4 Ways to Increase Employee Morale
One of the largest issues in employee staffing is retention. The cost of employee turnover is high, and as a staffing agency, we go to great lengths to vert candidates in order to avoid this problem. However, there are things a company can do to reduce the chances of losing employees. Implement the following four tips to improve employee morale and reduce the incidences of employee turnover.
Give Employees the Gift of Time
Its been shown that a large percentage of employees check in with their jobs even when on vacation. While seeking and praising those employees with strong work ethic is good practice, encouraging employees to tune out on vacation is important for preventing burnout.
Many employers are now offering additional incentives as it pertains to time: increased flexibility with daily hours, a four-day workweek, unlimited vacation, and work-from-home opportunities. While this is new to many who have been in the workforce for a couple of decades, younger employees have come to expect this and often reward employers who provide these benefits.
Public Recognition
It is important to reward employees who go above and beyond the job description. This has a two-fold purpose as it
a) publically rewards the employee for his hard work, showing that this effort has not gone unnoticed, and
b) provides an example of the type of behavior that is rewarded to other staff members.
While ideas such as awarding an employee of the month are not new, still many companies do not implement this tactic. Many business owners expect employees to match their effort, however, this is a high expectation considering they are employees and do not have an ownership stake in the business.
Employee Development
Perhaps the most rewarding investment one can make in his or her employees, encouraging and even funding employee development or continued education is a wonderful way to create high morale while also constantly improving the value of employees.
Many employers in the past have worried that if they were to foot the bill for employee development, the employee would then take these skills elsewhere and benefit another employer. This fear-based thinking is often faulty and counterproductive. Employees reward those employers that invest and believe in them.
Will some take those skills elsewhere? It’s certainly possible, but basing the amount one invests in their employees, for this reason, is inadvisable.
Encourage Feedback
Asking employees to anonymously provide feedback about their experience is a terrific way of gauging employee morale without employees having fear of reprisal.
Building company culture is a top-down process, and employees’ experience will often reflect the attitude and management style of the owner or higher-up employees. It’s important to get specific feedback on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, allowing one to fix widespread issues and complaints before they lead to employees seeking jobs elsewhere.
Prioritize Employees
Considering the experience of customers or clients largely depends on interaction with employees, it’s imperative to ensure your team is a happy one.
While this is not a complete list, these four ways of improving morale and company culture are an excellent starting point to show employees they are appreciated and important. An attitude of indifference will not only lead to high employee turnover, but it will also kill the morale of those employees still working. In today’s digital world, negative employee reviews, as well as customer reviews based on negative interaction, can greatly affect the company’s bottom line.
Building company culture and prioritizing the morale of one’s staff is important in many respects. A happy employee will provide a return on investment many times over.