Ways to Boost Employee Morale

At Colossus Media Group, our company culture is very important! We strive to make our employees happy because it’s proven that employee morale directly contributes to productivity. It’s important to recognize that you can’t afford to overlook employee satisfaction or your company will never reach its full potential. There are so many creative ways to boost employee morale:

1. Let Your Employees Have an Impact

Your employees see things from a very different perspective than you do. And as a manager, you should take the time to get to know and understand them. Their strengths and weaknesses are important to the success of your company. They might have innovative ideas to move your company in the right direction. Let your employees know that you are open to hearing their suggestions.
Take surveys — if you’re planning a company outing, ask the team where they’d like to go! Ask them what they’d like to do for their birthdays or what sorts of snacks they’d appreciate stocked in the kitchen. Even if the impact is small, getting your employees involved will give them more accountability over the company’s success.

2. Show Employees That They’re Valued

Gratitude improves physical and psychological health, improves sleep, and lifts moods. Simply telling employees that you’re thankful for them and highlighting their accomplishments is a great way to ensure that your employees will be happier. A “good job,” a pat on the back, a thank you – that will help your employees feel happier and more valued. Taking the initiative to put your employee’s happiness and health first will show them that you care and increase productivity.

3. Set Fun Team Goals

Project goals and yearly performance markers are important. They can act as great motivators! That said, it’s important to work with your team to determine some more short-term, immediate goals that are both work-related and not-so-work related. By giving your team something to work for (and maybe rewarding them) you can build excitement and anticipation while promoting teamwork.

4. Encourage Open Communication

One of the best and easiest ways to improve employee morale is to increase communication. Check-in regularly with your employees and ask important questions. What challenges are you facing and how can I help? How do you feel? What could be improved? Managers can boost morale by communicating with their employees as often as possible and creating a clear dialogue about how they view things.

This communication is especially important if there is an impending change in operations. Imagine how you might feel if you were left in the dark about something that might impact your day to day life. Frustrated? Annoyed? Disregarded? It’s important to remember that your employees look at the day to day rather than the long term. If a new initiative is being implemented, they might have a harder time understanding why if it comes as a surprise.

5. Confront Frustrations Head On

Of course, it’s so important to note that your team will experience frustrations no matter how happy they may be. Morale ebbs and flows, but when it dips, it’s important to face it head-on. Don’t let the moment pass, seek feedback and look for solutions for these problems. Ask your team members why they’re down, what you could do to help or manage them more appropriately and most importantly, ask them to be honest. Let them know that you want to improve the team dynamic and that you would appreciate their suggestions or expertise.

6. Random Acts of Kindness

Lastly, making people feel appreciated with random acts of kindness or random gifts is a great way to boost morale. Take stock of birthdays and special occasions each time you get a new hire and create a fact sheet questionnaire for each employee, this way you’ll know exactly what to get when someone needs and last-minute morale boost. Have a team member who has stayed late all week? Pick up their favorite candy bar and drop it off at their desk on Friday! Know that your employee has an event coming up that they’ve been feeling stressed about? Have their favorite flowers sent to the office!

Embrace the personality traits of your employees and the quirky aspects of your company culture. Find ways to make mundane office tasks more exciting, set fun goals for your employees, and take their input when you can! Interested in working fort Colossus Media Group? Check out the career page on our website!