The pandemic has caused global anxiety in almost every sector of life— but none like in the workplace. In fact, many workers state that the pandemic is the most stressful time of their entire professional career, more so even than other national tragedies like 9/11 and the 2008 recession. HR professionals are aware of the struggles that their employees are currently facing—boosting employee morale during a trying time is their top HR concern right now and here at Quantum Services, our team is always our top priority. Forbes reported on how workplace recognition motivates, provides a sense of accomplishment, and makes employees feel valued for their work. Employee recognition is low cost and high impact. In the article, Forbes states: “ADP Research Institute found that U.S. workers who feel strongly connected to their employer are 75 times more likely to be engaged than those who do not feel connected.”
At Quantum Services, we offer continuing training throughout the year to connect with our employees and facilitate growth. Four to five times per year we identify audit supervisors to participate in the Audit Supervisor Development Group (ASDG) training that serves as an organized meeting to listen, share, learn and develop their auditing skills and knowledge. Additionally, management meets often to touch base on ways to boost morale, improve processes, and provide tools and ideas for success. Our employees provide so much insight and value to our organization and making sure they are heard and informed is a priority to keep producing high-performing people and audits!
Ways to Boost Employee Morale
Communicate Often
Improving staff communication can pay off big time. Start by setting clear and realistic goals for each employee. Schedule one-on-one meetings to track progress and to clear up any confusion. Be sure to communicate at every opportunity! Share positive company announcements, like a new product in development or a glowing customer review.
At Quantum Services, we keep our workforce informed regularly through newsletters, a monthly calendar recognizing anniversaries and birthdays, as well as daily communication using Microsoft Teams. All these tools and resources supplement staying connected with our teams from coast to coast as they go about their independent workdays auditing C-Stores
Some good questions for one-on-one meetings include:
- How are you feeling about your job/manager/co-workers?
- Are you facing any challenges? How can I help?
- Are you happy at work? How can I help?
You must provide open, regular communication about issues and achievements that are important to your employees
Celebrate Successes and Give Employee Recognition
Focus on the good! When employees feel appreciated, they have more self-worth and become more productive employees.
- Recognize Employees: shout it from the rooftops! Be sure to send updates to the company to celebrate new hires, personal milestones like anniversaries, create an employee spotlight and allow employees to nominate their peers for awards.
- Share Success: send updates on business milestones like bringing new customers, a new location, smashing the goal, etc. Also celebrate success stories from customers with letters, pictures, videos, and more.
Employees who receive regular, positive recognition will experience:
- Higher productivity
- Better engagement levels
- More loyalty to the company
- Higher morale
- Better customer satisfaction
Be Transparent
Be as transparent as possible. Don’t attempt to hide problems or avoid conversations when morale is low, or you’ll do more damage. Your employees will respect honesty while you work together to fix any issues.
Get Employee Feedback
Getting employee feedback is a great way to boost employee morale during trying times. When you show employees that you’re listening, they will feel heard and are far more likely to be motivated.
Offer Employee Growth
Boost employee morale by giving your team a sense of purpose so they have a goal to work towards and something to look forward to. Employees want to feel a sense of growth to be truly motivated.
Train Managers
Be sure to train your managers in emotional intelligence, communication, giving feedback and recognition, and different leadership styles.
Convenience store auditing might be what we do, but employee morale is something we take pride in! Our inventory auditing jobs at Quantum Services offer a successful career path employees can be proud of. Many of our auditors continue to advance with the company for years and even decades!