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Your employees are the engine that drives productivity. If their morale is down, it directly impacts your company's success. Employee morale involves the employee's behavior towards their job, team members, work environment, managers, and the organization as a whole.
If you have realized that your employees show less enthusiasm and are low on energy at work, they might be demotivated. You need to take deliberate steps to re-energize them before the situation snowballs into a bigger problem.
Here are seven ways to combat low morale and make employees engaged and productive:
1. Identify the Root Cause
To fix any problem, it needs to be accurately identified.
Many factors can cause low employee morale, including but not limited to:
- Change in management
- Employee layoffs
- Unachievable and unclear job expectations
- Lack of career growth opportunities
- Rigid work conditions
Seek feedback from your employees to understand the true reason for their low morale. Use the feedback to devise an effective solution to the problem.
A company-wide online knowledge base is also a helpful tool to clarify SOPs and general HR rules. A knowledge base will keep all the team members on the same page while clarifying important information regarding the company’s operating style.
2. Communicate Clearly
It's easy to hide crucial information, such as changes, happenings, and goals, from your employees. But if you want your employees to have high morale, don't leave them in the dark. Be open and transparent with your communication. Clear communication can easily stop morale-ruining rumors from spreading in the office.
3. Train Your Managers
Your managers need to have adequate emotional intelligence and communication skills to handle their teams. If they are not the direct cause of employees' low morale, they should have the skills to fix the issue. Therefore, they need to be trained on how to use different leadership styles, give feedback and recognize the employees' efforts.
4. Provide Growth Opportunities
To keep your employees engaged and motivated, they need to have a sense of progress and something to look forward to when on the job. They need to see growth, and growth doesn't necessarily need to be a job promotion; it can be opportunities for career and personal growth that can improve their skills.
5. Praise When it's Due
Employees want to feel valued and appreciated for the work they do. And a job well done deserves acknowledgment and appreciation.
So, make sure you take time out of your busy schedule and recognize your employees' contributions. Appreciating them may not always be enough; consider developing an employee rewards program that can go a long way in boosting their morale.
6. Conduct Team Building Activities
Team development strategies are a great way to raise your employees' morale. Small team-building activities like a team lunch or Friday fun activities can help deal with low staff morale effectively. Try conducting an office game and see how a lethargic team springs into action.
7. Take Their Feedback
Collecting employee feedback is a great way to let them know that you are listening to them and that their opinions and suggestions matter. Employees who feel that they are being heard develop a sense of belonging and are more likely to be motivated at work. That being said, act on the feedback you receive in the best possible manner.
When you see your people underperforming and low on energy, it's easy to blame them for a bad attitude towards work. However, there might be plenty of reasons that could be crushing their motivation to work. Take the responsibility to re-energize them. With the help of these morale-boosting strategies, you'll be surprised how these small actions can have a big impact on employee morale.
Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager for Jobsoid – Applicant Tracking System. She is responsible for leading the content and social media teams at work. Her expertise and experience in the field of HR enable her to create value-driven content for her readers – both on Jobsoid’s blog and other guest blogs where she publishes content regularly.
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