3 Ways to Improve Morale- For Free

When I work with companies, I am often asked, "How can we improve morale without pay increases or big bonus structures?" Here are 3 of my top 10 tips:

1. Implement a simple Employee Recognition Program- When an employee is nominated by their co-workers or Manager, they are eligible for a "Caught in The Act" Award. You can call the award whatever you like, but make it special and only given out to a limited number of recipients. "Caught in the Act" Awards can be a simple certificate with the recipient’s name and their Manager's signature printed on a normal piece of paper. (There are some great certificate templates in PowerPoint.) Some choose to present these during a monthly ceremony in the office. Others may choose to present them right away when the positive action occurs. I prefer to present them right away in front of the team. Keep a tally of how many each person has earned. At the monthly meeting or quarterly event, present an Employee of the Month/ Quarter Award based on the number of awards earned. Awards not only recognize achievement and positive behaviors, awards also make people feel appreciated. Achievement and appreciation are right up there with money.


2. Training and Development- I recommend that each manager be required to take 30 minutes per month to teach something about the industry to their team. This helps to develop the “big picture” and gives people an opportunity to expand their minds and ask questions. It also helps staff to better understand why their job is so important and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to learn and feel like they are improving. Gaining additional knowledge and training is right up there with money.

3. Prioritizing completion of Annual Reviews and implementing quarterly or monthly reviews- People need to feel like they are making progress. Plus, they crave leadership. Even if there are no monetary gains, the team needs to know they are making a difference. Therefore, I recommend adhering to an established review process. Each manager must give their staff consistent and timely feedback. Why? One of the biggest complaints I hear from staff is that they don’t receive feedback on their performance. And their frustration is only compounded when they don’t see any monetary gains after an annual review. When staff starts to feel like what they do is pointless, they start to consider other options. We need to develop our team and lead them to greater levels of achievement. I recommend development through consistent constructive feedback and I guarantee we will see tremendous results. Developing staff is investing in our future.

For more information or to give feedback, contact us at contact@willholmesconsulting.com or visit us at www.willholmesconsulting.com. We look forward to hearing from you!


-Will Holmes