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Posts Tagged ‘Employee Morale Articles’
Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Top 10 Ways to Improve Employee Morale
Copyright © 2012 by Ty Howard. All rights reserved.
Enhancing the good will (and productivity) in your workplace should be significantly important today, tomorrow, and in the future. Employees with high moral show up to work on time, spend more time actually working, show improved communication, eagerly contribute to creativity and innovation, call out from work less, and stay longer (retention wise) at a company that promotes and practices positive long-term employee morale improvement.
There is no quick fix approach to improving and revving up employee morale. In order to put you, your team and organization on the right track toward sustainable and higher levels of employee morale, it will take learning and constantly practicing the following list of sound employee morale improvement principles:
1. Be Authentic. While you may not be concerned with the details of your employees day to day lives, just being authentic and honest about why you acknowledge them can go a long way. Pretending to care will never improve employee morale, but saying, in so many words, “I genuinely want you to feel good about being here and about being a part of our team” can.
2. Communicate More. Time is a precious resource, ensure your communication is focused, transparent, consistent, frequent, and provide only as much detail as the recipient needs to understand and engage. Communicate more to inform, inspire, empower and elevate everyone around you on a daily basis.
3. Build a Culture of Trust. Show me a team or organization with high employee morale, and I will show you a team or organization that has successfully built a culture of trust. Trust is everything in a relationship, be it business or personal. Share information, be honest, provide constructive feedback, and speak with purpose and good intentions.
4. Create Ways to Contribute. All your employees can point out some area or time-consuming process in your organization that needs to be improved, but not all feel empowered to do so. At least once each quarter, hold Open-minded Think Tank Meetings with your team. This will allow you to listen to teammates to learn “what gets in the way of the good job they want to do.” Then after each meeting your next step should be to involve them in the process of eliminating and untying the knots they’ve identified.
5. Welcome Ideas. “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea,” says Buddha. Today, more than ever, companies know they must become more creative and innovative in order to survive and thrive. Your teammates and employees are your biggest resource for fresh creative and innovative ideas—constantly seek and welcome them.
6. Clique Less. If you seriously want to improve and build employee morale—publicly announce to your team or organization a call for the immediate elimination of all office cliques. There is nothing more de-motivating and de-energizing than having to work on teams or inside an organization that is plagued with known toxic cliques. Organizations with high employee morale continuously produce to the tune of a unified agreed upon creed, similar to this one: “One Vision—One Team!”
7. Smile More. When I worked in corporate human resources years ago, I made it a point to always be uplifting. Encouraging each of my teammates to tell keep their head up, chin up, and smiles up—it’s the best energy booster to get you through the day! Right after I would share those encouraging words, a huge smile would pop up on their face. Working with people who smile a lot creates a more productive and harmonious work environment for everyone.
8. Encourage and Have Fun. More meaningful and significant outcomes are achieved inside of work environments where the boss encourages and wants employees to have fun while working harmoniously and productively than inside work environments where any form of fun is prohibited. Encourage teammates to talk about fun things like hobbies, crack appropriate and clean jokes, and stop for a moment to acknowledge and celebrate birthdays, graduations, newborns, and small and large achievements. This will boost morale, create more smiles, encourage team building, lower stress, and shorten or prevent team burnout.
9. Recognize and Reward—Often. If you ask most employees working inside an organization that is suffering from low employee morale, what would make them feel more valued, most of them would probably express a need to be recognized more for the hard work they do. You do not have to blow up your budget to recognize and reward your employees! Sometimes, all it takes is a simple handwritten note that says, “Thank YOU for a Job Well Done! I/we recognize and appreciate the hard work you do.” Stop waiting until the end of the year or when it’s way pass due. Be a boss, manager, supervisor, teammate or employee who often steps up to recognize and reward employees who deserve and have earned.
10. Stick to the Plan. If high employee morale is what you truly want for your team or organization—then Stick to the Plan for Improving Employee Morale. Employees place a very high degree of importance on the consistency of verbal and non-verbal communication, and action. No one, including you, likes to be a part of weak efforts or broken promises.
Employee morale is an important part of team and organizational success. When morale is high inside an organization, employees are passionate and motivated to work through any project timeline, team challenge, plan for change, or opportunity that comes their way. The more each individual on your team or inside your organization is cognizant of their own needs and strengths, and of others, adjustments can be made on both sides to introduce, improve, drive and optimize employee morale on all levels.
- End –
To learn more about Ty Howard’s Employee Morale and Staff Development keynote speaking and training programs, visit: http://www.tyhoward.com!
