Today, with many industries going through tough times and the global financial crisis, some employees may be having a hard time working up their enthusiasm. Boosting the morale does not necessarily mean, give money. Both tangibles and intangibles can help to bring back the enthusiasm, motivate and manage to keep the team together. So how can we lose the “de” in motivation and motivate those around you.
Boost yourself: Lead by example. Unless you are motivated, you will not manage to boost the team’s morale. You may be able to do it with one or two people but the whole team will instantly know.
Communicate and Involve: Wipe away fear and ignorance. Open-door polices and regular meetings with employees will help make your team invulnerable to the rumours that are often damaging to staff morale. Involve your staff by asking their opinions and suggestions. Show that you value their ideas. Give them the freedom to make decisions within the team.
Recognise and Reward: Show your team that you value their hard work. Your people want to know that they matter and be rewarded for it. Such rewards sometimes have low or no cost at all .An extra day off or taking them out for lunch will have an impact on their morale. When a decent salary is combined with personal rewards and incentives, results are more effective.
Break up the routine with fun: Decrease monotony and inject some energy into your workplace. Encourage staff to bond in an informal setting such as lunch or leave work a few hours early on a Friday afternoon for drinks, or organise teambuilding activities away from the office. This will improve working relations, and will create a harmonious and supportive team environment.
Training: Keep a decent training fund in your budget and make the team feel important by systematic skills training. Employees expect to be constantly trained. It helps increase productivity and performance, and makes them feel important.
Boosting your team’s morale is an ongoing process. People need to feel this constantly and using some of the above will make the team feel special and important. After all it is People that create results, it is people that Achieve!
