A Happy Workforce is Productive
Do your employees drag themselves into work? Does the lack of laughter sadden your workday? If so, your employees may need a morale boost.
Low employee morale can lead to high turnover, low productivity and poor collaboration. Unhappy employees tend to seek out better, more fulfilling employment, leaving the organization they just left in real trouble. Employee morale can make or break the success of a company, believe me I know from first-hand experience. When I worked in a happy environment, everyone knew it from the clients to the cleaning staff. And when I didn’t like where I was, the same held true.
Here are four ways to help with morale.
Promote From Within
When your employees see that there is room to advance their career in the organization, it motivates them to work harder. Many people take on entry-level jobs with the expectation of moving up the ladder.
Learn your employee’s skills and talents and find ways to develop these skills for future opportunities. When you have stellar employees, invest in training. Give them assignments to help them grow and learn new things. Most importantly, offer advancement opportunities within if possible.
When I was with IBM years ago, the policy was always to promote from within and it truly made a difference. All new employees had to start at the same level and the ones that worked hard and had value to offer, moved through the organization quickly. Although I don’t know her well, I am proud to say I worked with Ginni Rometty (the current CEO of IBM). She is a career IBMer who worked hard and made her way to the top.
Offer Paid Time Off
Most workplaces already offer a certain number or days or hours of paid time off. But you can take it a step further. Offer your employees a few hours a month paid time off to volunteer in their community. It’s great press for the organization, and your team members will appreciate giving back.
Show You Care
Recognize every single employee’s birthday. Celebrate work anniversaries. Send gifts for new babies and weddings. Being involved in your employee’s lives makes them feel loved and valued not only as an employee, but as a part of the work family. Building strong relationships with your employees provides them with the chance to feel comfortable coming to you with other work related issues.
Bring On the Fun
A company that plays together, stays together. Hold a company carnival with dunk tanks (get the boss in one), face painting and snow cones. Take your employees on a winter retreat with skiing, massages, and hot cocoa. Host holiday parties and catered dinners. Having these kinds of celebrations allows employees to relax outside of the workplace.
On a smaller scale, you can make the workplace more fun. At my son’s employer they had a pool table and ping pong table in the breakroom. Get a jukebox and let employees take turns choosing music. Create a giant scrabble board for employees to challenge each other. Encouraging interaction between your employees with foster stronger bonds.
Another great way to build relationships in a fun way is to schedule a team building day. Larry Lipman of Fun Team Building can create an event that is custom to your organization. Activities such as ice breaker games and ropes courses are proven to break down barriers and bring teams closer together.
Boost Morale With A Team Building Event!
Larry Lipman of Fun Team Building is ready to help you motivate your team to success. Larry will travel to you to help meet your team’s needs. Give Larry a call at 770-333-3303 today to schedule your team building event today.