About the Author: Ty Howard,
Mr. Untie the Knots®,
Freeing Maximal Business, Performance & Human Potential Daily!
Ty Howard is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance and success. He is the creator and lead facilitator of the trademarked “Untie the Knots® Optimal Performance Process,” and the author of Untie the Knots®: Improving Habits, Choices, People, Relationships, Performance and Results, as well as dozens of published articles on employee and organizational performance and development worldwide. For information on his programs and services, visit: http://www.tyhoward.com.
Click Here for MORE Ty Howard Quotations & Sayings
 
Tags: Articles on Employee Morale, Articles on How to Improve Employee Morale, Articles on Improving Employee Morale, Articles on Working with Difficult People, Dynamic Employee Morale Motivational Speakers, Dynamic Motivational Speakers in CT, Dynamic Motivational Speakers in NJ, Dynamic Motivational Speakers in NY, Dynamic Motivational Speakers in PA, Dynamic Professional Development Motivational Speakers, Dynamic Staff Development Motivational Speakers, Employee Appreciation Day Speakers, Employee Appreciation Speakers, Employee Development Facilitators, Employee Development Speakers, Employee Development Trainers, Employee Morale Articles, Employee Morale Keynote Speakers, Employee Morale Trainers, Employee Recognition & Awards Speakers, Entertaining Speakers on Employee Morale, Entertaining Speakers on Staff Development, Funny Employee Morale Keynote Speakers, Funny Employee Morale Motivational Speakers, Funny Employee Morale Speakers, Funny Keynote Speakers on Employee Morale, Funny Keynote Speakers on Staff Development, Funny Professional Development Keynote Speakers, Funny Professional Development Motivational Speakers, Funny Staff Development Keynote Speakers, Funny Staff Development Motivational Speakers, Funny Staff Development Speakers, How to Boost Employee Morale, How to Improve Employee Morale, How to Motivate Employees, How to Motivate Unmotivated Employees, Keynote Speakers for Service Awards Banquets, Keynote Speakers in PA, Motivational Speakers in Baltimore, Motivational Speakers in CT, Motivational Speakers in DC, Motivational Speakers in DE, Motivational Speakers in Maryland, Motivational Speakers in New York, Motivational Speakers in NJ, Motivational Speakers in Northern Virginia, Motivational Speakers in PA, Motivational Speakers in Virginia, Staff Appreciation Day Speakers, Staff Appreciation Keynote Speakers, Staff Development Facilitators, Staff Development Speakers, Staff Development Trainers, Team Building Speakers in Baltimore, Team Building Speakers in DC, Team Building Speakers in Maryland, Team Building Speakers in Northern Virginia, Team Building Speakers in Virginia, Teamwork Speakers in Baltimore, Teamwork Speakers in Maryland, Teamwork Speakers in Northern Virginia, Teamwork Speakers in Virginia, Training & Development Speakers, What to do When You Have Low Morale in the Workplace
Posted in African American Speaker, Articles, Association Speaker, Balancing Life, Breaking Habits, Business, Business Articles, Corporate Speaker, Customer Service, Empowerment, Empowerment Articles, Inspirational, Leadership, Leadership Articles, Management Development, Motivational, Personal Development, Professional Development, Relationship Articles, Relationships, Stress Management, Success Tips, Success Tips for College Students, Team Building, Training & Development, Untie the Knots Book, Untie the Knots Books | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
12 Quick Strategies to Build and Maintain
Healthy Relationships at Work
Copyright © 2010 by Ty Howard. All rights reserved.
Healthy work relationships are a must for any business to thrive and succeed in today’s economy. If employees are unhappy with their current work duties or teams, your customers and overall organizational productivity will definitely be impacted by the tension. To keep employee morale and performance moving toward optimal success, you should learn and practice the following twelve strategies that build and maintain healthy relationships at work:
1.) Develop a Positive Attitude.
Avoid sharing negative thoughts, actions, criticisms, and sarcastic snipes. Be less judgmental and accepting of others. A positive attitude is contagious and inspiring to work alongside. Make it your new daily habit to bring a positive attitude to work.
2.) Accept Personal and Cultural Differences.
It is counterproductive to expect and hope for everyone to be like and think like you. Do not place on or address co-workers with assumed cultural biases or stereotypes. When you and a co-worker don’t see eye-to-eye, try looking at things from his or her perspective. You will both be more productive if you recognize the need for cooperation to reach the set goals of the team and organization.
3.) Give Respect to Earn Respect.
Regardless of the situation, try not to lash out or be rude. Be respectful by paying attention, showing interest, listening carefully, and responding appropriately. Be open and honest about your feelings and allow others to do the same, in an amicable and professional way. Remember, respect starts with you and impacts others.
