Changes You Can Make to Company Culture to Help Motivate Staff
Under any circumstances, taking the time to brainstorm ways to boost workplace morale is always a smart investment. It leads to productivity, positivity, and an overall healthy environment that feels psychologically safe and comfortable for all.
Looking for inspiration? We’ll highlight a few tried-and-true ways you can boost morale in the workplace.
What Causes Low Workplace Morale?
First things first, before you can work towards making improvements, it’s important to get to the root of the issue and have a solid understanding of what may be causing low morale. Here are some of the most common culprits:
- Lack of Growth. For any business, growth is not only inevitable, but necessary. The same goes for your team. When your team isn’t growing in their roles and your company is remaining stagnant, it’s easy to become disengaged and feel unmotivated.
- Unclear Expectations. When staff do not have expectations for their role made clear to them, it can lead to confusion, frustration, and lack of motivation.
- Change in Leadership. Sometimes, change is necessary. But when change happens quickly and staff aren’t given enough notice or time to adjust, it can lead to poor morale across the board.
- Poor Leadership. Great leaders make great teams. But if there are issues within your leadership, this can trickle down and affect the overall morale of your staff.
3 Tips to Improve Morale
1. Seek Out and Embrace Feedback
Demonstrate to your team that you are open to feedback and constructive criticism. Showing them that you’re listening by taking their feedback to heart will make them feel heard and respected. But don’t just listen – show that you are serious by making changes and implementing the feedback provided.
2. Communication, Collaboration, and Transparency
It’s true what they say – communication is key to any healthy relationship, including the ones you have with your team at work.
Encouraging collaboration between departments and creating an office culture of transparency is also vital to ensure your team feels valued and respected. Don’t try to sweep issues under the rug or avoid uncomfortable conversations.
3. Go Out of Your Way to Recognize Employees for Their Work
Always try to focus on the good and give praise and recognition to your staff to ensure they feel they are valued. This is one of the most significant ways you can boost morale and improve productivity.
Don’t wait for morale levels to dip. Re-evaluating your office culture and implementing these changes will ensure morale levels stay high and your team feels motivated and valued at work.
Philippe Patry
Philippe is a member of the ADR Institute of Canada, a member of the Institut de médiation et d’arbitrage du Québec, a member of the BAR since 1995, and holds a Chartered Mediator (C. Med). As a bilingual lawyer, trained investigator, and dispute resolution expert with a wealth of experience in social work and psychology, Philippe is uniquely qualified to perform workplace investigations, mediations, restorations, and mindfulness services for public and private sector organizations. Acting with sensitivity, Philippe combines decades of experience and a passion for helping others in his comprehensive, evidence-based approach to workplace dispute resolution.