Maintaining Employee Morale

The value of employee morale to your company’s bottom-line and productivity is absolute. After all, happy employees are more likely to deliver more productivity. In fact, according to a study published by the University of Warwick, happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy ones. While that’s no big news to most independent retailers, maintaining a high employee morale is a whole different story.

We get it: realizing high worker morale is only half the journey, and finding a way to maintain them motivated is a long-term solution to keeping productivity elevated.

1: Have Daily Mini-Meetings

Who wants yet another boring morning meeting, right? But, if your workforce is down in the dumps, your productively is likely to suffer. That’s why a small huddle meeting every morning can help jostle morale and make employees feel more like a family.

These meetings could be held at team level or companywide. Either way, the employees will use these opportunities to air their issues and share their action plans. More important, a daily standing huddle can help create a sense of belonging and inject a shot of energy.

2: Encourage The Culture of Feedback

There’s nothing that motivates employees quite like feeling part of the big picture of the company. It instills a sense of responsibility and accountability in them. That’s why you need to encourage the culture of sharing, openness, and transparency — these are the most effective ways to bring about positive change in the workplace.

If you’re forward-thinking, there’s a good chance that you’re constantly giving performance appraisals to your employees, so why not let them have a chance to offer their feedback, too? Open and transparent communication makes sure that your employees feel heard and that their issues are being handled. More than that, feedback allows them to channel their frustration and opens doors to fresh ideas.

3: Sizzle Up the Schedule

When the productivity is in a rut, it’s high time you break the monotony of your company routine. In other words, you need to switch up the schedule so you infuse freshness and shake up workplace culture. For example, you can allow your employees to come late on Mondays so they get over weekend excitements and start their workdays rejuvenated and focused.

4: Practice the Art of Saying “Thank You”

This two-word phrase can do wonders for your employee morale. They might seem simple, but these two magical words can make employees feel appreciated and valued. The trick is to be as specific as possible whenever you say thank you.

5: Recognize your Employees — Often!

Sometimes, a simple “thank you” might not do the trick. You need to go above and beyond to recognize your employee’s contribution and hard work. It has been found to have a profound effect on not only retention but also productivity. According to a survey conducted by WMT, 78% of employees feel motivated when they’re recognized. The bottom line is that you need to make recognition of employees a habit and celebrate team successes.