by Director of HR Carol Duman

Five Tips to Improve Employee Morale
Positive employee morale is important for any organization, regardless of the industry or company size. When employee morale is low, it spreads quickly like a virus. When morale is mediocre, employee performance matches that. A high-productive and thriving business typically has employees who are happy with their jobs, get along with co-workers, and feel like what they do makes a difference to the company. It can be easy to create a positive environment, but you need to pay attention to your team.

Here are five tips to improving employee morale:

1.    Encourage employee ideas
2.    Be flexible
3.    Show appreciation
4.    Employee perks
5.    Have fun

Encourage employee ideas
Feeling valued is important to any employee, and by encouraging employees to submit ideas and then implementing those ideas can truly boost employee morale. It’s important to share employee ideas company-wide; it encourages other employees to become involved, and it is rewarding to the employees who share their ideas.

Be flexible
Being flexible can take many forms, whether it is a flexible schedule; ability to work from home; or special arrangements that make an employee’s life easier. By letting employees have input on their work schedules, they feel trusted and valued by their employer. In turn, employees are loyal and produce quality work.

Show appreciation
Simply letting an employee know how much you value them and the work they do is important. Employees do not need praise for every task, but recognition for large or critical projects is necessary to keep a positive morale. Some companies offer gift cards to dinner or tickets to a sporting event for an employee’s extra effort. The small cost can go a long way.

Employee perks
Employee perks don’t have to be expensive to have the same effect as high cost perks – and, that’s happy employees. Perks can include free lunch for everyone once a month; a game room to let go of stress; free bagels on Fridays; or, company events. A little effort from the employer can create a positive environment.

Have fun
Work as a team. Without some fun, employees burn out quickly and the quality of work lacks.

I hope these tips are reminders of what you can do when you have the time to implement strategic HR!