If your company is like most, you may struggle to find effective ways to reward employees without spending a lot. Thankfully, when it comes to boosting morale in these unpredictable economic times, money isn’t everything. Here are some creative ideas to keep your staff’s spirits and productivity high, while keeping an eye on your bottom line:
- Keep employees informed. Make sure employees understand your organization’s current “state of the union.” Communicate what challenges and goals your company faces, as well as the factors that will contribute to your success.
- Let employees know what they can do to help achieve that success. Explain how increasing customer service and loyalty, increasing efficiency, minimizing waste, etc. can help achieve company goals. The more employees believe they can have an impact on organizational outcomes, the higher their productivity and morale will stay.
- Ask employees for input. Before making decisions that impact their roles or work – and may possibly lower spirits – ask employees for their feedback. If you attempt to understand their perspectives and feelings, changes will be more readily accepted.
- Respond to staff members’ questions and requests promptly. Both morale and productivity suffer greatly when employees feel their concerns are just “swept under the rug.” So if you don’t have one already, create a formal process for addressing employee issues in a timely manner.
- Give employees a sense of ownership by increasing responsibility. For example, one Philadelphia-based consulting firm creates voluntary employee committees to set up an annual health fair and ongoing food co-op. The extra work makes employees feel good and allows potential leaders to hone their skills.
- Consider alternative rewards to company picnics. Believe it or not, many employees find forced company socialization a burden. So instead of spending money on an annual cookout, consider other ways to drive productivity. Try awarding spa or salon gift certificates, movie passes, etc. to thank employees for their individual efforts.
- Institute a peer-nominated employee recognition award. An Atlanta business school awards employees for personal achievements as well as organizational contributions that go beyond job responsibilities. This company finds that recognizing just one employee creates a huge boost in morale company-wide.
- Offer more flexible work schedules. For many workers, especially single parents and other caregivers, having the flexibility for personal time to handle family obligations is a huge morale-booster. And often, your company can offer this perk without incurring additional expense. Ideas include earlier/later start times; working four 10-hour days; working from home one day a week; and job-sharing.
Staffing Can Boost Morale and Drive Productivity
Here are two more ways A.R. Mazzotta can help keep your staff’s spirits and productivity high:
- Treat an employee to a day off. Allow us to provide a temporary replacement for the day.
- Reduce employee burnout. Bring in our temporaries to help ease the burden of overtime. Remember, you can avoid paying overtime by using our employees to handle the extra hours.