As a business owner, you know how important it is to maintain a high level of energy. And you are always looking for ways to boost company morale. Contentment in the workplace is important for your employees’ physical and mental well-being. It is also crucial to improve company performance of your employees. Essentially, employees who look forward to coming to work every day are better employees overall.
Of course, work is work. Sometimes morale gets low for seemingly no reason. It’s not a lack of care on your end. It could simply be a busy time of year or a lower-performing month that’s somehow gotten everyone in a funk.
Working to boost company morale is important for your company to reach its goals. It can help improve your employees’ productivity and encourage good teamwork. Companies with low morale often have high turnover – and that’s not often something you can afford.
Here are some of the best ways to improve your office morale. The rejuvenated office energy will be sure to give you and your employees the performance boost you need.
1. Important celebrations for employee accomplishments
It’s important to celebrate milestones as they come, even if they don’t seem that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Take the time to recognize a job well done in the monthly company newsletter or through an internal rewards system.
Maybe even consider implementing a company “year book” to highlight the top employee accomplishments of the year. It will serve as a motivation for your employees to work hard, plus, having a physical reminder of everyone’s accomplishments will make everyone on your team feel like a part of something bigger.
2. Group your employees into “teams” to improve company performance
Changing things up a bit can help cubicle life feel a little more enjoyable. For example, organize your different sections or floors into “teams”. Allow your employees to come up with team names and mascots. Host a few events a year, like a field day or trivia night, to encourage a little friendly competition between different teams. The purpose is to remind your employees that work and fun are not mutually exclusive, even if there is a time and place for both.
3. Reward employees with fun to boost company morale
Another way to recognize your employees’ accomplishments is to reward them with fun days out. Some companies organize incentive trips, allowing sales agents who’ve met specific milestones to attend a short company vacation in Florida or Colorado Springs.
Others organize smaller themed days and nights every quarter, like a company day at Six Flags or Dave and Busters. These types of events are also great opportunities for team-building exercises.
4. Start early
5. Team build while giving back
Taking a company day “off” for community service has several benefits. You and your employees get a break from desk life for a day. There are many opportunities for team building and company-wide bonding. You also get to give back to your community. Plus, establishing your company as a cornerstone of your community is great for your company image in the eyes of the public and of your own employees. Dedicating a day to something beyond the workplace demonstrates your values as a company and your workers will appreciate that you care.
6. Get your employees involved in a raffle
Start rewarding your employees with raffle tickets for small, daily tasks that are important in your workplace, like following important safety measures on the floor of a plant, or filling a daily sales call quota. At the end of every quarter or year, have everyone enter their tickets into a raffle. The prizes could be various gift cards in different amounts. They don’t need to be anything too flashy – just the act of participating in something will help improve productivity.
7. Use charts and graphics
Many employees are visual by nature. Seeing images denoting progress can be a very powerful motivator. Having goals and achievements they can actually see is something every business should do. It helps management as well.
Coloring in a paper thermometer on the wall has worked for companies and organizations with a goal to reach for decades, if not longer. Why not start using a chart to track a big, company-wide goal? Employees can color in the chart as they reach certain milestones – like dollar amounts or social media followers – so that everyone can be involved in the achievement.
8. Start a health-based competition
Many health apps like FitBit allow users to “compete” with friends and family in order to achieve their health goals, such as reaching a certain number of steps per day. So why not do the same with your employees? Encouraging your employees to live a healthy lifestyle is a good thing for all employers to do, as it can help decrease insurance premiums and keep productivity from falling. Healthier employees are happier employees overall, too. Just as friendly competition can improve performance at work, it can also serve to bolster healthy living.
