,
but you can do things to take care of their physical and mental wellbeing to
reduce the chances. At the very least, it will show that you care, and this can
be enough to boost morale anyway.
It may sound like a good idea to push your workforce as far
as they can go, but this is not good for anyone, and is more likely to lead to
burnout than to good work. It certainly won't improve morale. The best thing
you can do is take care of your team by offering things such as a nice break room, free coffee and healthy snacks, duvet days when they are needed, and
other incentives. Your workers will do the hard work needed without being
pushed, and you can ensure they don't go too far.
Communicate Your Vision
If you want your workers to do their best and to understand what you need from them “ and to do so with a good level of morale “ you'll need to communicate your vision to them. You can't expect them to work hard and push forward happily if you don't let them know what the ultimate goals are for the business. How will they know what to work towards if you don't tell them?
Not only will communicating your vision help you team understand what they are working towards, but it
will boost morale because it proves you trust and appreciate them enough to
tell them your goals and dreams. No matter what those goals and dreams might
be, informing your employees about them is a sure way to boost morale quickly.