Do your employees have a good attitude about their jobs? Are they happy to show up at work in the morning and engaged as they go about their days?
When people feel positively about their workplace, great things can happen for them, their team, and the company as a whole.
For over 10 years we’ve been providing leaders like you with world leading team management software called Team Compass. Here are our lessons learned. Read on to learn more about the importance of prioritizing team satisfaction and boosting employee morale in the workplace. You’ll also find 10 essential questions you can ask to learn about your team and improve employee morale.
What is employee morale?
The term “employee morale” refers to employees’ attitude and outlook on their jobs, their colleagues, and ultimately their employer. Are they generally satisfied with their jobs? Do they feel motivated and engaged while at work?
Sometimes, one employee’s attitude can affect another, causing a chain reaction, either positive or negative. The goal in any company should be to keep employees happy; to achieve high employee morale. If the general morale in the workplace is low, employees are likely complain often, be less productive, and be less inclined to stick around long-term.
Why should you monitor employee morale?
By monitoring something, you gain a clear understanding of how things transform over time. Therefore, employee morale should be measured over time if you want to see those changes and analyze how they transpired.
This can be as simple as taking a weekly log of what your employees have planned, what they’ve accomplish, and where they may have missed the mark. By taking note of these regularly, you may begin to notice patterns, such as: hours of high productivity vs. low productivity, or noticing how an issue was reported along with a low energy level.
Aside from the regular check-ins, you should seek direct feedback from employees about their experience through a well thought-out survey. It’s important to ask the right questions. This allows you to set the overall tone for the company, showing that your intention is to strive for improvement; making the work experience the best it can be.
Benefits of an employee moral survey
How do you monitor morale in the workplace? One of the easiest ways is to send out an employee morale survey.
Surveys provide you with quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (descriptive) data. Both data types help you to identify problems, create specific solutions, and monitor progress.
Surveys also allow you to hear directly from your employees. You’ll always get more detailed and helpful information when you go right to the source and learn what they think is and isn’t working.
Seeking feedback from your team about the current state of morale, and how to improve it will also spark their workplace engagement, too. They’ll see that they (and their opinions) are valued, and they’ll be more inclined to participate and share beneficial details.
Unlike pulse surveys which are sent out frequently, employee morale surveys can be sent quarterly, or annually.
Questions to ask to improve employee morale
The key to getting valuable feedback from your employee morale surveys is to ask the right questions.
Listed below are 10 specific questions you can include on your surveys to learn about morale and find out how you can improve it:
1. What do you enjoy most about working with your team?
This question gives employees a chance to focus on the positives when it comes to their tasks, their team engagement, and how they contribute to the overall company objectives.
It also helps managers and team leaders to learn what keeps employees engaged, what a specific team is doing well, and what kinds of practices and opportunities they should continue offering (or offer to employees in other departments).
2. What do you appreciate about your team leader/manager? In what ways could they improve?
This is a more specific version of the question mentioned above. It’s important because it provides direct feedback for the manager or team leader about their leadership style.
No matter how long someone has been in a leadership role, there should always be a desire to improve, or grow. Asking employees to explain what they do and don’t like about their manager makes it easier for them to see, specifically, what practices they should continue and what they should consider changing.
3. What keeps you motivated?
Every employee is different when it comes to motivation.
Some people are motivated by a chance to earn a pay raise or bonus. Others are motivated by words of praise from their manager or team leader.
After you ask this question and receive feedback, you can tailor your daily leadership approach to ensure your team continues to feel motivated and engaged while on the job.
4. What do you dislike most about your current work environment?
What happens when you take the time to find out what your team members dislike the most about the workplace?
First, you can make changes that will have the most significant impact on the company and your workers. You also are more likely to see a return on your investment and avoid wasting money on changes that your team doesn’t want or care about.
5. How would you define our organizations values and mission?
Approximately half of all employees have no idea what their employer’s values and mission statement are.
If an employee doesn’t know what the company stands for and is trying to accomplish, they’re not going to be as engaged or motivated as you’d like them to be.
Asking employees how they would define the company’s values and mission gives them a chance to reflect. It also lets you know whether or not you need to place a bigger emphasis on these things during training sessions and team meetings.
6. On a scale of 1-10, how supported do you feel in the workplace?
The more supported workers feel when on the job, the more productive and engaged they’ll be. Feeling supported also increases the likelihood that employees will ask questions and seek help when they’re struggling, which minimizes mistakes and improves work quality.
By finding out how supported employees feel, managers can figure out whether or not they need to change their approach or be more available to their team.
7. On a scale of 1-10, how appreciated do you feel in the workplace?
Not only do employees need to feel supported, but they also need to feel appreciated.
If workers know that their manager or team leader values them and is grateful for the work they do, they’ll be more motivated and will want to continue doing good work. This is great for morale and for the company’s overall productivity and profitability.
8. On a scale of 1-10, how well do you get along with your colleagues?
It’s hard to have high employee morale when workers don’t get along well with one another. Not everyone on the team needs to be best friends, of course, but they should have a sense of mutual respect for one another.
If multiple team members respond to this question with a low number, that can be a sign that managers need to work harder to foster unity and get to the bottom of potential conflicts.
9. On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend this job to someone else?
Employee referrals are a great way to bring on new team members who are a good fit for the company and who have similar values.
If your employees don’t want to refer others because they dislike the company, that’s a big red flag. If many workers say they’re unlikely to recommend the job or company to others, managers should do some digging to find out why and what they can do to change that.
10. On a scale of 1-10, how secure do you feel in your role?
Employees shouldn’t be allowed to coast and rest on their laurels. However, they also shouldn’t be in a state of constant fear when they’re at work.
When employees are always on edge and worried about losing their jobs, they’re likely not going to feel very satisfied with their jobs. This can have a serious impact on employee morale and the overall vibe of the office, too.
If managers find that a significant number of employees are feeling insecure in their roles, they should reconsider their management style and look for ways to keep team members engaged and motivated (without feeling like their job is on the line).
Bonus Tips for Boosting Morale
Seeking feedback and asking the right questions will make it much easier for you to create a plan to boost morale and employee engagement. However, there are other steps you can take to help your team feel more positively about their jobs and the company as a whole, including these:
Use an Employee Engagement Software
Our employee engagement software helps busy team leaders to keep track of their team members, address their concerns, and provide feedback right away so no one falls through the cracks. For best results, look for a program like Weekdone that allows for easy check-ins, 1:1s, weekly planning, and plenty of opportunities for giving and getting feedback.
Host Team Building Activities
Team building activities give employees a chance to have fun, take a break from the stress of their jobs, and feel more connected to their colleagues. From virtual team building activities, to in-person happy hours, there are lots of ways to create unity among team members. Check out this blog post featuring our top 10 favorite virtual escape rooms for remote teams.
Create opportunities for growth
If there are opportunities for promotion, let employees know. Listen to their feedback. If someone is motivated by creativity, but their day to day tasks are more technical; encourage cross-team communication to spark new ideas. Could you offer more trainings or advanced certification options? Think about how to support employees and encourage internal development.
Send employee morale surveys today
Now that you know more about the importance of employee morale surveys, as well as the specific questions you can include in them, it’s time to reach out to your team and get their feedback.
Keep these questions in mind, as well as the tips for boosting morale in the workplace, and you’ll be on your way to building a more satisfied and more productive team.
Need additional help increasing engagement and improving morale? Check out Team Compass.
Team Compass provides valuable, at-a-glance insight into how your team feels and the problems they’re facing. It makes it easier for you to collaborate, set clear goals, and offer feedback, too.