Low staff morale . . . What to do
Dear e-COACH,
I am the executive assistant to the owner of a family business with 30 employees. He asked me to write to you about our staff morale which isn't very good. New people come and go quickly and there is a lot of complaining, gossiping instead of working like a team. My boss would like to know what to do about this?
Dear Executive Assistant,
Packed into these four sentences is a very big question. How do you improve morale and change the culture in an organization? It must be a priority that is driven from the top by a desire to create a harmonious team, not just another strategy to add more money to the bottom line. If you want to change things, I would start with these four areas:
Hiring - Recruit people who fit your new culture, your values and have the skills you need. If you don't know how to do this, find out, or hire professionals. If a new, properly trained employee isn't working out, it is generally advisable to let them go in the first three months.
Compensation - People are working for you to some extent because they want to get paid. Make sure you are compensating them fairly with both wages and benefits. Compare what you are offering to other companies in your area and industry. If you are not competitive, your staff (the good ones) will leave or (the bad ones) will stay and be negative. Employees are not necessarily motivated by being paid well but they will be demotivated and transient if under-compensated.
Communication - Everyone likes to know what is going on in the organization. Hold regular meetings and share as much as is possible about company plans, finances, changes, successes and challenges. Ask staff for their input and ideas. You may have hired some people just for their hands, but you can also use their brain for free. Above all, be honest and forthright about the business.
Be Human - If you never bend a rule, allow mistakes or hear people laughing in your workplace, you may need to lighten things up. Every employee is somebody's mom, son, sister, uncle. They are all entitled to dignity and respect. They will work harder than you could every imagine, if you treat them that way. Listen to them, help them to learn from their mistakes and encourage their creativity. Cut them some slack when they have an occasional problem and value what they bring to your company. Without them, all you have is a building, some machines, some inventory. Offer rewards and fun company events (maybe a BBQ this summer?) Never forget that your customers are watching how you treat your employees too.
There are no perfect employees (or bosses). Decide what small imperfections you can live with and emphasize the positive. It may take months to improve the morale, but the rewards will amaze you! Let me know how it goes.
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