4.) Share Opportunities and Recognition Willingly with
Co-Workers.
Avoid being a spotlight and recognition hog. Never take credit for work or projects you did not do. If you want to be liked by members of your team, try recommending them for opportunities and recognition first. Share the spotlight and recognition with co-workers and you will find yourself improving the trust and appreciation level amongst the entire team.
5.) Avoid Gossiping.
Gossip is one of the top destroyers of healthy work relationships. Do not snoop into or tell another co-worker’s business or private life. If someone tries to invite you into a gossiping party, refuse to take the invitation. Keep away from both the rumor mill and gossiping trap inside your workplace, and you will enjoy the benefit of being looked at as a positive team player.
6.) Resolve Conflicts Early.
When a negative situation arises, do not let it continue to boil. Be prompt, direct, honest and courteous. Develop a plan of action to address the problem professionally with your co-worker. Then work together toward resolving it positively before having to bring it to your manager.
7.) Accentuate the Positives.
Do not jump at every opportunity possible to expose the negativity or incompetency of another co-worker. Be less of a watchdog or a tattletale. Instead, catch co-workers doing good work and tell that to as many people as you can across the organization. Become an Ambassador of Accentuating the Positives.
8.) Set Boundaries.
Avoid developing friendships at work that are too personal and that will sooner or later begin to interfere with your work. Maintain a professional behavior and not a bar or club scene behavior while at work. Developing healthy and professional relationships at work is always a plus. Focus on your priorities at work, and make it your commitment to not end up on the company’s “Wall of Shame” because you crossed the set professional boundaries.
9.) Listen Attentively.
When a co-worker comes into your work area, never be rude to them by not turning around so he or she can talk to your face instead of your back. Do not doddle, send text messages, take calls or answer emails when you’re supposed to be listening attentively. The most effective way to listen to anyone is with both your ears and your eyes. This will allow you to respond appropriately and avoid misunderstandings.
10.) Communicate Effectively and Professionally.
Never refuse to communicate openly and professionally with your co-workers. Do not purposely hold information on how you did something or give partial information with the negative hope that you’ll delay or trip up a teammate on a task or project. Take the time to learn how co-workers on your team prefer to be communicated and interacted with. Make the continuous improvement of your effective communication skills an annual goal for yourself.
11.) Deliver Customer Service with a Smile.
A definitely recipe for poor customer service is frowning, arguing, complaining, being spiteful, and a negative attitude. When you’re unfriendly, rude, sarcastic and mean-spirited at work, you set the team back from achieving service excellence and delivering quality customer service. Common courtesy and professionalism costs you nothing. A sincere smile can be felt through a phone. Become the example and not the excuse within your organization when it comes to delivering quality customer service with a smile.
12.) Do and Complete Your Work.
Being surrounded by clutter, disorganization, and failing to make the expected workload contributions towards the team’s goals reveals your unprofessional and slacker habits. If you find yourself continuously moaning about taking on new projects or are a skilled expert at finding someone who can do a task “better than you”, you are definitely a master at avoiding work. The more work you offload, the more stress and pressure you put on others. It does not require you saying “Yes” to every task, showing your willingness to do and complete your work reflects positively on you and your work ethic. A healthy and positive work ethic will often encourage others to want to work with you, and recommend you for recognition or promotion in the future.
Happy employees are productive employees. All-hands meetings and one-on-one pep-talks alone will not improve toxic work relationships if your employees become frustrated, unhappy, depressed, and feel that they are just plain “workers.” Consider building and maintaining healthy work relationships a very important investment in your company, because it is. By practicing – daily – the above twelve strategies that build and maintain healthy work relationships, you will build stronger work teams, effective lines of communications, higher levels of productivity, award-winning customer service satisfaction experiences, and improved levels of employee morale.
About the Author: Ty Howard is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance and success. He is the creator and lead facilitator of the trademarked Untie the Knots® Optimal Performance Process, and the author of Untie the Knots®: Improving Habits, Choices, People, Relationships, Performance and Results, as well as dozens of published articles on employee and organizational performance and development worldwide.
For information on his programs and services, visit: http://www.tyhoward.com.
