October, 2006

11 Top Morale-Building Tips

The investment you make in your people comes back to you in improved attitude and better performance.

By Bill Lee

Managing people is one of the most difficult jobs in business. Most owners I have known over the years who decide to get out of the business rarely do so because of financial problems. It’s usually because they no longer have the stomach for dealing with the myriad people-related problems that are practically unavoidable in the world of business.

But whatever their reasons for getting out of the business, they’re missing out on one of the most rewarding aspects of business—the remarkable return on investment that comes from nurturing your core assets: your people.

I have discovered that people problems are most prevalent in companies with management that is apathetic or indifferent toward its people. When people don’t feel important, when they are not challenged, they usually—somehow, some way—stir up trouble.

One way to help prevent personnel problems is to always have something fun going on in the company. A contest, a promotion or an incentive program; that is, some kind of reward or recognition event. Many times I have seen these kinds of motivational programs work wonders at enhancing employee morale. There are literally dozens of ways to break the monotony of the day-to-day if you merely put your innovative mind to work.

As I have observed building supply businesses over the years, the following are some of the methods I’ve seen that have been effective at rewarding and recognizing employees and generating a positive attitude among personnel:

1. Hold an annual meeting with all employees present. Invite each manager or department head to recognize his or her top producers. In advance, however, be sure to establish measurable criteria that employees must achieve to be recognized.

2. Invite spouses to an annual awards banquet. Employees enjoy being recognized in front of their spouses. Again, specific criteria for each award should have been clear from the outset.

3. Pay employees a bounty for recommending someone for a job if the person is ultimately hired. It’s a good idea to pay the bounty, say, one-third after the first 90 days, one-third after six months and the final third after nine months on the job.

4. Send employees to special seminars, workshops or meetings outside the company to enhance their professionalism. When they return, ask them to give their manager(s) a list of the things they plan to do differently as a result of attending.

5. Reward employees who achieve new “personal bests” with a dinner for two at an upscale restaurant.

6. Pay drivers a bounty for spotting a yet-to-be discovered housing start as they make deliveries.

7. Looking for a morale booster? Organize a summer rafting trip on a weekend. Take a lot of photographs and post them on the company bulletin board.

8. Set up special goals so your own salespeople can participate in customer incentive travel programs.

9. Use company vending machine profits to fund company outings.

10. Take a lesson from the sports world by awarding a plaque to deserving employees. You’ll be surprised at how proudly they will display them in their homes. Even more impressive and less expensive is a framed letter of commendation from the owner or general manager.

11. Offer a special gift to the spouse when an employee accomplishes something special. Back when I was in the computer business, I would send two dozen pink roses to the spouse when one of our sales representatives sold his first computer system.

Add your own ideas to these. Effective ways to reward accomplishment are practically endless. Don’t forget the old saying, “Your people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”