How does improving morale prevent high turnover?
It is well known that when employees are not happy with their work, or are overly stressed, a business's bottom line suffers.
Also, low morale is a major player in an employee's decision to leave a business or company. Regardless of the job market, losing valuable employees can put businesses in tough situations. Finding ways to retain employees and keep turnover low helps reduce costs and improve performance.
One effective way to find out how your employees feel is just by asking. Informal or anonymous surveys are great tools to gather feedback. An Employee Evaluation Form might be a good place to start. Employee evaluation forms can discuss things such as:
- Employee job performance.
- Areas for improvement or education.
- Employee opinions and self-reflection.
How can employers create an enjoyable workplace?
If you ask, there may not be much that your employees tell you that they want to feel comfortable in the office. Sometimes, just improving the space around them, allowing flexible schedules or time off policies, or providing snacks, can impact morale in a positive way. This is especially true if you ask and deliver on what employees say they want.
While this may seem small, it builds trust. Cultivating a trusting relationship with your employees and supporting them are powerful when it comes to improving morale and building loyalty. Offering wellness benefits can also show your employees that you care.
Maintaining positive morale in the workplace is not an easy task. But there are ways to help provide the best work environment possible:
Build trustworthy relationships. According to the American Management Association, having honest, direct relationships with employees is an important value to many workers. A great step toward this is making sure your employees know their value to the workplace and have an understanding of their job performance. If you commit to do something for your employees, make sure you follow through.
Stand behind your staff. Your goal should always be customer satisfaction, but employees need to feel supported, too. This can sometimes mean the customer is not always right. When staff are confident in their employer's support, they typically feel better about their work.
Plan events to celebrate successes. Throwing a party or event will not solve all your morale problems, but can certainly help with team building and morale. Establishing teams, such as an employee event committee, allows events to be arranged within your budget, and with employees involved in the planning.
Extend profit-sharing opportunities. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, profit-sharing programs can help you generate and keep talented employees. It gives employers a big incentive-based benefit to offer their employees that gets their workforce involved with the company's financial success. Small businesses can offer this through incentive based employee bonus plans.
How does cross-training improve morale?
Employees often get tired or bored when everyday is the same routine. Offering cross-training opportunities to your staff can not only provide better collaboration between teams, it can be rewarding for your workers who want to learn new skills.
Cross-training can also open new doors for your employees, and gives you a chance to see what talents exist within your team. You may find your next management candidate, or discover other talents in employees that just required a little bit of nurturing to develop.
Cross-training greatly increases staff productivity and benefits employees by providing:
- Job flexibility.
- A break from monotony.
- Trust in your employees.
- A better understanding of the company's and their colleagues' duties.
Cross-training allows you, the employer, to reap benefits, too. It can improve productivity, and aid in filling gaps when employees are out of the office.
How does transparency improve team morale?
Employees generally appreciate honest and direct communication from their employers. Keeping your employees informed, and providing them with access to see the information themselves, can help improve loyalty and morale.
Sharing information with your employees is always up to you as the employer. The U.S. Department of Labor uses transparency as a building block, and attests that increased openness in the workplace can provide better communication among all.
Transparency can:
- Maintain flow of company information to its employees.
- Build open lines of communication for reporting workplace issues.
- Build trustworthy, honest relationships between management and staff.
- Help recognize and reward employees.
There are many things you can do to improve morale in your workplace, and doing so will not only benefit you, but also your bottom line. Lower turnover rates and a better reputation as an employer means your business will benefit from more skilled workers and the ability to more reliably accomplish your business goals.
This article contains general legal information and does not contain legal advice. Rocket Lawyer is not a law firm or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. The law is complex and changes often. For legal advice, please ask a lawyer.
