Boosting Employee Morale Needs to Occur Daily, Not Only During Times of Crisis

By June Seroka

One definition of employee morale is the general level of confidence or optimism by a person or a group of people, especially if it affects discipline and willingness. Employee morale can also be a psychological disposition that is subject to environment, work, economic factors and corporate culture.

Boosting Employee Morale
There are many situations in business where you may need to boost employee morale:

• Layoffs
• Employee issues
• Problems within a department or businesses challenges
• If an organization is going through a merger or an acquisition
• If a company is going through a recall
• If a company is going through an outside government investigation or a lawsuit

Anything that puts the company in a limelight could ultimately affect employee morale.

I've been involved in many layoff situations, due to internal factors or mergers/acquisitions. To help organizations work through the layoff process, I have helped their employees by providing outplacement services and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services.

During layoffs, the remaining employees often go through what's called "survivor's guilt," and so boosting employee morale is important.

Open Communication
Boosting employee morale during times of crisis all boils down to open communication. Open communication needs to occur across the board. It starts with top management and trickles down from there.

The middle manager and the supervisors need to have ongoing dialogue with employees and give the employees the opportunity for feedback. The managers should also have processes to help employees feel engaged in the organization. Lack of engagement creates problems at work, affects others and can result in low morale. Employees want to feel connected to the organization.

If employees feel like they are part of the organization as a whole and are tied to the goals of the organization and not just to their particular position, it will positively impact their morale.

Accomplishing Open Communication
Companies can accomplish open communication by having a corporate newsletter. For example, employees may be working in different states or in different locations and so they'll feel tied to the organization when they receive the newsletter. This will also enable employees to learn more about the company's community involvement in different locations.

Have a well-communicated and accessible mission statement that's visible for employees to see. The most important aspect is that the company should not only display the mission statement, but follow it on a daily basis.

Process for Boosting Employee Morale
Boosting employee morale is an ongoing process and employers should want to make it part of their cultural development. Here are the steps to take:

1. Do a client survey/opinion survey
2. Follow-up with the results of the survey
3. Implement an action plan
4. Carry through with the plan
5. Have top management continue building trust within the organization
6. Have ongoing departmental and company-wide meetings
7. Managers and supervisors should provide ongoing communication with staff. This includes communicating goals and objectives and general information, as well as performance feedback.
8. Acknowledge employee accomplishments through rewards and recognition programs

To empower and engage your employees, maintain open communication which includes an ongoing dialogue and continuing feedback. These things need to occur on a daily basis as opposed to just during times of crisis.

One definition of employee morale is the general level of confidence or optimism by a person or a group of people, especially if it affects discipline and willingness.