Although managers are mostly tasked with seeing that projects are accomplished properly and work flows smoothly, they are also responsible for the morale of the teams they lead. If you’re in a management position, you may have wondered how you could help give your team a boost to make its members happier and more productive. Here are four simple, actionable ways you can increase team morale and get the best work from your team.
Always Recognize Accomplishments
For a worker, there’s nothing worse than a manager who never takes the time to recognize a job well done. Whenever your team or one of its members achieves a major goal, you should be offering verbal praise and congratulations. This can be as simple as telling everyone that they did a great job on a recent project during a morning meeting, as even a basic act like this will help build better morale.
Reward Great Work with a Free Meal
As effective as verbal praise is, it won’t take your employees’ morale to the highest possible level on its own. A great way to add an additional reward for a job well done is to offer a free meal after the completion of a major project. For instance, if your team works extra hard to meet an important deadline, you might offer to send out for El Molinito restaurant & catering or a catered meal from your local favorite. If you’re rewarding a single person for going above and beyond, you might offer to take him or her to a favorite restaurant for lunch. Keep in mind that it isn’t the monetary value of the meal that’s important, but instead the gesture to show your appreciation for your team’s hard work.
Give Your Workers Extra Breaks
Sometimes, giving your team a few extra minutes to relax will help them refocus on their work and be more productive. If you feel your workers could use a short break to gather their thoughts and rest up, you should tell everyone to take a 10- or 15-minute break. Even though you’ll lose a small amount of time, you’ll find that it’s more than made up for by your employees’ greater productivity when they return to work.
Schedule a Fun Activity on the Clock
To reward your team for especially hard work on a big project or major goal, you may want to take them out for a fun activity during normally scheduled working hours. As an example, you might take the last two hours of the afternoon on a Friday to go bowling. Be sure to consult your team before you schedule the event, since it will be even more rewarding if they are allowed some input on the activity you choose.
These are just a few of the things you can do as a manager to ensure your team is working with high morale. Though these steps are very simple, you’ll find that they pay huge dividends in employee satisfaction.
Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from West Jordan, Utah. She graduated from the University of Utah and enjoys writing and spending time with her dog, Max.
