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Keeping employee morale high is one of the best things you can do to instill loyalty and maintain a productive workplace. Morale affects how motivated your employees are to work for you, suggests how much they will do while at work, and will influence how long they will stay with you. Research suggests that, compared to employees who are motivated, disengaged workers are less efficient, miss more workdays and cost organizations thousands of dollars in lost productivity. As a manager, much of the mood within the organization is in your hands.

The individual who demonstrates full engagement will:

  • Emphasize the positive about the organization – what is going right
  • Look for occasions to say good things about the organization, manager, department or people
  • Volunteer for extra duties
  • Express approval about what the organization is doing and why it is doing it
  • Speak highly of the organization to coworkers, friends, relatives, and members of the community

How can you build and maintain employee morale and engagement? Here are some ideas:

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OPEN THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION AND KEEP THEM OPEN
  1. This is high engagement time – be visible and be around for your employees
  2. Organize ‘unit coffee meetings’ or ‘coffees with your Vice Chancellor or Director
  3. Promptly share news that affects your unit
  4. Communicate your values and objectives for your unit
  5. Let staff know clearly what your expectations are and explain the reasoning behind certain policies or policy changes
  6. Respond to problems, questions or concerns in a timely manner
  7. Encourage honest feedback from your staff
  8. Be empathetic and be a good listener
MOTIVATE BY YOUR OWN EXAMPLE
  1. Show good character and conduct yourself and your business in a manner you want imitated
  2. Demonstrate a positive attitude to serve as an example of optimism and achievement
  3. Set a high standard and act in manner that’s consistent with what you expect from your staff
  4. Focus on things you can control and help your staff to do the same
  5. Be honest, fair and accessible
INVOLVE YOUR STAFF
  1. Ensure your staff clearly understand their role, their impact on customers, and how they bring value to the organization
  2. Solicit their ideas for handling issues and challenges that arise using various methods (one-on-one conversations, team meetings, catalyst, simple comment cards, etc.)
  3. Consult with employees before implementing policies that will affect them and allow them to give input
  4. Help employees feel connected to UWT: support and encourage staff participation in UWT community-building events (e.g., Distinguished Staff Award, Spring Celebration, Staff and Faculty BBQ)
SUPPORT STAFF SUCCESS
  1. Provide adequate tools and training for staff to succeed
  2. Provide continuous feedback informally and by use of formal performance management tools
  3. Give them room to make decisions where appropriate
  4. Challenge your employees with new opportunities to use and develop their skills by considering cross-training opportunities or short-term project assignments
  5. Refer employees to the Washington Employee Assistant Program as needed
  6. Support work/life balance by being accommodating and flexible where appropriate, such as when considering flexible work arrangements
ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE YOUR STAFF
  1. Respect team members as individuals and as professionals
  2. Review Employee Recognition Guiding Principles
  3. Notice Out Loud: Recognize small successes with kind and encouraging words for a job well done
  4. Use the UW Recognition of Appreciation Certificate
  5. Review other ideas for recognition