{"id":8662,"date":"2017-04-20T09:45:04","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corevalues.com\/?p=8662"},"modified":"2017-04-20T09:45:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:45:04","slug":"boost-team-morale-improve-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corevalues.com\/dev\/2017\/04\/20\/boost-team-morale-improve-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost Team Morale To Improve Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>You\u2019ve taken most of the steps to build a high-performing team. You\u2019ve honed your\u00a0leadership skills<\/a><\/span>, attracted top talent<\/span><\/a> and built trust<\/span><\/a>. But even with all of these strategies in place, your team may not be as productive as it could be if team morale is low. There are many reasons that morale can be low, including toxic employees, poor management techniques that lack empathy<\/span><\/a>, employees\u2019 personal struggles or even poor hiring choices.\u00a0 When team morale is low, leaders will find that performance stalls, turnover rates increase and company profitability suffers. By carefully tracking and understanding where employee morale currently sits, leaders can help to boost team morale for improved employee performances and company profitability.<\/p>\n

Team Building strategies for boosting team morale<\/strong><\/h4>\n

With the following three team building strategies in place, team member morale will improve, benefiting both the individual and the company as a whole.<\/p>\n

Promote kindness and well-being to boost team morale. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

When company culture and team member morale are suffering, they can\u2019t be fixed overnight.\u00a0 Leaders can help to improve employee morale by focusing on a culture of kindness and well-being. Engagement levels typically suffer when the office environment is socially and emotionally cold. Research concludes that companionship and recognition are more effective at promoting loyalty than salaries increases are. This means that when team members come into the office, they are looking for meaningful relationships, as well as warmth, interdep<\/a><\/span>endence\u00a0<\/a><\/span>and respect from their leaders and from other team members. Team members will also be more productive and happier in the office when they are met with a culture that values and promotes employee self-care and well-being. To achieve this, leaders must do more than offer perks like free gym memberships. Employees need to have flexible-enough work schedules to utilize their memberships, as well as enforced group norms that promote kindness and well-being. For example, Humm Kombucha in Bend, Oregon has a go gossip policy. \u00a0 Employees caught gossiping are fired because it is an emotional safety issue for the company and damages team relationships.\u00a0 It is believed that both the gossiper and listener are harmed by gossip.\u00a0 The gossiper suffers from integrity issues and the listener is harmed by a slanted opinion of a co-worker.\u00a0 Therefore, group norms must apply to everyone with strict boundaries applied to both work time and personal time.<\/p>\n

Treat employees fairly to improve team morale.<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Employees are your greatest asset, so it makes sense that you need to invest time and resources to promote fairness in the workplace. Being fair promotes happiness. The bottom line is that happy employees are more satisfied with their positions, loyal to their companies and better engaged in their work. How you treat your employees \u201cright\u201d can vary based on your company, its culture and its values It means showing your employees respect; offering them competitive salaries; recognizing them (publicly and privately) for their successes; and giving them flexibility when they need time for personal matters. Not only do these strategies improve morale, they also encourage your employees to perform higher quantity and quality work, as well as boost employee loyalty to the company. When employees are treated fairly and feel valued, they perform better and are more satisfied with their companies, creating a win-win situation for all.<\/p>\n

Reduce negativity to improve team morale. <\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n

Mistakes happen, and it\u2019s natural to hold some negative feelings when things don\u2019t go how you expected them to, but problems arise when your company\u2019s culture becomes saturated with negativity. To keep morale high, leaders need to proactively minimize negativity in the workplace to prevent its spread across the team. Leaders can achieve this in a number of ways, including:<\/p>\n