Morale is the Secret Ingredient to Increasing Employee Engagement

Creating and sustaining employee engagement at your corporation is essential to reducing high turnover rates, keeping high-caliber staff members on board, and consistently producing the best product and/or provision of world-class, exceptional customer service possible.  If your employees don’t feel appreciated and aren’t treated as an integral component to your company’s success, there will be no sense of teamwork, employee engagement, or high morale at your workplace. To enhance employee engagement, increase morale.  Here’s how:

Open the door (and leave it open).

Employees need to feel that if they have a concern with their job, a colleague, or even something personal that is affecting their ability to do their work well, that they can approach a manager with their issue ~ without penalty. Having open communication instantly breaks down that barrier between management and workers and instills a sense of teamwork. Going to work every day knowing that communication with managers is welcomed will relieve stress and increase morale.

Have a suggestion box (and use it).

Sometimes communication through the written word is faster, more succinct, and more effective. Morale will rise when employees realize that their brainstormed ideas and viable solutions will be read and considered. No one knows how to do their job better than your loyal, long-time employees. If they have gripes, suggestions, and creative ways to do the job better, safer, or more cost-effectively ~ listen to them. Further, if an idea that an employee came up with gets implemented, give credit where credit is due and acknowledge and/or reward them in front of the whole staff. Other employees will be encouraged to use written communication via the suggestion box and conceptualize ways improve their workplace, too.

If your full team isn’t physically located in one place, don’t throw this idea out because virtual suggestions boxes are just as useful as a physical box! 

Create an awesome space (and stay out of it).

Work spaces today range from traditional offices to a table in the corner of a local coffee shop. When employees come into a traditional office, creating a great workspace takes effort, but don’t forget to also put effort into making sure your remote employees are set up for success too. Remote employees often struggle to find a balance when their home becomes their office. Ask them what they need to have a safe, efficient, and comfortable working space because each team member will likely need something different. 

Likewise, as some roles shift to remote, don’t forget about the teams that are in a physical office. Depending upon the type of industry you are in, the physical location of where your staff works may not be something that would appear on the cover of Architectural Digest. Whether your team works in cubicles, in a multi-tiered warehouse, or in a small, one-room building, purposefully create a welcoming, relaxing, and aesthetically-appealing space for them to enjoy their breaks, their lunch, and their colleagues.  Investing in some paint, some durable and comfortable tables and chairs, some calm-inducing artwork of the ocean, live plants, a treadmill, a flat-screen TV on the wall, a microwave, and a refrigerator can go a long way to increase employee morale.  Instead of your staff rushing outside to have a smoke during their lunch hour and to complain about how much your company doesn’t care, show them you do by the space you create just for them.

Say “Thank you!” (often).

Positive reinforcement leads to more productivity in the workplace than constantly pointing out what someone is doing wrong. Tell your employees they’re doing a nice job when they are. Thank them for going the extra mile when they do. Show them they are valued, appreciated, and respected.

Employee engagement, communication, quality work, exceptional service, and productivity will naturally increase when morale in the workplace is improved.