How to Boost Team Morale and Why Companies Should Focus on it
A motivated team is a necessity to succeed in any enterprise. Over the past two years, most companies have hired remote workers from all over the world or a specific country. These employees are new, disconnected, disengaged, and often feel alienated.
While they may go about their day-to-day tasks, how can companies ensure that they perform at their best? What steps can be taken by organizations to help these members synchronize with the company culture and work?
And it is not just about remote team members. Companies are adopting the work-from-home culture all over the globe, and even office employees have had to disconnect themselves from the vibrant corporate environment.
It is natural that their morale might dip in the long run. Here is a look at a few ways in which both large and small organizations can prevent that from happening:
Praise your employees for their work
Seem simple? That’s precisely what it is. A Training Journal report suggests that employees who receive more managerial praise are likely to feel more motivated, have higher morale, and stay in the organization for a longer time.
Even something as quickly taken for granted as verbal praise can go a long way in making employees feel more valued. When managers take notice of their hard work and display of company values, it motivates employees further.
Set definite goals for your teams
Goals bring teams together. Especially in this age of remote working, short-term goals keep teams enthused and connected over a common agenda. On the other hand, teams might often lose long-term goals in the company’s day-to-day workings.
Also, to increase team participation, you could include friendly competitions and polls in the team. Competitive engagement will keep the members engaged among themselves and build a better team, even if they have not met each other before.
Use a confidential feedback tool
No matter how much you try to keep everyone focused and engaged, things are going to hit a lull. Companies have to make sure they are ready with a confidential feedback tool to address these lulls among employees.
Asking for frequent feedback and then taking actions accordingly make employees feel more validated and heard. Feedback systems create a long-lasting faith towards their organization, addressing high attrition rates in companies.
Start peer-to-peer recognition
Forty percent of US employees feel that they would be more productive if their peers recognized their hard work and efforts. Sixty-three percent of employees who identify as appropriately recognized by their companies are doubtful to change jobs soon.
These stats clearly show that for each employee, being recognized by their peers matters.
Putting a reward system in place that motivates employees through benefits and provides them with peer recognition can make a significant difference in the company’s overall morale.
Personalize recognition
A Harvard Business Review article lists the importance of details while recognizing employees. While monetary perks and blanket emails indeed work, an eye for personalization can go a long way in making employees feel appreciated.
Personalized recognition could mean quarterly letters from the management that are hand-written and physically mailed to the best performing employees. Often organizations make the mistake of sending emails of appreciation.
However, such methods are deemed less effective simply because they lack a personal touch. Putting effort as an organization to create engagement and rewards that resonate with employees is half the task won.
Now that we have discussed how companies can boost team morale, let’s find out why it is essential.
Here’s a look at some of the reasons why high team morale makes or breaks an organization:
Without team morale, employee satisfaction dips
In the absence of team morale, employees start to feel frustrated and disconnected from work. 61% of employees in the United Kingdom feel disengaged and suffer from low enthusiasm concerning work.
However, what’s surprising to know is that the UK economy loses around $340 billion every year because of low morale. It dips in performance and customer service, making it harder for these organizations to perform in a competitive global environment.
Employee attrition rate rises
When employee morale is low, they start looking for options elsewhere. High employee attrition incurs more costs on organizations, with recruitment and onboarding expenses increasing as each employee leaves.
New members and hires can cause significant changes in the team dynamic and further decrease productivity, at least in the short run.
General decline in productivity
Employee perks, benefits, and morale are required to ensure high work productivity in organizations. Without it, the quality and quantity of work can dip massively and lose the company much money.
Ovation can address all of these downsides to the lack of employee engagement. We can help you start a customized employee engagement and appreciation plan that will fuel your team to work harder and feel more connected to the organization.
Book a demo with us today to determine how we can increase your employee profitability by 21%
