Introduction
The best employees are the happiest employees. They’re happy to come to work, they work hard and they stick around for a long time. In fact, studies show that employee happiness is one of the biggest predictors for engagement and retention. But what does it take to make your employees happy? What can you do as an employer to boost employee morale? Here are four tips that might help:
Make sure your company’s values are clearly defined
- Define your company’s values.
- Make sure these values are shared by all employees.
- Define how the values will be applied to employee conduct. For example, if safety is one of your core values, make sure you define what “safety” means for your organization and then discuss with employees how they can apply that value in their day-to-day work lives (i.e., “Be aware of your surroundings at all times” or “Report any unsafe conditions immediately”).
- How do we measure if our behavior aligns with our stated values? This is where tracking comes into play! You should have some sort of system in place (like an app) where people can submit feedback about their experiences working at the company and rate each other on how well they’re living up to those standards every single day.*
Get rid of turnover
Turnover is expensive, and it can be hard to predict. It’s also frustrating for employees who stay with the company because they lose their colleagues, friends and mentors. Turnover can be difficult to fix because there are so many factors that contribute to it: low pay or benefits; lack of opportunities for growth; bad management; not feeling respected by leaders or coworkers.
In order for a company to get rid of turnover altogether, all these issues need addressing first–and that takes time! But if you want your organization’s morale levels high enough so that people don’t feel like leaving any time soon (or ever), make sure these four tips are part of your strategy:
Set clear goals and expectations up front
To ensure that employees are clear on the goals and expectations of the company, it’s important to set them up front. This can be done through a variety of methods, including:
- A one-on-one meeting with each employee where you discuss what will be expected of them in their role. These conversations should be specific enough so that there are no surprises later in the year when performance reviews come around. If necessary, use tools such as goal setting templates (like this one) or checklists (like this one) to ensure that everyone has clearly defined goals. You may also want to consider using an employee engagement survey at this point so as not only help set goals but gauge how well they were met throughout the year before moving forward with any adjustments needed next time around!
Create a culture of opportunity and growth
- Provide opportunities for employees to grow and develop.
- Give employees the chance to try new things, like taking on a new role or project that might be outside their comfort zone.
- Encourage employees to take on new challenges, even if it’s something they’ve never done before, or something that scares them a little bit–that’s how we learn!
- Provide training and development opportunities so they have the tools they need now, but also so they’re prepared for future growth opportunities down the road (or even further along).
These tips can help employees feel better about their work.
- Make sure your company’s values are clearly defined.
- Eliminate turnover by creating an environment where people want to stay, not just work there temporarily until they find something better or more exciting elsewhere.
- Set clear goals and expectations up front so everyone knows what’s expected of them at all times, which in turn helps build trust among coworkers who know each other well enough to trust each other with their professional lives (and vice versa).
- Create a culture where opportunity abounds for employees who want to grow within the organization–or even outside it!
Conclusion
With the right approach, you can boost employee morale and engagement. Remember that your employees are the ones who make your business successful, so it’s important that they feel good about their work.
