Importance of Boosting Company Morale
Employee engagement is an essential business strategy so is high company morale. For any company to succeed, the employees must connect with and understand the company’s core values. Employee engagement strategies by the HR departments help formulate an action plan to actualise employee engagement and build company morale among employees. It might seem easy to engage employees as we talk about it but making it a reality can be a challenge.
Company morale refers to the overall approach of an employee towards the workplace. While discussing company morale, we often see employee engagement and job satisfaction used interchangeably. Although related, they mean different things. Employee engagement refers to the connection an employee has with the organisation. Whereas job satisfaction directly indicates the sense of fulfilment with their jobs.
With the massive change in the workplace model post-pandemic, many responsible organisations are reconsidering their employee engagement strategies. They are working towards lifting the standards to make the organisation the best place to work. Employees with high company morale are said to be happy and thus perform better. Here are some benefits of boosting employee morale.
Improvement in Teamwork
When employees enjoy their work and have a general sense of contentment, they tend to collaborate and work better with others.
Higher Staff Retention
Another rewarding benefit of improved employee morale is increasing employee retention. Employees who feel satisfied and valued in the organisation stay longer with the team.
Lower Absenteeism Rate
When the overall feeling at the workplace stays positive, it motivates employees to get up and go to work. Too much stress and pressure can negatively affect employee health, leading to frequent absenteeism from work.
Minimum Error
Unhappy employees generally tend to have low morale. Such employees often pay less attention to details or are careless with their work. Now, this directly reflects on the quality of output.
More Productivity
Researchers have found that workplace happiness leads to a 12% spike in productivity. Also, happy employees develop innovative ideas and handle problems better.
Several factors hinder company or employee morale. Some are leadership issues, lack of development opportunities and training, poor communication, and dispute with the organisation. Where there is a problem, there has to be a solution. Here are a few things companies can incorporate to build company morale.
Stay Focused On Core Values
A strong company culture can take your employee engagement efforts a long way. The employee must be briefed and defined about the company’s core values on day one. Your core values speak volumes about your organisation. Share with them your ideas that make it the best place to work. Employees must gain a sense of belongingness to engage better with the organisation. Hence it is essential to let them know what truly matters and what you envision for your company in the future.
Get Employee Feedback
Before implementing a new strategy, it is always good to analyse your current employee engagement status. Communicating openly with your employees and taking their insights into consideration can help you develop better employee engagement programs.
Be an Open and Honest Leader
As leaders, it is essential that you lead by example and follow the standards that you expect your employees to adhere to. Also, transparent communication and authentic leadership can help you achieve your goal’s.
Appreciate Employees
Recognise and acknowledge employees for their contributions. Appreciating and rewarding top performers can motivate them to bring out better results in the future. Employees who feel their work is valued tend to be more productive than their competitors.
Provide Growth Opportunities
Providing employees the opportunity to grow and develop their skills motivates them to do better at their job. As they are engaged and involved in the learning process as an organisation, you reassure them that they are valued and appreciated for their efforts in building your business.
The above-mentioned pointers are just starters to build better employee engagement strategies. There are several team-building activities that an organisation can plan to improve engagement and overall company morale. Always remember, apart from the infrastructure, happy and contented employees make your workplace the best place to work.
