When you manage employees, it can be hard to keep morale high. Unfortunately, employees stop giving their all when a department’s mood takes a downturn. It’s far too common to deal with last-minute call-ins or compliance issues when job satisfaction is low.
It’s common knowledge that happy employees stay around and offer good service. When you’ve got employees working for you that want to be there, they put in their best work and want to see the company grow. Sometimes finding this level of enthusiasm can seem impossible, but you don’t have to lose heart.
Boosting your employees’ morale has a lot to do with how they feel and are treated. With a few simple tips, you’ll be inspiring your employees in no time. Here are a few ways you can do that.
Be Real
The last thing you want is for your employees to feel stressed every time you walk around. Finding things that inspire people is more than having a checklist. People understand authenticity, and if you are treating your employees like humans and not just a number, that’s a great start to helping them feel valued.
Talk to your employees, find out what they are struggling with on the job, and genuinely help them learn. It’s not hard to look at the multipliers of why an employee wouldn’t say anything when they don’t understand their job. If a worker is pointed out or written up for not catching on as quickly as the company would like, then your employees will be operating under stress and overwhelm, which will create a cycle of mistakes and cover-ups.
Be authentic and meet your employees where they are at.
Have Clear Expectations
It’s tough to keep a positive attitude in a work role when your employees are getting mixed signals. Make sure their job duties are outlined clearly and the same for each person in their role. Mistakes easily happen when a worker isn’t sure which process is the correct one, especially if several employees handle a job and procedure differently.
Help your workers know what is expected of them by making their roles and job duties clear. Keep your door open for questions if they need assistance and clarity. Training is a key communication process; if your training department does its job well, your employees should understand their role and the processes to operate it.
Reward & Incentivise
It’s surprisingly easy to inspire gratitude in employees when they feel valued. No one wants to feel overworked and underpaid. Treat your employees well, and reward them if they go above and beyond their role.
Having a reward system in place can help a worker feel appreciated and want to stay in their job, doing their best, because they know their work matters and is recognized. The key to rewarding and incentivizing employees comes down to how you treat them.
For this system to work, you must ensure the rewards are valuable and not childish. That includes bonuses, usable gift cards, vacation time, etc. Your employees are adults, and it should matter if they’ve put in hard work for your company. Don’t undercut them by offering candy or something trivial for their work. If you do, they will understandably look elsewhere for employment.
Value matters. Show your workers they are worth investing in.
Sparking inspiration and boosting employee morale can feel like climbing up a hill. It isn’t easy to retain a high night. Still, it is possible with time spent being real, quality training and goals, and lastly, valuing your employees enough to reward them appropriately. If you can do these things, you’ll have employees who want to stay and do their best.
