Free lunch. A gym membership. A plaque with your name on it. We’re all familiar with the tangible perks and gestures of thanks in the workplace.
They’re not unwelcome, but they’re not even close to being the most important team morale boosters. Let’s dive a bit deeper into what drives employee motivation, the rewards team members will remember forever, and how to build team morale every day.
Team morale impacts how much effort or intention is put into a task, as well as how motivated we are to do it in the first place.
Morale hiccups are a fact of life. Everyone experiences little quality deficits due to low morale. When a child has a bad day at school, they need extra motivation to get up and ready for the next. When we’re tired and uninspired, we’re more likely to eat a plain tortilla at the counter instead of making the taco dinner.
When dealing with team morale, we craft an approach that can benefit multiple people over the longer term.
Ah, the old chicken or the egg quandary. In many cases, it doesn’t matter. As you’ll find here today, the morale boosters with the most impact also center around improving performance via flexibility, communication, and growth.
So, whether subpar work is dragging attitudes down, or poor attitudes are polluting performance, there’s a fix.
Every employer is responsible for team morale, with a special focus on managerial roles. Managers interact with team members the most; their methods and attitudes impact the team at every turn.
However, another vital question is, who influences team morale? That’s everyone from the top down. While founders, CEOs, department heads, and managers set the tone, each team member contributes to the culture.
If you ask employees what would increase job enthusiasm and performance today, they’ll give it to you straight: a cash bonus. 😀
We’re not saying not to do that, but it may not organically foster sustained, authentic job satisfaction and motivation. Try a few of these strategies instead.
Effective communication in the workplace is:
Employees who have to sift through a dozen emails to piece together a message can experience a lot of false starts in completing tasks. Worse yet, mixed messaging from various points on the org chart causes a lot of frustration.
Set clear expectations, share complete thoughts, and do all of it in as few words as possible. This doesn’t just prevent misunderstandings among employees, it helps ensure everyone at the management level and up is on the same page.
Don’t forget, great communicators are also great listeners. Team members should have channels through which to offer feedback without fear. They should feel comfortable and heard when they’re raising concerns, asking for guidance, and sharing ideas.
You acknowledge that your team members are human beings with families, social lives, struggles, and responsibilities outside of their jobs. Do your policies reflect that?
Employees place high value on:
You don’t have to max out on every single one to have a happier, healthier team. Adding a few or expanding existing policies can make a marked difference.
Get creative and encourage work-life balance with simple, yet very cost-effective initiatives. For example, implementing tech boundaries to limit work-related tasks and communication outside of working hours.
Employees are more likely to take advantage of training that benefits the company now if it can benefit them in the future, too.
In addition to training sessions, supporting growth and development in the workplace can include:
To start prioritizing the professional growth of your team, begin with evaluations. Understand what their goals are and what they want their future in and outside of the company to look like. Consider job-shadowing to get a 360° view of their responsibilities, strengths, and areas where growth can benefit everyone.
Consistent acknowledgment is far and away the easiest and most cost-effective morale booster. We’re not talking about praise where people should expect it, such as completing a massive project or landing a particular client.
Small gestures of gratitude for everyday accomplishments keep employees feeling seen, appreciated, and motivated. It’s also crucial to highlight every positive interaction you can, as this increases goodwill and keeps it going.
For instance, someone has a question in the team chat. Their colleague promptly swoops in with a helpful answer. Drop them a taco emoji so they know you’ve seen and appreciate their positive action.
Does this sound too small? It had a pretty big impact at Duke University's Internal Medicine residency program. They started using HeyTaco and saw a 300% increase in peer acknowledgment and expressions of gratitude.
If you’re starting from a low point, the first thing you can do is identify and acknowledge the underlying cause of low morale.
Fundamental issues stemming from leadership, uncomfortable physical environments, workloads, or compensation can’t always be addressed with positivity alone. However, teams have hope when communication improves, problems are acknowledged, and a plan is put in place to make a change.
When morale is lifted, teams realize they’re better together.
HeyTaco is a fast and easy way to fortify great teams (and it’s free to try 😏), but there are tons more ways to build bonds, asynchronously or in-office. From the best Slack apps to keep teams engaged with one another, to events and workshops they’ll actually want to sign up for, your options are greater than ever.