Whether you’ve hit tough times or are still trying to find your feet as employer, dealing with disgruntled employees can be stressful. To avoid mutiny, you have to make work a place they want to spend time. This means keeping things fresh and fun, and installing motivation into your staff. Here are few methods sure to boost morale.
Offer surprise rewards
All companies should have rewards in place, whether it be a target-oriented bonus or various employee discounts that come with the job. You can further spark motivation however, by offering a surprise reward. If someone is achieving well or has been putting in extra hours or simply going beyond the line of duty in any way, show them that their inspirational behaviour is not going unnoticed by awarding a treat. This could be anything from a bonus to a simple gift such as wine or chocolates. Others will find out and take note, spurring them to perform better.
Have a dress down day
Uniforms can be restrictive – why not allow staff a day to feel more free by introducing casual clothes. In some offices where face-to-face client interaction isn’t as common, a whole day a week might be dedicated to ditching the suit (‘dress down Fridays’ are most popular).
Team building exercises
If there is a lack of communication within the team or a sense of tension, adding some team building exercises might help to loosen people up. These shouldn’t be too work-focused – corporate team building events are an example of a good method that can people to collaborate together more. Activities can require people to group together and solve a problem such as escape rooms, tug of war games or assault courses. Alternatively, you can host a social out-of-hours event (this needn’t be something purely reserved for Christmas).
Take time to inspire staff
Show people what they can achieve through their success. There are many ways of doing this from hiring motivational speakers, watching videos of inspirational people within the trade, giving personal advice learnt from your successes or recounting success stories of other companies. Taking time to show what one person’s individual work has achieved can also serve as motivation. Let individual employees know of positive testimonials left by previous clients, or compliments left by a customer if they are not in direct contact themselves. You should also celebrate team victories together as well as mapping out progress with charts and figures (for example showing a team how close they are to their bonus). Try not to linger on the negatives and focus on improvements.
Spruce up the office
Simply freshening up the office could help motivate staff more. If equipment is dated and décor is tired – invest some money in a little bit of renovation. Change the colours of the walls if they are too drab and take time to declutter. Ask staff to join you in the decision-making process so that they feel like they are as much a part of the change. A simple meeting in which you discuss what could be done to improve the appearance of the office could be fun and motivational.
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