Company morale is one of the most important elements of a successful business. When employees are happy, feel they are treated well, and have a common goal to work toward, they perform better. And not just better by a slim margin.
Studies show that productivity can increase by 20% when morale is good, and that profits can soar by 21%. If ever there was a case for boosting your sales and marketing team’s morale, this is it.
The Benefits of Positive Morale
When your sales and marketing team is happy, they do a lot more for your business.
Employees stay longer – Employee retention is a clear sign of how good or bad company morale is. When people are happy in their workplace, they generally don’t start looking for other jobs. When you retain staff for longer rather than cycling through people, you can enjoy far greater consistency in the workplace. You also save money on hiring and training new sales and marketing team members and benefit from employees’ long-term experience and in-house knowledge.
It’s easier to stick to deadlines – Better morale equals better productivity. Employees want to finish their work, and even go above and beyond expectations when they are happy with their jobs and the people who employ them.
Communication and collaboration improve – Employees are more likely to be engaged with each other when they enjoy their workplace. Better communication and engagement mean better collaboration and increased motivation to help each other succeed.
6 Small Changes That Produce Big Results
Employee morale is essentially the general outlook or the level of satisfaction that your sales and marketing team have as a group. It’s not something that you can manufacture. But you can do a lot to help make your company the kind of place that people want to work at.
Here are some ways you can achieve positive morale:
Have a Clear Vision for Company Culture
It can seem a bit of a cliche to have a vision and mission statement for a business, but it’s really the guiding light for creating a strong, positive company culture. In addition to this, you need to be able to set clear goals on projects and work that you want all of your sales and marketing team to work toward.
The next step is to make these goals and your vision for the company available for everyone who works there. Employees need to see these as tangible items that they can understand. If it’s too wishy-washy or not made clear enough, no one will care or feel united in their mission.
Talk to Your Team About Growth Plans
Professional development programs or plans are a great way to boost company morale. If your employees see that you believe in them, they’ll feel more inclined to work harder and enjoy it.
These growth plans can come in different sizes and shapes. You might have very clear paths to promotion so that individual employees can aspire to be more within the company. You could have a budget for courses to help employees grow their skill sets and take on new challenges within your business. Or you may even want to implement courses or growth plans that help your employees grow as people that don’t have a direct relation to what your business does.
Highlight the Victories – Big and Small
It’s important to celebrate when an employee or a team excels. When a marketing campaign is complete or a sales target is met, send out a company wide email and congratulate the employees responsible. When someone goes above and beyond and works after hours to complete a task or project, reward them with a voucher or a half day off. You should even publicly celebrate birthdays or big milestones like engagements, weddings, and the birth of a child with your employees.
Invest in the Right Work Tools
A major source of frustration and lack of motivation in the workplace is not having the right tools to do the job. This can be as simple as outdated software or older computers that run slowly. Or it could be that you’re still relying on your team to fill in timesheets manually when an automated time clock could make their lives so much easier—and save them (and your business) time too,
Making small changes in the tools you provide your sales and marketing team can have a major impact on morale. You’re showing that you value the work that they do and that you truly have their best interests at heart.
Encourage and Help Employee Initiatives
Giving your sales and marketing team a certain level of independence to run with projects, both for clients and for the betterment of your business, shows them that you trust them and respect them.
It’s incredibly important to genuinely listen to what your employees want to do and have an open dialogue about how best to achieve those goals. When you back your team, they will want to work harder and have more fun doing it.
Set Aside Time for Real Fun
A healthy work-life balance is important for everyone, especially those in high-stress, fast-paced jobs like sales and marketing. Additionally, if all you do as a leader is expect performance and don’t leave any room for fun, you won’t be encouraging positivity in your business. You need to lead from the front in work and play.
Plan team gatherings and fun outings for everyone and make sure that these events are actually something that your employees want to do. Enforced team building or activities that people aren’t keen on will have the opposite effect. Instead, talk to your team and ask them to submit ideas. That way, you’ll be showing you care about what they have to say and that you want their work life to be fun.
Everyone Wins When Company Morale Is Up
By ensuring that your employees have a positive team morale, you’re ensuring that your business has the right motivation and drive to succeed. As a leader, you need to ensure that your sales and marketing team want to be there and do the work you need them to do.
If you get this right, you’ll inspire your sales and marketing team to do their very best, and everyone will benefit.
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