Seven Ways to Boost Employee Morale

Boosting employee morale is key to consistent profitability and business growth. Yet as much as you'd like to reward top employees with cash, it's unsustainable and may even cause issues around the workplace, such as employees using dangerous shortcuts to quickly do their work. As an employer, the responsibility to make sure your employees are motivated and excited to go to work every day falls on your lap. Here are seven ways to get a boost in employee morale without spending unnecessary amounts of cash.

Make Them Realize the Bigger Picture

Your employees are part of your business, of something more important and bigger than themselves. However, they don't always know it. Your employees have to understand and share your company's vision as it will give them inspiration and motivation to work harder than they should without needing supervision. If all employees of a business work towards the same goals with the same level of tenacity and drive, growth can be realized at unprecedented speeds.

Recognize Individual Achievements

Even a simple pat on the back or a "job well done" when an employee does something good can be a powerful morale booster. Recognize individual team members who receive positive feedback from your customers. It's essential for employees to feel appreciated especially when they go above and beyond to get results. Acknowledge your employees privately or, better yet, pass on the positive feedback publicly during team meetings. If you do need to provide negative feedback, do so privately and attach it with proper corrections.

Promote From Within

When employees realize that there is no room for them to move up the career ladder, it can lead to a high turnover rate. Zero in on each employee's talents and find ways to expand the skills for future applications. As your business grows, the skill sets required to run it efficiently will change and broaden.

Host Occasional Retreats

Break the rut by organizing corporate picnics and get-togethers. It's become a common thread in corporate America for fast-growing companies to throw massive parties for their employees. From ski lodge retreats to summer picnics, it's a good way to boost the morale of everyone in the company, including you, all at the same time. You can rent bounce houses, face-painting stations, photo booths, and food trucks to spice up the event. A Chipotle catering service is another good idea to glam up your corporate event outdoors.

Educate Your Employees

Times are changing, and with it are the on-the-job requirements you need to be employed. Educate your employees and encourage them to learn continuously through online courses and seminars. According to Forbes, continuous learning is one of the quickest ways to engage your employees. Giving them the ability to learn responsibilities and skills beyond their pay grade or job description can boost their confidence and morale.

Offer Competitive Rates

While frequent cash incentives are unsustainable, offering employees with compensation, benefits, and perks that's above the industry average not only boosts employee morale but also invites the right talent into your workforce. Work with your accounting department or HR to work out more competitive compensation and benefits packages.

Think Outside the Box

If you've ever tuned in to the popular comedy sitcom "The Office", you may have seen an episode where they celebrate employee achievements through a made-up event called "the Dundies" where the host-slash-manager hands out plaques to show appreciation to his employees. Another out-of-the-box idea is to invent new traditions, such as ice cream Fridays or casual Tuesdays. These special occasions make it more fun to come in for work and solidify the unity of your workforce.

Boosting employee morale may not come off as an urgent or important matter in your day-to-day life as a manager/employer. Nonetheless, making sure that your workers are confident and satisfied with their professional environment and lifestyle can work wonders for your company's bottomline through increased productivity and lowered costs.