Losing employees is expensive, but it also causes disruption and can lower morale for your remaining employees.
The more you do to improve your workplace morale and keep your team positive and satisfied, the less likely you are to experience a lot of turnover or churn from your best talent.
How DISC Helps Boost Morale
In many ways, simply treating your team well, investing your time and truly caring about their life milestones, achievements and goals goes a long way. A personal connection is enough for some of your employees. For example, workers with the “I” or “S” DISC styles in particular, will respond well to this approach. For your more task driven hard "D" and "C" types, loyalty can be cemented with tangible rewards for diligent work and tasks well done.
Any time you spend recognizing your teams and individual employees for their achievements and contributions, you’re doing far more than handing over a piece of paper or a gift card; you’re incentivizing and motivating them to continue performing well. Satisfied, happy, loyal employees will keep your business chugging along at top speed and ensure that you are able to meet your goals as a company, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. High morale also makes the workplace just a more positive, better place to spend your time, so everyone wins when your team has an amazing workplace culture to enjoy.
Assess Your Team's Morale
Is your team excited to arrive and ready to tackle new things? Do you hear laughter, joking and enjoyment – or is there a steady stream of negativity and resentment? If you are losing team members, seem to have a negative or unmotivated team or a lackluster culture; one or more of these tips can help. Doing great? Incorporate these tips to improve your workplace even more and retain your top talent. Here are 5 tips to help boost your team's morale.
Tip #1: Show That You Care
Show that you care: You need to demonstrate that you care about more than just what your team does on the job. A simple “Happy Birthday”, a gift for a new arrival or even a “congratulations” when a child’s team wins a big game goes a long way towards connecting with your team. The more people-oriented team members (DISC styles I and S) will particularly appreciate this approach and respond to it well.
Tip #2: Recognize Accomplishments
Recognize accomplishments. It may be easy to recognize and reward that one high D saleswoman. However, you need to consider the support team that made sure your company’s biggest order ever was delivered on time and in perfect condition. Make sure that your employees feel valued and that their contributions are noted. Highlight this team in the company newsletter. Take everyone out for coffee (or order in). Send a note of thanks to keep everyone happy. These are simple, but effective ways to promote morale.
Tip #3: Be Surprising!
Be surprising! Is your company still giving out the same plaque, at the same party, with the same cake every year? The magic could be gone. You don’t have to wait for your annual awards to hand out thanks. Minor, yet unexpected surprises make a much larger impact. You may think about springing for a few gift cards. How about awarding your team with coveted electronics or even hoodies or gear with your logo. They will remember and respond.
Tip #4: Give the Gift of Time
Give the gift of time. Consider mental health days, sick days, vacation days, or whatever you want to call them. Try offering an added paid day off. It could be a big incentive if it's a day that is not connected to a holiday. You can choose one day for a companywide mental break. You can also allow your team to choose a day of their own. Either way, you’ll get a positive response. You will have given them time to do something they love, without sacrificing some of their paycheck.
Tip #5: Mix in some friendly competition
Mix in some friendly competition: Head to an escape room (we did!), organize a volleyball tournament or just some silly games for a company adventure. You’ll all have fun and every member of your team will engage and bond. Your high D types will love the chance to show off and get competitive, while your more people-oriented workers will enjoy the chance to connect in a different way. The staff at FatWallet has video games scattered throughout the facility and regularly engages in fun but competitive tournaments during the work week to keep everyone involved and connected, according to the Rockford Register.
Get the Inside Scoop on What Motivates your Team
You can’t do it all at once, so what should you try first? A look at your team and their individual DISC assessment profiles can help you figure out if you need relaxing fun, indulgent food or some hard driving competition – or a little of each. Learning more about what motivates your team can help you determine which approaches are most rewarding and enjoyable for them; once you know, you can improve morale with ease. Need to know your team’s DISC profiles and styles? We make it easy! Contact us to learn more about DISC and how it can help you boost your team’s satisfaction and morale at work.
