April 29, 2012
Employee Morale & Leadership Goodwill
As a manager, leader and entrepreneur you have a responsibility to ensure employees are interested and happy in the work that they do, and in the environment where they work in.
There are things you can do to change up the environment and make it more positive for your valued staff, leading to improved employee morale.
Here are some low-cost ideas that will have big impacts to employee morale:
Recognition to Build Employee Morale
In your weekly meetings, whether it’s a stand up meeting, conference call or through video-conferencing, take the time to frequently identify and recognize specific team members or units for their achievements and success. As part of your core duties on a regular basis, you should be engaging with staff and scanning through your units for performance highlights. Keep in mind you want to recognize all in phases, so that all who are putting in efforts are recognized. Even the small successes should be recognized. With recognition, staff will feel valued and morale in the organization will pick up.
Spend Time and Listen to Your Employees
You will gain much respect as a leader if you take the time to listen to employees about their concerns, either in operations or the personal challenges they all face. You will understand your operational issues better the more frequently you engage at the ground level. Employees will feel more valued if they are listened to and if they feel their input will have an impact on change.
Fruit Rewards to Improve Employee Morale (and Health)
Every once and awhile bring in a prepared fruit platter for your team to share during breaks and lunch hour. Throw in an exotic fruit or highlight local produce to raise attention and interest in what you are providing to staff. In providing a small token of appreciation, staff will realize that you are giving back. On your side, you are providing something of nutrition value, promoting a healthy work environment. If you are in an area where local fruit is plentiful, bring in fruit care packages for staff to take home. Staff will appreciate this as some may not have the time to pick up the produce and will take this home to share with their family in the healthy initiative.
Volunteer Day
Many employees are either engaged or would like to be engaged in volunteer activities. In your benefits package to employees ensure you include a paid day per year for employees to partake in volunteer activities. Provided that it does not impact your essential services, allow employees to pick, choose and schedule in a day to dedicate to good causes. Give them the opportunity to do a bit of sharing and promoting of causes at your business. Not only is this a good notion for employees and for community, but it also build solid relationships for your business with the community and organizations in need.
Special Guests Build Employee Morale
Bring in a special guest to speak on topics that could benefit your staff. You could encourage a partnering firm to come in and speak about a topic or have a motivation speaker enlighten the crowd. Inviting in and scheduling in a speaker could make your work environment more interesting and gives your team a break from the sometimes monotonous work duties. To keep your costs down on such an activity, make arrangements for mutual exchanges, or if there is a added benefit for the person to come, they may come at no charge.
As an entrepreneur, always gauge your team for the level of workplace satisfaction and employee morale. With some back pocket strategies for employee morale building, your team will perform better and will stay with your business longer as an employer of choice.
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© 2012 Strategy Plan One
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