Keys to Boosting Your Staff’s Morale

No matter how dedicated some of your employees might be, you will always have the others who are simply in it for the paycheck rather than a desire to be personally connected to the business. If there is too much of a disconnect between the way you see the business and the way your employees see the business, morale and productivity could take a drop.

It pays to keep your employees engaged in the work they do, literally. If you factor in the costs of the recruitment and onboarding process, you’ll see that it is easier to retain top talent than to find it again and again. To help you with this process, consider some of the following strategies—even if they are remote employees.

Encourage an Appropriate Work/Life Balance

People have to work for your business to operate, but they don’t exist to work for your business; it’s just one of the many parts of their lives, and you need to make sure that they know this. To keep your employees from getting burned out from their work, consider implementing some of the policies below:

• Value productivity over time: Sometimes managers will see productivity in the form of time spent rather than the amount of work done. This isn’t the correct approach, and it can be counterproductive to mental health and longevity.
• Encourage breaks: It’s helpful if you encourage your staff to take breaks when they feel worn down and need one. Besides, you know they are going to take breaks whether you tell them to or not, so the more you can make it an accepted practice, the better it will be for the employee.
• Provide paid time off: If you can offer considerable paid time off for your staff, you’ll be giving your team more time to take vacations, spend time with family, and better manage their lives outside the workplace. Doing so will make them more effective in the workplace, too.

Gamify the Workplace

Turning the average workday into a sort-of “game” through gamification can do wonders for morale, particularly with the younger generation of workers. One way to do it is to apply a points system for your team to divvy out prizes and other additional benefits, leading people to get a little competitive and perform to their best ability. Here are three benefits to gamification in the workplace:

Engagement Increases

Boosting morale also means boosting engagement, and a little healthy competition can inspire people to work harder and in a more engaged way.

Recognition Goes a Long Way

It’s easy to take your workers for granted, but with gamification, they get more recognition for performing at a higher level. It’s a built-in recognition system, essentially, and gamification can help you recognize top performers and rising stars alike to keep the passion for their work alive.

Efficiency is Better

When prizes and recognition are involved, people tend to work more efficiently to produce better results. This kind of growth is good in the long term because your team will learn strategies and practices that can translate into other areas of their work, leading to better business performance across the board.

You Could Try Paying Better, Too

It’s tough, but pay can make all the difference for your employees—particularly the ones who don’t necessarily get personal satisfaction from their work and are strictly in it for the paycheck. It can save you from going through a costly and time-consuming search for their replacement, at any rate.

Horne & Benik can help your business implement technologies that will aid you in boosting morale. To learn more about what we can do to promote growth and efficiency for your business, contact us at (603) 499-4400.