How to boost employee morale in the workplace

Knowing how to boost employee morale in the workplace is more than just organising fun activities or corporate days out, it also leads to a stronger sense of belonging and increased productivity levels. 

Although achieving a high level of employee happiness and satisfaction can sound challenging, sometimes more thoughtful actions can have a bigger impact. 

In this blog, we will share our top tips on how to boost employee morale and employee engagement in the workplace.

Centralised communication

It is essential to have two-way communication within the workplace because it allows management to hear feedback from frontline and desk based employees.

Two-way communication fosters collaboration and ensures that all employees are on the same page. This is key to boosting employee morale, as workers feel heard and develop a sense of belonging at work.

Ways you can create two-way communication could include anonymous feedback forms and pulse surveys, allowing managers to identify areas where improvements can be made to make employees feel happier and passionate about their work.

A good example is NatWest, who, by working with intranet software Oak Engage, created an award-winning intranet that has increased engagement across their 80,000 employees by giving people a single source of truth.

“Oak Engage has transformed the way we communicate, delivering a single news feed which aligns with our ‘one bank’ strategy. Consolidating our offering has created a clear channel for communications and a single source of truth. We're already seeing positive engagement from colleagues.” 

-Alan Harris, Director of Internal Communications at NatWest

Cutting out the additional noise

Reducing unnecessary communication and streamlining important messages helps employees stay focused. NatWest utilised our company intranet software to decrease excessive emails and unify communication, leading to reduced inbox clutter and more effective engagement. 

A daily news round-up email was introduced to make it easier for NatWest’s people to get the latest news, straight to their inbox. It means comms aren’t getting lost and it cuts out the noise. Using intelligence, every single user is delivered a highly personalised newsletter experience. The content is based upon the explicit preferences of the colleague and also implicit preferences gained from behavioural information. Since working with Oak Engage, they have reduced the number of stories on their homepage by 70%, achieved 99% monthly engagement and 89% newsletter sign-up rates.

One study found that 60% of emails received by employees are not important. Therefore, reconsidering your internal communications and HR strategies, and switching to an employee engagement app where you can engage with your employees and tailor messages to them, would be really beneficial. 

Recognition in the workplace

Recognising employee milestones fosters a culture of appreciation. It allows managers to shine recognition on their employees and showcase all the amazing work they do. For example, Five Guys and Oak Engage developed ‘Chatty Patty’, an employee engagement app that enables quick communication within their deskless workforce and promotes a sense of recognition and community.

You can implement this in your workplace by launching an employee spotlight series that features employees key milestones. According to the Quantum Workplace report, when employees believe they will be recognised, they are 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged.

Our Employee Happiness Survey found that a third (33%) of people reported their place of work does not recognise employee achievements and 16% rated the communication of their company as poor or terrible. On the other hand, Gallup reports that well-recognised employees are 45% less likely to have turned over in the last two years. This clearly shows that simple recognition can go a long way.

Company-wide competitions

Healthy competition always promotes engagement and can boost morale in the workplace because it gives employees something to work towards as well as talk about with each other. Competitions can sometimes break up mundane routines, create excitement and anticipation.

Partnering with Oak Engage, Halfords introduced an intranet naming competition, inviting employees to submit their ideas for the intranet name. The initiative received a lot of engagement, highlighting the enthusiasm and unity amongst the employees.

Conclusion

How to boost employee morale? It begins with actively measuring engagement, gathering, listening to and acting on employee feedback and creating fun initiatives, such as competitions. By prioritising clear high-quality communication over quantity, alongside employee well-being and happiness, you will create a motivated team that drives overall business success. Hopefully, you now know how to boost employee morale in the workplace and can implement these tips at your own place of work.

Ultimately, leveraging digital tools and platforms such as an intranet or employee engagement app, allows companies to transform mundane tasks and disengaged employees into exciting, collaborative experiences that revitalise the workplace.

Book a demo or contact us for more information on how we can help you increase employee engagement and boost employee morale in the workplace.