8 Tips for Small Businesses to Boost Employee Morale

Are your employees losing focus as the first weeks of 2017 pass by? Keeping employees happy and motivated is key to your business’s success. It is important for small businesses to have loyal and engaged employees to ensure productivity. When employees feel unmotivated and undervalued the business suffers. There are many new and emerging tactics employers across the United States are using to motivate their employees to come to work every day. After the holidays, it can be hard for employees to gain motivation to work hard. With the help of some strategic planning in 2017, you can boost employee morale around your office and increase efficiency for a successful year.

Learn new ways for your small business to boost employee motivation during 2017 with these 8 tips:

1. Break your traditional office routine

When employees are in a rut, switching up the schedule can energize and boost employee morale. Give employees the choice to work flexible hours or start a little later on Mondays to help them stay focused on their work and leave any personal situations at home. Working flex hours can allow employees to be more engaged in their work and be more dedicated to the organization as a whole. If employees are given the option to work flexible hours they won’t stress over picking up their kids or having a doctor’s appointment because they have the opportunity to manage their hours and organize their workload accordingly. Flex hours will provide a great work life balance for employees which can lead to a stress-free workplace.

2. Allow employees time off to give back

Volunteering within the local community is great for boosting employee motivation. Give your employees a few days off per year to help a nearby community in need. A day out of the office giving back is a great way for employees to socialize and relax while working toward a common goal. Volunteering can help employees to feel accomplished and satisfied with themselves. Employees who feel good about themselves radiate happiness which will make the workweek much more tolerable for other employees and employers alike. For example, employees can volunteer at a local food bank, do yard work for the elderly, tutor children at a local school and the list goes on. There are many ways employees can give back to the community. In addition to giving employees time off for volunteering you could organize a list of events and inform them of volunteer opportunities within the community.

3. Offer a work from home option

Working from home 1-2 days per week can satisfy employees who don’t feel they have a good work life balance. Giving employees the freedom to complete work at home can keep them more focused when they do come into the office. Working from home can be a more stress free environment for some employees. Those who have a long commute are able to avoid the traffic and save gas, those who are distracted easily may have a quieter environment and for some, home is a more productive and comfortable space. Working from home isn’t for everyone, some may feel more productive at work rather than home which is why employees should be given this as an option, not a requirement.

4. Invest in your employees

Allow your employees to further their education through professional development programs. Giving employees the resources to learn new things will let them know their employer wants them to be the best version of themselves. When employees feel appreciated, they tend to be more satisfied in their current role. Businesses can offer college tuition programs, traveling to professional conferences or simply a few new training sessions at the office for employees to participate in. However you choose to invest in your employees, we can ensure they will feel appreciated and that appreciation will positively impact their work.

5. Thank employees

Another way to make employees feel appreciated is to thank them regularly. From an employee’s perspective, being thanked and feeling valued is important for their motivation and self-worth. They want to know that what they’re doing matters and is respected by their organization. Thanking employees by taking them to lunch once a month or by just having a sit-down with them telling them they are appreciated will be satisfying. Employees who are emotionally satisfied in the workplace will produce better quality work.

6. Have weekly team meetings

Your team will most certainly feel engaged if included in weekly meetings. Team meetings should serve as updates on current company events, what projects everyone is currently working on, future projects and anything else necessary. If one employee is overloaded with work and another has a light workload, they may help each other out.  These meetings will provide employees with a platform to communicate and organize their workloads with each other. Team meetings can also build relationships between employees and their supervisors by engaging in frequent conversation. Team meetings can be used to express company wide goals to motivate employees as well.

7. Ask for and give feedback

Managers must give constructive feedback to their employees and employees must provide their employers with feedback as well. Communication is crucial to a business’s success. A business can be looked at like a relationship between two people, most fail without frequent communication. Managers should provide employees with feedback on performance at least once per year if not more. If an employee is doing something wrong, the best action is to let them know so they can work on solving the problem. If an employee is confident in the work they are doing they will be motivated to continue. If employees are not doing their best job on a project, their supervisors should communicate that to them. While wrongdoing is negative, employees want feedback so they are not viewed in a negative way by their supervisor and colleagues. Managers should also be open to constructive feedback from their employees. Communication is a two-way street and employers should welcome suggestions on how to improve their processes. If a certain employee is uncomfortable with a way their boss is performing a task or managing, they should feel confident to suggest a new way or process, as long as the problem is solved in a reasonable way. Businesses should encourage two-way communication to boost employee morale throughout the workplace.

8. Encourage use of vacation days

Offering employees ample time off for traveling can increase productivity when they are in office. But it’s not enough to offer employees vacation days, you must encourage them to use the days as well. Some workers are afraid of using vacation days in case they fall behind on their work and some like to save their vacation days for use all at one time. It’s important for productivity that employees use their vacation days in a timely matter to stay refreshed and energized while at the office. If employees don’t want to go away for a long period of time employers can offer programs where vacation time can be split up. Studies suggest that time away from the workplace will increase your overall health and wellness and can lead to increased productivity at the workplace. Different companies came up with different vacation protocols. They range from the whole company closing during the summer to unlimited time off for employees. Whatever you choose, be sure it fits with your company’s goals and objectives and communicates to all employees that vacation is a good thing for individuals and the business as a whole.

There are many things that can be done in terms of motivating employees during 2017 for small businesses. Depending on what is hurting your employee morale, there are many tactics you can use to solve the problems. Luckily for small businesses, it is often easier to adopt new practices because of the smaller nature of the company. Large companies often have difficulties implementing new processes due to their large number of employees. If your small business needs some extra capital to use for boosting employee motivation and overall morale, we can get your business funds to accommodate staffing needs for 2017.  We hope you’ve found these tips helpful for boosting productivity in 2017!