Employees are the cornerstone of a strong, healthy company. Not only do they perform duties relating to the day-to-day operations of the business, but they also contribute to the overall success of your company. Therefore, maintaining a high level of employee morale is essential to ensuring the survival of your company.
Account for the cost of your ideas. After all, improving staff morale needs to also be beneficial to the company, in terms of employee relations and cost. Don't go overboard on improvements, such as constructing an entirely new break room. Sometimes, morale is improved through small things. Put a complaint box in the break room and address those questions, complaints and issues each week via the company website. Keep the supply closet well-stocked with some preferred office supply items of employees. Ask for input from employees when big changes are being made, as this will make them feel invested in the company.
Brainstorm ideas for improvement with both staff and management. Start with upper level management and work down to lower level staff. Be sure to talk to everyone, no matter how small a role they play in the company. Make a master list of ideas to improve conditions, both physically and mentally. Some ideas could include: more frequent breaks; an increase in company outings throughout the year, bringing staff and management together for some fun outside of an office setting; or instituting fun Friday themes, such as taco bar Fridays or beer cart Fridays, allowing employees an opportunity to unwind at the end of the week in the office and encouraging camaraderie among one another.
Bring your ideas to staff. Let them know what you are doing. Sometimes, just the fact that you are trying to improve conditions can go a long way towards helping morale among employees. Even if you cannot make all of the changes at once, providing them with short-term plans will let them know that you are committed to improving morale. Also, small changes are appreciated and improve morale, such as installing water coolers around the office or providing free coffee in the morning.
Assess the current level of morale among staff. You need to have a starting point to know where you need to be. Hold a round of informational meetings, allowing staff to air their grievances without repercussion. If staff members don't respond to an open-air grievance session, circulate anonymous surveys. The idea is to gauge how happy staff members are with their current working conditions. Once you have a list of issues dragging down staff morale, you can then put a plan of action into place to improve on these problems.
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