Employee morale is pivotal to the success of any organization. Simply stated, morale is how your employees feel about their work, your organization, and how it impacts their lives. When morale is high, employees are engaged and work well together. But when morale is low, their motivation decreases, leading to a drop in productivity.
A recent engagement survey by Gallup revealed some distressing statistics: only 50% of U.S. workers are engaged on the job, while 16% are actively disengaged.
It’s more crucial than ever to keep your workforce engaged and motivated.
The Building Blocks of Morale
While preferences may fluctuate among different groups, these are the main factors that motivate workers:
- Wages. State and local minimum wage increases continue, with 21 states raising their minimums this year. This, coupled with voluntary wage hikes by major employers like Amazon, signal a move to higher pay rates.
- Flexible schedules. The percentage of remote-only workers has declined from its peak in 2020 to stabilize at approximately 30% above 2019 levels. However, most employees view flexibility in some form as a perk, whether it’s a hybrid schedule, a staggered option such as the opportunity to work four 10-hour days, or simply more flexibility regarding work/life balance.
- Feeling valued. There are many ways to make employees feel valued, from employee recognition programs to wellness initiatives to regular check-ins and feedback mechanisms. But one of the most powerful ways to engage and motivate employees is through career development and learning. In the Gallup engagement survey, only 30% of respondents said that they had someone at work who cared about their development.
The Value of Learning
Providing opportunities for employees to learn new skills or enhance existing ones empowers them, giving them confidence in their abilities. This empowerment can lead to increased motivation as employees feel more competent and capable in their roles.
Not enough companies are heeding the call to upskill their employees. In ManpowerGroup’s Global Talent Barometer report, only 61% of U.S. workers surveyed had received any sort of training in the last year. Interestingly, the same percentage of workers reported job satisfaction and a low likelihood of leaving their jobs within the next six months.
There are many ways to create a culture of learning, from simple moves to fully crafted programs.
10 Ways to Create a Culture of Learning
- Promote and celebrate employee investment in education and learning. From the CEO on down, leaders need to model learning behavior.
- Create clear career pathways to in-demand/emerging jobs and make learning part of your employee’s specific career path.
- Monitor the learner’s progress with check-ins or milestones to enhance motivation.
- Encourage independent thinking. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) calls this “teaching how, not what.”
- Treat failure as an expected consequence of learning. It’s safe to take risks and to make mistakes rather than always take the “expected” route.
- Make learning as easy and accessible as possible. Meet the learner where he or she lives. That means enabling on-demand learning when possible.
- Consider a career coach. New employees benefit from input regarding what they should be learning and how it can benefit them.
- Build learning into routine performance reviews—make it an expected part of career development.
- Consider your entire workforce – permanent and contingent.
- Celebrate achievements. This can be as simple as awarding badges and/or public recognition. Some companies go a step further with financial rewards or gift cards.
Why Is This Important?
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, businesses providing robust training programs have a 68% lower turnover rate. Companies with nimble learners gain on several fronts. They can:
- React quickly to disruptions, adapting to meet the demands of a changing industry. They have their own pipeline of talent ready for the next challenge.
- Harness ideas for new products, services and processes — leading the change in their prospective industries.
- Boost morale. Our Closing the Skills Gap report found that 79% of employees who are offered free training like their jobs, while only 61% of employees without free training said the same.
- Attract new talent. In this candidate-driven job market, skilled in-demand candidates have choice. The ability to visualize a clear career path adds value to your organization.
- Retain current employees. It costs about 25% more to hire vs. retain; the improved employee morale and motivation driven by education can drive down turnover and improve your employee retention rate.
Going Deeper
As far as the “how,” there are innumerable online options for upskilling offered by educational institutions and other organizations. These can be combined with in-person training, webinars, assessments and more.
Manpower associates have access to several no-cost education options to equip them with in-demand skills our clients need most. One of them is the Manpower Acceleration program, a robust training and development program that provides training, education, career coaching and development so Manpower associates find a meaningful career pathway. For example, we have a warehouse/production team lead certification program that essentially welcomes talent in entry level roles to take courses on leadership, management and more, preparing them to take the next step in their career. It requires a four-to-six-week commitment over six weeks, at no cost to the active Manpower associate.
Offering training such as this is an outstanding way to provide meaning and added value to your staff in a way that boosts your retention rates.
Remember…
The workforce is changing. Getting and keeping talent isn’t easy, but it’s essential — and by creating a culture of learning, all parties will reap the benefits.
For more about our skilling programs, visit our MyPath page.
If you’re a manufacturer looking to future-proof your workers with in-demand skills, read 8 Steps to Building Your Own Skilled Technical Workforce.
