Building a successful, engaged and knowledgeable team that gets along is no easy task. You need the right people with the right attitude and skillset. But how do you get the most out of your team once they are on board? The answer is creating good team morale.
So, how can this be done?
First of all, it’s important to understand what team morale is;
the amount of confidence and enthusiasm that a person or a group has at a particular time
In an organisational sense, employees’ overall outlook towards their organisation or business. Which can also be viewed as the confidence an employee has in their team, manager and company.
Good team morale means that employee satisfaction is high and will result in happy and engaged employees. When employees are happy and have a good work-life balance, they’re more likely to produce higher quality work. Employees who experience less stress are more focused, creative and open to changes and new ideas.
Here are 3 tips to help you boost team morale:
1. Build trust
Empower your team to do their jobs effectively and autonomously. Give freedom, encourage development, and develop trust with your team to make the right decisions without being micro-managed. This will give them the confidence that their opinions and decisions matter. Celebrate success and show appreciation, even for the small things – a bit of gratitude and recognition can go a long way.
2. Lead by example
As social beings, we are likely to follow the cues of the people we view as leaders. Lead by example and create great team morale by being involved and understanding workloads and pressures, demonstrating your support and how your teams’ efforts contribute to the wider business. Lead with empathy, check-in to see how your team is feeling and be flexible if they have other pressures on in their life – we are all human after all! Be transparent and ask for feedback; creating an open feedback loop and taking action on what you need to work on will encourage your team to do the same.
Be transparent and ask for feedback; creating an open feedback loop and taking action on what you need to work on will encourage your team to do the same.
3. Encourage work/life balance
Overall wellbeing is equally as important as resources and workload. Encouraging your team to have a healthy and fulfilling life outside of work contributes to team morale. Overall, people with a satisfying and healthy life are more likely to be engaged at work, creating a positive work environment for other team members. Encouraging regular breaks, offering flexibility for interests and encouraging time off can all help to increase morale. Employee benefits can also add to easing the stresses of everyday life.
Alongside positively contributing to increasing team morale, it is also crucial that companies are mindful of factors that can decrease staff morale, such as a stressful work environment, unstable leadership and poor communication.
High morale = happy employees and increased retention. Building team morale and company culture are essential to establishing long-term employee satisfaction. It starts with good leadership and ensuring your employees have the tools they need to succeed.
Reference: Asana