Increasing Employee Morale And Productivity With Solutions That Work
Anyone who has managed a team of people in virtually all industries has heard the phrase ‘a cheerful employee is a productive employee’. Though there have been countless psychological studies linked to employee satisfaction and increased departmental efficiency; the one peep that has always stuck out in my mind throughout my career in management has been the ‘Hawthorne Effect’. To make a long story short, a consumer products factory called Hawthorne Works had authorized a gawk to gawk if its factory workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. According to the findings in this study the workers’ productivity improved when changes were made to both increase and decrease overhead lighting. Interestingly, employee productivity slumped when the study was concluded. The study at Hawthorne Works suggested that that the increase in employee productivity was due to the motivational effect of their management team showing interest in creating a better work environment for them.
In addition to the standard benefits packages (Health, Dental, Vision Insurance, Disability Benefits, Flexible Spending Accounts, Profit Sharing, Educational Incentives, Tuition Reimbursement, 401K, etc;) that organizations offer potential employees to attract the best and the brightest, some savvy organizations are offering not only a benefits package; but a ‘lifestyle package’. Unique organizations know that employees not only need competitive salary and benefits packages, but there is also the need for a positive work environment that offers each employee the incentive to work hard to produce results. Realistically, employees spend a minimum of 40 hours per week contributing to the success of their organization. Environment and incentives are imperative to making that time as results driven for a department as possible.
Whether you are a manager at a Fortune 500 company or you believe a small business on a tight budget; the below recommendations are sure to increase the employee morale and productivity in your department.
Create a ‘Work/Life Balance’ Supportive Environment- In this day and age telecommuting and flexible hours at work is increasing in popularity due to many people wanting to have adequate time to pursue their career while nurturing their families and life goals. Many working individuals are taking on dual home based and work based roles for a variety of reasons ranging from financial security and family-rearing to personal goal attainment. Telecommuting and flexible hours creates the perfect environment for employees to be as dedicated to their work as they are to their families and other interests. In addition, most people thrive in a working environment that breeds trust and responsibility. Telecommuting and flexible hours are benefits that employers can offer their employees at a nominal overhead cost. I have worked for many an organization that offers their employees laptops which were used remotely or at the company location, VPN access into the network, and webmail. Also, this type of work environment allows employees to meet deadlines even when they must be out of the office on corporate travel or personal business. Working in a ‘flexible’ environment is by far the best for me as a working mother for countless reasons. Employee happiness, loyalty, and retention were never an issue at the flexible organizations where I worked because we all felt trusted and supported due to schedules we managed with our team.
Offer Financial Incentives-With the economy slowing down the savvy management professional has to derive intelligent about their means of driving team sales and revenue. Most clients have no time to deal with the standard sales approach that offers little solution to the needs of their organization. The manager that leverages their team to benefit their team will have employees dedicated to bringing in the business that will afford their salaries and growth potential. The best way to keep the team working is to have billable tasks for each employee to work on. Thus enter the concept of ‘Expansion Sales’. Expansion Sales is when an employee that is not designated as section of the primary sales force works with clients to sell products and services to back the client’s needs. Expansion Sales drives revenue in that an employee who works with a client daily is more in touch with their organizational goals as well as their budget. This ongoing sales approach can lead to years of continued business with a client that was initially forecasted to buy only limited products or services. Team members who contribute to Expansion Sales should be offered a fair percentage of the revenue that they generate for the organization. Simply aligning Sales Expansion goals to an employee’s annual salary increase will ensure that most people accomplish what is necessary to ‘get by’. Offering monetary rewards in addition to salary will motivate many employees to seek out those additional revenue driving opportunities.
Encourage Physical Health and Wellness- There is a direct link in a person’s physical health to their happiness and well being. Individuals in optimal physical health feel better, and are better equipped to come to the office and focus on the tasks at hand. The only declare to maintaining optimal physical health via exercise is lack of time. At the end of the day the average employee will do family obligations, deadlines, and personal management activities ahead of taking time to exercise. An organization that supports physical fitness for employees that desire an active lifestyle will have team members that are less stressed and able to focus. There are many levels of support that an organization can offer employees to achieve physical wellness that will not break their annual operating budget. I worked in a ‘best case scenario’ organization that had a high-tech fitness center onsite that employees could use at no cost. This benefit allowed me to exercise while I was at the office and needed a wreck. I would come back refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks that I had to walk away from. Organizations that do not have the budget or place to offer this level of incentive can offer employees annual ‘Fitness Center Reimbursement’ in an amount that is operating budget friendly, or work with local fitness centers to provide discounted membership fees to employees. Guzzling endless gallons of coffee to ’stay alert’ and ‘energize’ have been dumped by most health conscious employees in favor of increasing activity to beget energy and focus.
Get ‘Out’ of the Office-Yes, you read this correctly. There are times when your team members have been staring at the same four walls for 12 plus hours on any given day working to meet a deadline. I have lost count of all of the design sessions or proposal reviews that I have been involved in that had myself and my team confined until we have produced the documentation needed to bring billable work into the organization. To say that people become sick of being in the same place for so long is an understatement. To break that ’same stuff different day’ feeling it is critical to offer a change of scenery. Holding a meeting or design session outside of the office gives employees the change they need to boost creativity. Instead of catering lunch in for another day, host the lunch break or work session at a coffee shop or a restaurant. When the team has been working an endless stream of hours and all you can see are sunken, blank eyes staring relieve at you take it as a cue to offer a break. Take the session outside if weather permits, grab a game of mini-golf, or hit a movie. Change of venue can be energizing and mood boosting for all team members.
Have an ‘Open Door’ Policy- While this management tactic seems to be determined, I can confidently say that I have worked at organizations that boast aid of an initiate door policy but do not follow through. Bottom line: employees want to work for an organization where they can speak to their managers with honesty and professional integrity. The offer of an open door policy by a manager should be within the confines of employment law as well as be supportive organizational business and ethical practices. Managers should set the tone with employees and help them to understand that the conversations should be work related. The open door policy should not extinguish with the employee to manager relationship but should be extended across the organization. Open lines of communication that are fostered from the top down approach (i.e. upper management communicates with all employees on company business and happenings) help employees to feel as if they know where they stand in terms of their place in the organization. An excellent way to encourage an open company communication policy is to occupy quarterly ‘All Hands’ meetings. All Hands meetings allow managers the opportunity to share company news with all team members in a collective setting. Successful All Hands meetings include time for employees to ask questions on the materials presented or share thoughts and ideas based on what they have learned from the management team. Staging the All Hands meeting during a casual lunch hour with food provided is an additional incentive to get team members excited to benefit. Employees that are ‘in the know’ employ much less of their time at work speculating on false scenarios.
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