New Year, Stronger Teams: 5 Ways To Help Boost Your Team’s Morale in the New Year

When your staff is happy, they tend to work harder and longer. Team morale leads to increased productivity and efficiency. The quality of your employees’ work also improves. Positive environments and morale also encourage top talent to seek and remain in positions with your company. Your staff also becomes critical assets, promoting your company’s success during challenging times. These are five ways to boost your morale.

Define Team Goals for the New Year

One of the best things you can do is to promote open and honest communication with your team. However, your team also needs buy-in to do their best for your company. Therefore, share your team goals. You can also involve them in creating these goals, so they are more willing to pursue them.

When your team understands its purpose and goals, the employees know how their work contributes to achieving them. As you set your goals, build a plan to share the team’s progress toward goal completion. Schedule regular meetings that encourage your staff to discuss challenges in their tasks and brainstorm solutions to overcoming these problems. Request and discuss progress reports and be available to clarify any confusion.

Start with the big picture, but break them down into manageable steps.

How To Boost Team Morale

When you need another employee morale booster, consider the support your team receives from you and the company. Are there things you can do to improve their workflows and reduce their workloads? Investigate automation and other management tools that help them perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

Also, encourage connections among your team members. This is especially important if you have any remote workers. These professionals often feel disconnected from their team members, so they plan team-building activities that help them get to know each other. Your in-house team may also be so focused on their jobs that they don’t connect as humans and team members. It’s your job to keep your team together and collaborating.

Plan a Company Outing

Company outings have many benefits. First, you leave the strict professionalism of the office environment. You and your team get time away to learn more about each other. These are also great opportunities to build morale and manage corporate culture.

Choose a unique outing that your team will enjoy. Participating in solving a mystery or fictional crime or going to an escape room can help your team learn to work together more effectively and rely on each other’s strengths. Chartering a boat can relieve the pressure as well. Being out on the water in fresh air is a great way to get out of the office. In particular, look for a sailboat as your vessel of choice. Your team can help raise the sails, creating a fun, interactive team building activity. Colleagues can cheer each other on, and it’s also a great photo opportunity. 

Reconnect With Your Team

Although you may manage or supervise your team, many organizations recognize the value of flattening the management structure and creating fully integrated teams. Teams do need a leader, but those leaders should also put in the work. Therefore, you need to reconnect if you aren’t interacting and working closely with your team daily.

Maintain open communication and stay transparent with your team. You can also schedule regular check-ins to see how they are doing and if they need help. If you have remote team members, use video chats so your staff sees you “face-to-face.”

Create social interaction opportunities whether you meet in person after work or for a virtual happy hour. This allows you to learn more about your staff personally and helps them learn about you. These connections encourage more openness at work as well.

Celebrate Your Wins

You can also instigate fun activities at work. For example, throw a celebratory party with food and awards when you and your team accomplish a goal or reach a milestone. If someone goes above and beyond, give that person recognition.

If you want a better working relationship with your team and need them to increase their productivity and efficiency, take the time to build their morale. Show them you support them and that their work matters.