The 9 fundamentals of raising employee morale
One key idea to keep in mind as you pursue employee happiness is that while you can create an environment that fosters motivation, you cannot motivate your team. Motivation is an internal response to the right set of circumstances. It comes from within.
The 9 fundamentals of raising employee morale and keeping it high are...
1.Communicate
Employees want to be informed. As a regular part of your scheduled activities, share appropriate
company information with your staff. Add a department/ division/ company update as a regular agenda
item for your team meetings. If you keep your employees informed, you can reduce the amount of
time and energy they would otherwise waste gossiping or complaining about the company, and
potentially neutralize the negativity such behavior perpetuates.
Show your employees that you trust them with important information and respect their need to know
about issues affecting the company and, in turn, their livelihoods. Introduce quarterly “town hall”
meetings, whether in person or via conference call, where the company leaders provide an overview
of key organizational issues and invest time to answer questions and listen to concerns.
Be cautious,however, in times of change or when talking about the future. It’s better to be selective and share onlywell-defined plans and confirmed information. Saying that something will happen and then producingresults builds trust. Saying that something will happen and not delivering breeds mistrust.
Honesty is the most important element in any communication. Talk with your employees with genuine
interest. People can detect insincerity or “corporate speak,” so speak openly and put your full attention
to any conversation.
2.Define expectations
Employees feel competent when they know what is expected. Establish a mutual understanding of
responsibilities and priorities with each of your employees, and promptly discuss any changes caused
by organizational shifts.
The position description is a good tool for this process. Move beyond the vague and basic outline of
duties to a more detailed account of specific tasks.For example, rather than simply stating that the employee will prepare reports, identify the frequency,specific topics and elements of the reports.
For consistency within your team, begin with a standardtemplate outlining all common, departmental responsibilities, and then work with each employee topersonalize the description to fit his or her individual role.
An employee who knows exactly what isexpected performs better and is more productive.
3.Set goals
Meeting goals can give employees a sense of achievement. Invest time each month, each quarter
and/ or each year to discuss an employee’s future within the company. Work together with each team
member to review expectations for a definite time period and establish individual SMART* goals.
Makean effort to align individual goals with organizational goals so your employees can see how their
actions contribute to the company’s success. Accountability is important, so check in with employees
regularly to monitor progress, identify obstacles and, if necessary, modify goals.
A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-framed. For example: Make
direct contact (e.g., phone conversation, face-to-face meeting) with 85% of client list by the end of the
third quarter.
The goal is specific in stating that the employee makes direct contact with clients. It’smeasurable because it quantifies the percentage of clients the employee must contact. The goal isattainable and realistic if the employee incorporates this activity into a weekly schedule. It’s alsotime-framed because the completion date is clearly stated.
4.Treat employees with respect
A culture of respect tends to be driven first by those in the leadership role. Making the effort to treat
every employee with respect as a person and as a valuable member of the organization will help you
earn your team’s respect and loyalty. Additionally, your actions will set a tone for other members of
your team and help cultivate a respectfulenvironment at all levels.
You can respect your employees’ needs as workers by providing the appropriate resources (equipment,technology, training, etc.) necessary to perform their jobs well. You’ll show respect for an employee’spersonal needs when you acknowledge family responsibilities with scheduling flexibility. Listening toemployees concerns and incorporating their suggestions into the team’s day-to-day activitiesclearly demonstrates your respect for their experience.
5.Recognize performance
Employees want to feel appreciated. Let your employees know that you’re aware of their work by
providing continual feedback. This feedback can be as simple as a thank you (verbal or a written note)
that recognizes their contribution to the team effort or a more formal discussion to review progress
toward their goals.
When offering praise, do so as quickly as possible after the action and be specificto show that you’re really paying attention – say “Your graphs really made those financials stand out!”rather than “The report looked great!”
Not all feedback must be praise, but all feedback should be constructive. Begin a constructiveconversation by acknowledging good points and then discussing improvements for future projects.
Always discuss opportunities for improvement privately and focus on the actions, not the person.
Use these discussions to redirect the employee before the issue becomes a bigger problem. Conclude
the conversation with the reassurance that you’re confident that the next effort will be even better.
6.Celebrate success
Celebration boosts team spirit. Go all out with a catered luncheon or keep it simple with an ice cream
social, but bring everyone together. Sharing organizational success company-wide shows all employees that you value each person’s contribution as a component of the company’s overall success.
In smaller teams, you can make the celebration a team-building event by taking time to revisit thesuccess and allowing each team member to talk about their personal contributions or achievementsthat resulted in the success. These discussions validate everyone’s role and reinforce the good experience.
7.Offer opportunity for professional development
Most people want to improve themselves. Make an investment in your employees’ success byproviding access to professional training that will help them to perform their jobs better. Discusstraining options with your staff, identify the most appropriate development topics, and includeprofessional development in each employee’s position description. By making development one ofyour employees’ responsibilities, you place a high value on it and allow each person to take ownershipof his or her ongoing education.
Additionally, your support for employees’ professional development demonstrates a commitment tohelping employees reach the goals you’ve set together (see #3).
8.Create community
Good relationships with supervisors and co-workers are essential. Employees who feel they are a
valuable part of the organization will invest more time and effort in creating the company’s success.
Seek employee input and ask for their help in shaping the issues that affect them. Where appropriate,
create employee committees and focus groups to develop and evaluate new policies, processes or benefits.
Encourage teamwork that compels interaction and knowledge sharing among co-workers and
among departments to develop a sense of belonging and contribution to the work community. Formalgroups like multi-disciplinary project teams keep ideas moving throughout the organization and allow everyone to benefit from lessons learned. Plus, teams can bring together co-workers who may not otherwise interact.
9.Have fun
Who doesn’t want to have fun? Create a culture where fun is a priority and you can work toward implementing a few of the other actions discussed above – and have a good time doing it. Celebratesuccess (#6) with employee gatherings like pizza parties or milk-and-cookie breaks that givemanagement the opportunity to communicate with employees, either as a group or in one-to-oneconversations (#1), and provide a venue to recognize employees and teams for their contributions(#5).
Offer creative training sessions that focus on personal development skills that contribute toprofessional success (#7). Introduce goal-based contests to build individual team spirit and foster ahealthy competition among teams or departments (#3 and #8).
Plan family events such as volunteerdays or company picnics to acknowledge the employee’s life outside of work (#4) and to encourageemployees to interact socially and learn more about each other (#8).
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