London, 23 September 2009 - Fiona Wilson, Operations Director of Ajilon explains that there are still a number of ways in which businesses can boost their staff morale and productivity during the recession without necessarily increasing their wage costs.
“Our research tells us that there is more to staff happiness than simply their wages. Where some workers may be happy with their current salaries, there are a number of other factors which will contribute to their workplace happiness and in turn productivity.”
Listen
It’s important in any role to listen to others; particularly if you are a manager or employer. By listening to your workforce and being open to constructive feedback, will let you know more about your staff’s concerns and any aspect of their work that they’re unhappy with. These conversations need to be conducted in a structured way which allows employees to give appropriate feedback at a stated time; enabling employees to be open and honest.
Take a break
While it may appear counter-productive, taking a break from work is essential to let employees recuperate and approach their work in a refreshed and enthused way. Whether you offer a slight increase on the annual leave quota or arrange office ‘away days’, make it clear to staff that you have done this with their best interests at heart.
Company outings
What may initially seem like a costly exercise can in fact be a hugely beneficial investment. A company outing doesn’t need to be a huge event or indeed a regular occurrence; just a day, or half a day, away from work to spend some time relaxing with colleagues over some food and drink will show staff that you appreciate their hard work and are grateful for everything they do. What’s more, the cost of providing food and drink for everyone is sure to be significantly less than boosting wages across all staff.
Reward system
Motivating staff with performance related incentives is a great method of improving productivity. Although wages may have to be cut, smaller, and significantly cheaper, bonuses may still be applicable in certain industries. For instance, in jobs which offers sales targets it’s easy to reward top performing staff from each month with a small monetary or token reward such as vouchers, hampers or similar. This is possible in a number of jobs but may take a little more creativity in other cases.
Training
This is a great way to help staff improve their skills base and at the same time get support from their employer. If budgets do not extend to external training sessions then employers should consider group training on-site. This can be run by an external expert or even an employee who is willing to share their skills and knowledge on a specific topic to a large audience.
Be flexible
Employers need to remember that not everyone can work effectively around the same schedule. Where applicable, offering flexible working patterns is a really good way to improve productivity. Some people may work better at different times in the day, where as some may have other responsibilities that they need to fit their work around such as childcare. Offering staff the opportunity to work to a schedule that takes their individual situations into consideration can have a significant, positive impact on productivity,
“There are many things that employers can do to improve productivity benefiting themselves and their employees and these don’t need to cost huge amounts. The main message that needs to be communicated that the company or employer cares about its staff and has their best interests at heart. It’s essential that any initiative is clearly communicated internally and recommended to each employee.”