Improving Staff Morale

The fallout of the global economy has put pressure on every facet of the lives of individuals both at work and at home. The challenge for most businesses now is how do you keep staff motivated and working hard through the downturn so that businesses come out on top and ready to perform in the upswing?

How can HR managers and Senior Leaders in business maintain staff morale, faith and the motivation needed to kick their business through these times?

Gary Cohen, Chief Executive of software provider IBA Health says communication is critical for ensuring staff maintain their faith in their leadership.

"I always believe it's very important to be honest with your staff, and let the staff trust you. If staff don't trust you, then if things aren't going well, they will always think the worst," Cohen says.

Low staff morale is directly associated with productivity. If your staff are lacking enthusiasm and motivation, it is no doubt you will see their work ethic dwindle and operation hours reduce. During a recession especially, employee spirits can be low.  Not only are they being affected by pressure at work, but their personal and family lives are being affected by the downturn as well. As a team leader, HR manager or CEO, improving staff morale is in your best interest as this will undoubtedly improve productivity.

Below are some helpful hints on how you might keep morale in your workplace high and your staff working hard.

Listen
Employees feel empowered and supported when you listen. Genuinely listen and provide feedback to their issues. Often low morale can come from many small things that build up and become bigger than necessary. Taking the time out to air concerns can make the world of difference.

Trust your staff
With listening comes trust.  Allow your staff to tell you their problems and have them explain it and work out the solution. Micro-managing kills morale. Giving your staff the tools and knowledge to do the job and thus find the solution will give them the power and motivation to work harder.

To further empower your employees ask them for help. Getting them to assist you in projects, meetings or presentations will give them a sense of worth and value that the knowledge they provide is useful.

Give credit - promote your employees to the world
When your employees have done a good job make sure they know it and make sure others know it. When people receive credit they feel happy for doing a high-quality job and will want to continue doing a good job and work harder. Don’t feel threatened – by being their manager if they get credit, you get credit too!

Train or up-skill your employees
Many companies and managers hold off on training and up-skilling their staff in fear that as soon as the training is over their staff will leave. In fact in most situations the opposite occurs. In terms of retention, productivity and employee perceived worth, training and development is a powerful tool. It shows your staff you value them and their career growth. Especially in times of financial uncertainty, salary and bonus freezes, training is seen as an investment and an alternative to rewarding your employees financially.

Finally - Celebrate success
It is important for your staff to feel that you recognise worthwhile achievements they make. Praise them publicly, tell their manager what a great job they have done and celebrate the success. It can be as small as taking them out for coffee.  Actions often speak louder than words and your employee’s motivation, attitude and productivity will show for it.

Improving staff morale in the workplace involves making people feel valued for their contributions, being there to listen to them and making sure that they get the support they need to do their work. It is fairly obvious that, whatever job you are in, where morale is high, staff are motivated and more productive. Efficiency and effectiveness are higher, stress is lower, and generally everyone is happier.