With staff beginning to migrate back to the office following the latest lockdown, uncertain times lay ahead. Many employees will not have seen other members of the team in person for over a year, so it is vital that you prepare your office space in advance. Think about how you are going to get the team reconnected again, whilst ensuring they are working in a safe and COVID-secure environment.
A famous motivational speaker, Simon Sinek once said:
“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.”
This speaks volumes and also highlights the importance of good office morale in order to improve productivity and positivity within the team. How do you improve office morale though, and give your staff that boost they need? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Communication
Every business needs open lines of communication between different departments and levels of staff. Employees should feel comfortable asking questions and contributing to ideas, no matter how senior the staff are within the organisation. It is the responsibility of the employers to have a regular open dialogue with staff to ensure there are not any issues that need addressing or difficulties they are facing. Try and look at using some communication tools such as Skype or Slack which are often seen to be more casual than sending an email, for example.
Transparency
If you hide things from your staff, they will soon lose faith in the organisation and stop trusting you. Whilst there are some aspects of the business that should be kept confidential by the senior management team, try and keep employees involved where possible. Particularly if top-level business decisions are going to filter down and impact the work they are carrying out. Take the time to educate your staff on the overall goals of the business, and how their responsibilities align with these. Again, this will help to make them feel more valued so they will be more likely to contribute more.
Encourage Growth
Do you have a training budget for your staff that allows them to upskill themselves and progress within the business? Providing employees with goals will give them a sense of purpose, which will not only help improve office morale but also their levels of motivation too. If you have big plans for growing the business, make sure your team are on board with this. Growing companies often have an increased retention rate of staff as more opportunities will be available for them.
Flexibility
During COVID businesses have had to be flexible, in particular with their employees. New digital communication tools will have been introduced in order to keep the team connected during the lockdown, so why not continue to use them? Many employees have grown accustomed to the flexibility of working from home, so rather than taking that away from them and instructing them back into the office, a hybrid model may be a better alternative. This is where staff have to work from the office several times a week and can work at home for the remainder. Working from home has helped to reduce stress for many individuals, particularly parents who have previously been juggling taking their children to school and getting to work on time.
Incentivise Your Team
Incentives don’t always have to be financial, and in fact, often they are better not being financial. Think about additional perks that you could introduce to your employees. Could you offer them free membership at the local gym, regularly team-building activities, or allow dogs in the office? Modern office spaces are likely to attract enthusiastically, a young talent so thinks about how your office looks. Is there room to add a chillout area where your team can relax during their lunch break?
So there you have it, some of our top ideas on how you can improve office morale. We would love to hear your ideas and suggestions too – feel free to leave a comment below. If you are considering a hybrid working model, don’t forget our coworking space too. It is the perfect area for your team to work if they have too many distractions at home!