A report released in 2021 showed that teams with higher morale and that were more engaged achieved a 17% higher level of productivity than their counterparts. On top of this, low morale is a key driver of absenteeism and high employee turnover.
Luckily, there are lots of easy steps you can take to boost your team’s morale and get your employees working more productively, happily, and with less stress – which is great for their well-being as well as your business’s bottom line.
Get Some Feedback
If you’re concerned that your team’s morale is flagging, one of the best ways to get started with turning things around is by asking them for feedback. Consider allowing colleagues to send anonymous feedback to get a real sense of what could be causing a slump in morale. Simply acknowledging that there’s a problem and getting everyone on board to find a solution is a powerful way to show your employees that you value both them and their happiness at work.
Keeping Everyone Connected
A better-connected team is a more motivated one – and taking steps to ensure this is even more important in today’s world of hybrid and remote working than ever before; team members may not be in the same country, let alone the same room! Make the most of digital apps and platforms to bring everyone together across borders. Ideally, a collaboration tool will offer innovative ways of helping team members work together, such as by fusing video calling and messaging capabilities or offering a virtual shared workspace where colleagues can discuss ideas, edit files, and create documents in real time.
Help Your Team Develop
Providing regular training opportunities is a must to keep your team skilled up in a fast-changing world. Find out, too, in one-to-ones, what individual employees’ career goals are and whether these can be supported. For example, if a secretary has a creative streak and would love the opportunity to use this more, you could arrange for him or her to shadow a member of the marketing or branding team. Training in time management techniques, intercultural awareness, and how to manage stress could also be valuable offerings that’ll boost your workforce’s morale.
Create a Healthy, Stress-Free Work Environment
Stress in the workplace can be a major cause of absenteeism and have your team feeling demotivated and frustrated – not a good recipe for productivity. To this end, promote a healthy work-life balance by, for example, offering flexible or home working opportunities where possible and introducing a corporate wellness program designed to support staff’s physical and mental health needs.
Simply making some changes to the physical workspace can also have a huge impact. Ensure the space is as light and airy as possible (an open plan layout is ideal), and introduce plenty of plants, which work wonders for boosting mood, as well as comfortable areas and outdoor spaces in which your team can relax.
Promote Diversity in the Workplace
Celebrate diversity in the workplace to bring out the very best in your team. Diverse teams benefit from a wide range of viewpoints, backgrounds, perspectives, and voices – meaning an innovative mix of solutions and ideas. Promoting diversity allows everyone in your team to feel equally valued – key to boosting and maintaining morale.
Recognize Successes
A simple acknowledgment of success can go a long way when it comes to morale. Make time in team meetings to recognize, for example, when your team has hit a deadline, performed well, or when an individual employee has pulled off a particularly impressive piece of work. Giving praise in front of clients or senior managers is likely to be extremely appreciated by the receiver, too.
Lead by Example
One of the most powerful ways to raise team morale is through leading by example. As a manager, it’s important to present an optimistic, positive, can-do aspect and be willing to step into the breach when necessary. Set the tone for your team by deploying a hands-on, constructive, empathetic approach, and step in quickly at the first sign of conflict to resolve any issues that arise. Help your team see the business’s big picture and the importance of their role in achieving it to see real results.
Boosting Team Morale: The Takeaway
Research consistently shows that a happy, well-motivated team is the secret to productivity success. From forming better connections with colleagues to creating a more engaged workforce, there are near-endless benefits to your business of being proactive in raising – and maintaining – the morale of your workforce. Use the seven steps above for inspiration, and prepare to start reaping the rewards.
