9 Simple Ideas to Boost Workplace Morale (and How to Measure Their Effects)

Companies are starting to see the real value in boosting workplace morale.

“Morale” can be broken down into a very simple concept-- It’s the idea that a business’s workforce can be confident, enthusiastic, and loyal to the business they work for. A company with low morale often also has a very high turnover rate, low productivity, and a general reputation for being a bad place to work.

Boosting workplace morale doesn’t have to involve cheesy team-building competitions or morning chant rituals. Workplace morale can be boosted with just a little hard work and a genuine desire to improve workplace conditions and company culture.

Before we dive into our list of great ideas on how to improve workplace morale, let’s look at how morale correlates to productivity.

How Morale Improves Productivity

Morale goes hand-in-hand with employee experience and quality of life. If you yourself were to be poorly-paid, badly treated, and in a work situation that made you miserable, would you have very much morale or brand loyalty for the company? Probably not.

Improving morale isn’t just an effort of ethics. One symptom of high morale is productivity-- something that businesses can reap the rewards of.

In a stable environment where employees are happy and able to focus, it becomes much easier for them to do their jobs. That, in turn, leads to more work being done and in less time.

So clearly, improving morale is beneficial for everyone-- employees and business owners alike.

These workplace morale-boosting ideas can virtually be used by businesses of any size or niche!

1. Use a workplace morale survey.

Not sure how to measure how well your morale attempts are working? Simply ask your employees how they are.

Workplace morale surveys can be implemented via Slack, email, in person, anonymously, and everywhere in between. They’re great for allowing employees to be candid about what they like and don’t like about their jobs, and just how much of that is due to conditions or culture.

2. Be a little spontaneous.

Good surprises are always welcome, and they can certainly improve the atmosphere of your workplace. Don’t be afraid to be occasionally a little off-the-wall. Let your team go home early once in a while. Throw a party for some achievement the team made. Be generous with bonuses or sponsor company barbecues. The little things are what count.

3. Make it a point to get out of the office more often.

Being stuck inside for 8-9 hours a day is obviously not ideal for one’s health, especially mentally. Team building can be something as simple as a full day out of the office or weekly retreats to a gym or a lunch and learn.

This should be less of a “free day” and more of an intentional workday, just outside of the typical confines of the office. Take this opportunity to communicate with your team and build rapport with coworkers you may only usually see in passing.

4. Always encourage your employees to use their PTO.

Too many businesses try to squeeze as much work out of their employees as humanly possible. This is one way to burn out your employees, get a very high turnover rate, and have very low company morale.

Instead, encourage and remind your reps to use the PTO that they’ve earned. Do not impose guilt onto your team members for using their absolutely earned vacation days. If you let your employees refresh and mentally rest while they’re gone, they’ll likely return with a wealth of ideas and incentives.

5. Be honest about what they can expect in regard to promotions.

Leading someone on is not a good thing, and that’s true for employees who expect a certain level of ease in achieving promotions, the likelihood of promotions, and how much they can expect in raises after being with the company for a certain amount of time.

Give your onboarding employees very clear guidelines for what they can expect in terms of getting promoted and what would be expected after the fact.

6. Invest in your employee training as an ongoing process.

People tend to leave their positions in sales due to poor training and learning opportunities or complete lack thereof. You simply cannot expect a new employee in a new position in a new company to just “figure it out.”

Invest in onboarding training, opportunities for your employees to gain more training if they need it, and places to ask questions without fear of reprimand.

7. Actually talk to your representatives.

Better morale has a lot to do with the relationship between management and the team itself. Leaders need to take the time to get to know their reps. This will help with understanding different communication styles, as well as different working style.

8. Always give positive and effective feedback to your employees.

Feedback is everything. You’re going to want feedback from your employees, and they definitely want feedback from you. Getting feedback from an employer helps an employee not feel anxious about how they are performing and their job security. Make sure this feedback is provided regularly and is highly specific.

9. Use performance and goal-based bonuses.

This is simple-- give out bonuses to high-performing team members. This can create healthy competition and incentives to reach team goals. Bonuses should be monetary but can be complemented with a “kudos” system as well.

KudosBot Can Help You Measure the Effects of Morale-Boosting Ideas

KudosBot is an online service that enables teams to praise team members and celebrate wins. It currently works through Slack and provides an easy mechanism to give kudos and integrate company values with it.