Click Here for MORE Ty Howard Quotations & Sayings
Tags: Accepting People Differences, Avoiding Difficult People, Bad Work Relationships, Baltlimore Maryland, Building Healthy Relationships, Building Healthy Relationships at Work, Building Successful Work Teams, Conflict Resolution Speakers, Customer Service Speakers, DC, DE, Delivering Customer Service with a Smile, Diversity Speakers, Dynamic Motivational Speakers, Effective Communication, Employee Development Articles, Employee Morale Articles, Employee Morale Speakers, Empowerment Speakers, Entertaining Motivational Speakers, Funny Motivational Speakers, Gossiping, Leadership Articles, Listening Skills, Management Development Articles, Motivating Employees, Motivating Employees for the Job, Motivating Employees for Work, NJ, NY, PA, Relationship Speakers, Rumor-Mill, Setting Boundaries, Setting Boundaries at Work, Speakers on Attitude, Speakers on Effective Communication, Speakers on Listening Skills, Speakers on Respect, Speakers on Time Management, Staff Development Articles, Staff Development Speakers, Support Staff Development Articles, Team Building Speakers, Teamwork, Time Management Speakers, Toxic People, Toxic Work Relationships, Virgina, Washington DC, Work Relationships Speakers, Working With Difficult People, WV
Posted in Articles, Business Articles, Empowerment Articles | 1 Comment »
Saturday, July 24th, 2010
5 Toxic Habits to Not Bring to Work
Copyright © 2010 by Ty Howard. All rights reserved.
There are bad habits that you can bring to work, and then there are toxic habits that you can bring to work. Bad habits usually irritate others around you and delay progress in some way, shape or form. Toxic habits go beyond mere irritation of co-workers—they decrease employee morale, sabotage team performance, and destroy work relationships.
The fact is, if an employee or employees are able to exist within an organization or team with toxic habits, that organization or team will never achieve the desired results it sets out to accomplish. That’s the simple law of Cause and Effect. Healthy habits create positive rewards. Toxic habits breed negative outcomes.
If you want to distance yourself from the countless number of employees who bring bad and toxic habits to work, and enjoy being a co-worker who is liked and called on regularly, understand this—your habits will create your future.
The 5 Toxic Habits to Not Bring to Work are:
1) A Negative Attitude
2) Not Being a Team Player
3) Gossiping
4) Know-It-All
5) Resisting Change
Let’s explore the 5 Toxic Habits to Not Bring to Work each day and how to break these toxic habits that are becoming more common in the workplace.
Toxic Habit #1: A Negative Attitude
There’s nothing more energy-zapping and morale-draining as having to deal with a negative, sarcastic, spiteful, and pessimistic co-worker. If you are the co-worker who complains a lot, focuses on reasons why things can’t be done, and promotes negative commentary throughout the organization that venomously predicts poor outcomes—you are the transporter of a negative attitude at work.
How to Break Toxic Habit #1: Instead of coming to work with a negative attitude, try stringing together a series of “A” Days for the next 30 days. To string together a series of “A” Days, it will require you approaching each work day with a positive attitude that each day will be an “A” Day. The reality is—not every day will be an “A” Day; yet, if you approach each day with an “A” Day mentality, you will string together more positive and productive “A” Days than any other days. In turn, your change of attitude and behavior will contribute to improving employee morale, team performance, work relationships, and your overall health and position for advancement.
Toxic Habit #2: Not Being a Team Player
Another toxic road to failure at work is refusing to be a team player. If you are the co-worker who does not show up every day for work on time, who does not take care of your assigned responsibilities and workload, who only cares about self-gain and recognition, who refuses to pitch in and work a little harder, even on a task that is not specifically assigned to you—you are NOT a team player at work.
How to Break Toxic Habit #2: Start today by committing to participate in work activities (even tasks that aren’t specifically assigned to you), show up for work on time, promote the recognition of your team members first, get your workload and responsibilities completed ahead of deadlines, create opportunities to get to know your co-workers and for them to get to know you, and practice having good manners and a friendly disposition on a daily basis. Becoming a better team contributor will make you a more valuable player.
Toxic Habit #3: Gossiping
At work you’ve created great friendships and have lots of colleagues who you interact with on a daily basis. No matter how you would like to avoid it or even if you enjoy it, gossip at work is a part of life. Yet, there’s a fine line between sharing a quick story/situation and being a toxic gossiper. If you are the co-worker who likes to gossip because it makes you feel more powerful and popular, attracts attention and puts you on center stage for the moment, bonds you with the group of popular office gossipers, makes you seen as “in the know” to co-workers, and provides you with several sets of ears when you need and want to vent—you are a toxic gossiper.
How to Break Toxic Habit #3: If you tend to gossip over lunch, maybe you have to rethink who you’re going to lunch with regularly. Conversations with co-workers always demand a certain level of discretion in order to protect people’s privacy and respect their boundaries. Asking too many personal questions and snooping into people’s private affairs can make them feel uncomfortable and not trusting of you. If someone wants to involve you in gossip, refuse to take their invitation. Each time you avoid getting involved in gossip, the easier it will get. It’s the first couple of times that it will be a conscious effort to resist the temptation. Amidst all the challenges, stay focused on the benefits you will gain by not becoming entangled again in this toxic habit.
