Five Ways to Supercharge Employee Morale

Five Ways to Supercharge Employee MoraleFive Ways to Supercharge Employee MoraleFive Ways to Supercharge Employee Morale Bennington, ContributorDuring the Great Recession, as companies were simply bailing water trying to survive, employee morale and job satisfaction wasnt exactly high on the priority scale.But now that were all seeing a few green shoots in the economy, its time to turn your attention back to giving staff a little overdue tender loving care.Employee Morale and the Bottom LineOh.still thinking morale issues are just soft HR stuff?If so, consider this The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that it costs at least 25% of a persons salary to replace them.So if youre experiencing high employee turnover OR your staff is in place but just phoning it in, what do you think this is costing you in terms of client service, worker productivity and profit potential?The answer is Quite a bit. Besides, youve already spent a lot of money recruiting the best talent, right? Ok, then. L ets talk about how to keep them.Make people your bottom line. If theres one thing most companies dont seem to get, its that employees today want more than just a paycheck. They want to be happy at work, realize a great future, and feel connected to something bigger.Moreover, they want to work from a place of being inspired, not just compliant. If youre not sure where your company falls on this scale or how to get there, your first step is to conduct an employee survey.Hire a third-party administrator so employees feel safe to tell the truth simply ask themHow they feel about working for your organization.Do they know whats expected from them?Do they understand your company mission, vision and their place in it?Do they feel supported and regularly receive constructive feedback on their work?Do they have up-to-date technology? (This is a HUGE source of frustration for employees and yet so easy to fix)Would they describe your company culture as driven yet still collegial?Based on the survey results, identify your companys top three priorities for increased employee engagement and heres the kicker actually take action to address and resolve them.Give em a clear path. The January 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review presented a study that found the 1 driver of employee motivation is an experience of progress. And yet, this is another area where companies dont get it.In fact, a recent study by talent management firm Cornerstone revealed that eighty-two percent of surveyed employees hadnt established ANY career goals with their manager and 53 percent said they didnt have an understanding of how their role contributed to the companys broader business objectives.Um, wow.So this is clearly where career development plans come in however, even businesses that offer plans usually get the process backward.In other words, most companies simply tell employees whats on their plan, thereby missing a big opportunity to increase engagement and, as a result, employee morale. But the process works best when supervisors outline the specific benchmarks that employees are expected to meet and then let the employee take over and offer solutions on how to get there.You may not agree with all of their tactics but the fact that you asked sets the stage for a discussion and not a morale-busting monologue.Understand that time really is money. Lets say you have a fabulous employee and you really want to give them a raise. No, wait. A bonus. Yes, a one-time bonus because that would be easier on the pocketbook. But oops either way you cant afford it.You still have some leverage, my friend, in the way of flexible-work arrangements, extra vacation days, mini-sabbaticals, working from home part-time and/or guilt-free exercise breaks.All of these little gems have been proven to boost morale without upping your payroll.Hire great managers. Its been said that people join companies and leave managers. If youve ever had a dud boss yourself, you know what Im talking about. E xcellent managers can make you want to skip to work. Lousy managers can make you hate your whole life.So in a very real sense the collective morale of your people rests on the competence of your leaders.One of my favorite tools for measuring managers is the Gallup Q12. Gallup spent 7 years and conducted literally thousands of interviews to distill the notion of engagement into a quantifiable questionnaire.If every company held leaders accountable for how their staff answered those 12 questions, wed have a very engaged workforce indeed.Make the connection between morale and recruiting. Heres the deal When your staff becomes disillusioned, your company brand becomes tarnished not just in their eyes, but in the eyes of prospective employees too.After all, everyone is on social media these days and if burnt out employees have taken to the web to talk about you, it will become even more difficult to attract the best talent.So in that sense, what can a negative impression from a current employee do to prevent you from finding future employees? Trust me, if ordinary people using social media can knock down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya you know this stuff is powerful.No, thats not just hyperbole because nothing less than your current and future competitiveness depend on the morale of your employees. So keep your staff happy. Because their engagement doesnt just contribute to the bottom line it drives it.Author BioEmily Bennington specializes in two distinct forms of career transition college students entering the workforce and women leaders entering executive management. Her work deep dives into what Stephen Covey famously referred to as the space between stimulus and response where she challenges executives to choose mindful, values-centered action. Emily is the author of Who Says Its a Mans World The Girls Guide to Corporate Dominationand the co-author of Effective Immediately How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job. She can be rea ched online at emilybennington.com, on Facebook and on Twitter.