A person’s emotional and mental wellbeing impacts their quality of work. That is a given. It is why benefits extend beyond healthcare and go into what wellness bonuses employees will receive. A gym membership, for example, or perhaps a wellness retreat at the end of the year.
Improving employee morale and productivity needs to be done in several stages. You need to care for their wellbeing, yes, but you must also help them progress. They need to feel like they have a viable future with your company if they are to stay.
To help you reach the goal of a productive and hard-working staff, you’ll want to follow this guide:
Improve the Office Environment
The office is where employees spend a good chunk of their day and it should, therefore, be one that is comfortable to work in. A great way to improve your office is to bring in your employees to the decision making process. Open office plans were lauded as a great way to improve morale, but not everyone works well without the private space necessary to remove distractions.
Take a poll so that you can work out how you can rearrange the office to suit the most amount of people. For example, you could subdivide the office so that there are cubicles and open office arrangements.
Create After Work Programs for Employees
This doesn’t have to cost you much. Simply see if anyone would like to organize after work groups. A running group, for example, can be a great way for employees to become more comfortable with each other and get healthy.
Offer Internal Career Advancement Opportunities
If you want your employees to work hard, there needs to be a payoff. That is why you should make a point to promote internally first. Only when you have gone through your current employees as options, should you hire outside. This will showcase your commitment to their career progression and make everyone work harder.
Sponsor Employees for Skill Development
Your business needs certain skills, but only hiring people with those skills will limit your options. A better way is to sponsor your current employees to learn those skills and gain the necessary qualifications. They will know your business intimately as they learn and will immediately know how to apply what they have studied. They will also be more loyal, as they have a future with your business, even if a promotion isn’t on the immediate horizon.
A great way to offer this sponsorship is to find organizations that provide comprehensive courses. You can have some employees earn a Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, for example, in as little as two weeks. They will learn key concepts that will help your business become more efficient and streamlined and can return to earn the internationally recognized Black Belt Certification in no time.
Your employees need to be supported and feel like they have a viable future with your company. If they can see their dreams coming true with you, they will work harder and more passionately every day. They will go above and beyond and come up with innovative solutions that will set your company apart from your competitors.
