The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
- William James
Morale suffers at the hand of layoffs, job cuts and dips in profits. Since low morale is linked to low productivity, it can lead to continued disappointing profits—a self-fulfilling prophecy. Read on to learn ways of boosting the spirits in your work environment.
Employee Recognition. Employee appreciation can help melt the chip of negative, anti-productive attitudes. Let’s face it; we all want others to recognize the value of our knowledge or service. Even more, employee recognition often pays off more than financial bonuses do, so this is a small investment with a good payoff.
Start an employee award program. Think of ways in which you can link awards to tangible accomplishments. Begin simple and make it attainable.
Give out certificates of recognition. This method works better in settings where awards systems don’t apply. And how should you give a certificate of recognition? In front of the employees’ peers. Take a few minutes to mention the tangible efforts, knowledge or accomplishments that brought about the recognition.
Send “Appreciation Email.” Add time in your schedule each week to send out an email to someone who is persevering through a challenging situation, or who has just kept plugging along, even in the face of low profits and morale. This method may be one of the most impactful. Why? Because it conveys sincerity.
These tactics will propel your team in the face of a challenging environment.
Phillip B. Crosby, author of “Quality Is Free” may have said it best when he stated,“Genuine recognition of performance is something people really appreciate. People really don’t work for money. They go to work for it, but once the salary has been established, their concern is appreciation. Recognize their contribution publicly and noisily, but don’t demean them by applying a price tag to everything.”
Click here to learn more about ways to boost employee morale and create your high performance culture.
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