Disengaged workers cost US businesses between $450-550 billion each year. Not taking active steps to re-engage your employees and boost employee morale means you risk losing money, losing customers, and losing revenue.
So let’s dive into what you can do to counter low employee morale in your business.
Address the elephant in the room
It will be awkward. But one of the ways to show employees that you’re on their side is to address the elephant in the room that is low employee morale and whatever’s causing it. It could be mergers, acquisitions, layoffs, etc.
Effective internal communication makes 85% of employees feel more connected to their jobs. So addressing the elephant in the room is a difficult but necessary way to get people back onboard.
It also shows a level of empathy that will help reassure your employees that you’re still on their side. You get that times are tough and it’s not easy for you either.
Just remember not to make it all about you or your experiences. This can come across as insensitive and have the opposite effect, causing employees to check out even more.
Instead, consider how you can form an open dialogue with employees about what’s happened, what’s happening, and what will happen next.
And, more importantly, address the impact it’s having on everyone’s mental health. Give them space to reflect.
If you want to improve employee morale, ensuring they know you have their interests in mind is key.
Trust your employees
You hired your employees because they’re experts in their fields and you want them to do the job. So, trust their judgment and give them autonomy.
If you’ve previously given them autonomy and then take that away without explaining things, it can lead to undue stress and disengagement. They may feel micromanaged.
It also suggests you don’t trust their skills or judgment, and you don’t want them to make decisions at work. All of which can contribute to low employee morale.
Say what you mean
There’s nothing worse than being told how to do something, doing it, then being told you’ve done it wrong.
One of the big things that can impact employee morale is leadership hypocrisy or contradictions.
When leadership says employees should be honest, then penalizes them for voicing their opinions, this has far-reaching impacts. Not just on the person who was penalized but on their direct colleagues and those who know about it, too.
So save the corporate speak and be upfront with your employees.
Find out what’s really going on with your team
How often do you sit down in team meetings to find out what’s happening on the ground?
I don’t just mean sitting in on the odd sales call to find out what prospects think. It’s about actually being part of the conversation to find out how employees feel and what’s preventing them from performing in their roles.
Most leadership teams are pretty disconnected from what’s happening further down in the company. There might even be some who don’t want to hear what’s happening. Particularly if they have a “don’t come to me with problems, only solutions” mindset.
There are some problems that can only be solved by, or are better solved with the help of, leadership or HR teams. Hiring new employees; accommodating someone’s health issues; purchasing new or better tools; conflict resolution. The list goes on.
And the only way you find out what’s really happening is by being in the room with employees. Because some simply won’t feel comfortable raising topics impacting employee morale even if you ask.
Send a feedback survey
I know I said some won’t feel comfortable raising problems or challenges even if you ask, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Especially not when 58% of employees want workplaces to conduct more engagement surveys.
There are also things you can do to protect employees’ identities. For instance, allowing them to fill in the feedback form anonymously.
Collect a balance of qualitative and quantitative feedback when you send a survey. That way you can look for trends and get more detailed responses on what’s going wrong and possible suggestions on how to fix things.
Using Workrowd, you can send automated feedback surveys in response to programs and events. The process of sending and analyzing your surveys becomes easier, giving you more time to act on the responses and create a better work environment that will improve employee morale.
Connect your teams
Whether through team activities, employee groups, or other initiatives, connection is more important than ever when employee morale is low.
Encourage team members to connect with their colleagues through shared interests and activities.
Workrowd can help you organize your employee groups and initiatives so that they’re easy for employees to find and sign up for.
Focus time
Conversely, you also want to give employees time to focus. This could be time to reflect during periods like layoffs. Or it could be time to concentrate on their work without worrying about Slack notifications.
Focus time plays a pivotal role in our mental health and productivity, in addition to impacting employee morale. Unfortunately, we seldom get enough of it any more due to the constant influx of notifications from every direction. Focus time allows employees to reflect, concentrate, and do their jobs.
61% of employees feel overwhelmed by relentless demands and are at risk of burnout. Giving them this focus time, free from all the requests, helps them get back on top of responsibilities and clear their heads.
Conclusion
Low employee morale can happen for a variety of reasons. What really matters is that you reassure employees you’re still a team and can work together to overcome what’s caused the challenges you’re facing.
One way you can find the information you need is by sending an employee feedback survey.
Workrowd helps you automate your surveys so that you can send them at important touchpoints. Beyond that, the platform will also analyze the data for you, so you get the results all ready to go. That way, you can concentrate on improving employee morale.
Get in touch to find out how our all-in-one platform can help supercharge your organization.
