If you own or manage a retail store, restaurant, gym or any other type of establishment with frontline staff, then you know that a huge part of your businesses appeal is reliant on a positive customer service experience and your staff’s ability to connect with clients. While you have to be tough with your staff a lot of the time, it also pays to show them you’re grateful once in a while and help them find pride in their daily work, even if they’re serving hamburgers or cleaning locker rooms.
There are many methods to show your staff you appreciate them and raise group morale, but we’re going to focus on four really good in this particular post. A general piece of advice for any business owner to keep in mind is before we get to the tips: not everybody is naturally suited to managing a staff. Sometimes the first step to creating a positive work culture is to hire a manager who can act as a buffer between you and the staff. Sometimes, things run much more smoothly under this arrangement.
Without further ado, here are our four tips for improving staff morale:
Remember to Say “Thank You” (When it is Warranted)
Being overly lenient and chummy with your front of line staff certainly has its weaknesses, but on the other hand, acting like an evil tyrant is probably worse. There should be a fine balance between the amount of criticism and correction you offer and the amount of praise you dole out. Your staff needs to know that they can’t take advantage of you, but they also need to feel validated in their daily work. When an employee puts in a solid, error-free day of work, it’s always good to simply tell them “good job” so they can go home with a smile on their face knowing that someone noticed. It will make them eager to maintain that energy in following weeks and months.
Look Professional/ Feel Professional
Make sure that staff uniforms are clean pressed and tucked in. Ordering work uniforms from a company that provides excellent customer service and offers design tools and fast shipping is a plus, and if your workers are outdoors in the evening, it may be a good idea to order custom hoodies in Canada, where it can get extremely cold.
Talk to Your Staff
It’s important to maintain a professional relationship and not get too personally involved with staff, but at the same time, you don’t have to treat them like robots. If a staff member is visibly upset, pull them aside for a chat. If it’s related to a dispute within the staff, you’ll get to the bottom of the problem, and if it’s a personal issue unrelated to work, you can give the individual a day off, or at least cut them some slack.
Staff Parties
Setting aside money for a staff party may seem silly (I already pay them!), but this kind of appreciation goes a long way. Take them out bowling and buy a few jugs of beer on the company, it will help win them over and convince them that management is actually pretty cool!