Toxic Habit #4: Know-It-All
Know-it-alls act like they are experts when they aren’t. However, they don’t always know they aren’t experts, which makes them very challenging and poor team players to work with. If you are the co-worker who is always right, craves every opportunity to look smart and important, has a low tolerance for correction or contradiction, likes to learn a little about a lot of things, and is often so condescending that you do not have the patience or time for others to catch up to your way of thinking—you are a toxic know-it-all.
How to Break Toxic Habit #4: If you think you might be a know-it-all or a friend, relative or co-worker has told you that you act like a know-it-all, here are a few pointers to help you break this toxic habit: Analyze the feelings that invade you when you finally stop talking. The only way to get to the source of your problem is to stop talking and think about why you feel the need to tell the world every little thing you know. Make a list of the elements of your personality that you dislike. Try to see yourself in the same way that others perceive you, paying special attention to your narcissistic and never wrong behavior. Take note of the way in which you react when confronted with criticism. Concentrate on the needs of your co-workers and show interest in what they’re talking about or doing. Remember, other people feel the need to be listened to as well.
Toxic Habit #5: Resisting Change
In recent years, changes in the economy and business have forced several organizations to change the way they do business. Whether we like it or not, executives, managers and supervisors are the ones who have to implement the changes. The natural and first reaction to change is resistance. If you are a co-worker who thinks if you hold out long enough the new policies won’t stick; works to show and prove the new methods/systems are causing more problems than help; expresses that all customers are complaining about the new changes; quickly rejects to share the new products/services with customers; and gangs up on management with negative absolutes, such as “Everyone says that they’re very unhappy with the recent changes!” and “We’ve tried that in the past and it won’t work again, wait and see!”—you are resisting change with toxic behavior.
How to Break Toxic Habit #5: If you truly feel that a new method of doing something will be counterproductive to the company’s goals, express your concerns; and at the same time, bring with you a set of typed out alternatives that you think could work as well, or better. Change will happen with or without you, so it’s up to you to either take part in it or be cancelled out by it.
BONUS Tips to Help You More: Acknowledge and accept the bad or toxic habit that you want to change. Unless you have an interest and commitment to change, you will not act upon it. Have patience. Behavioral change takes time and support. Tell friends, relatives and co-workers – who genuinely care for you and your future success – about your plan and get them to support you. With some encouragement your journey to breaking the bad and toxic habits will not be a lonely one.
Being a good co-worker is as important as being a good worker. If you wish to be that person at work who people like and don’t cringe to call on, without having to sucking up to anyone, then leave both your bad and toxic habits at home.
Suggestion:
To learn more about how to successfully free yourself or others from bad and toxic habits, read Ty’s best-selling book Untie the Knots® That Tie Up Your Life: A Practical Guide to Freeing Yourself from Toxic Habits, Choices, People, and Relationships.
About the Author: Ty Howard,
Mr. Untie the Knots®,
Freeing Maximal Business, Performance & Human Potential Daily!
Ty Howard is an internationally recognized authority on organizational and managerial practices that optimize employee performance and success. He is the creator and lead facilitator of the trademarked Untie the Knots® Optimal Performance Process, and the author of Untie the Knots®: Improving Habits, Choices, People, Relationships, Performance and Results, as well as dozens of published articles on employee and organizational performance and development worldwide. For information on his programs and services, visit: http://www.tyhoward.com.
Click Here for MORE Ty Howard Quotations & Sayings
Tags: 5 Bad Work Habits, 5 Toxic Work Habits, Anger Management, Anger Management at Work, Avoiding Toxic Relationships at Work, Bad Habits in the Workplace, Baltimore Maryland, Breaking Bad Work Habits, Breaking Free of Bad Relationships at Work, Breaking Toxic Work Habits, Business Articles, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Resolution at Work, Diversity Speakers, Employee Morale Articles, Empowerment at Work, funny speakers for office attitude, Gossiping at Work, How to Avoid Bad habits at Work, How to Build Healthy Relationships at Work, Improving Employee Morale, Know-It-All at Work, Negative Attitude at Work, Not Being a Team Player at Work, Professional Development Speakers, Relationships, Resisting Change at Work, Staff Development Speakers, Team Building Articles, Teamwork Articles, Toxic Habits in the Workplace, Ty Howard, Untie the Knots Ty Howard, Working With Difficult People
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