It’s a basic business math equation: Employee morale + customer service skills = increased sales. And hopefully profits. When your employees start having low morale issues, however, you may have a problem. In these stressful times, employee morale issues are coming up more frequently.
While everyone has a bad day every now and then, ongoing bad attitudes among your employees are often revealed to customers in negative comments — or a lack of service. The negative comments or actions, and lack of professional customer service, are definitely not the best situation for a business. Customers can be turned off by employees with negative attitudes, and those customers could begin shopping elsewhere. Where does the morale needle point in your business? Is it good overall, in the middle with some employees, or are you seeing lots of frowns? Those frowns could be worn by employees — or quickly exiting customers.
When morale is high and everyone is in on the team effort, not only will sales and profits increase but absenteeism and employee turnover will be down—or nonexistent. High morale is a key to keeping employees happy and productive and working to serve customers.
Discover the Issues
Sometimes employees just have bad days, but low-morale employees could be bringing personal life and home problems to work with them. Recognize that many factors lead to stress, and everyone deals with these factors differently.
Providing break periods, and being certain employees take those breaks, can help reduce some stresses. Unfortunately, in today’s constant-contact world, cellphones and emails help keep stress levels high by allowing problems to follow employees no matter where they go. While some companies have rules that no personal calls or cellphone use can be allowed during work hours, most employees know to stay off the phone and on the job. You be the judge and set the cellphone and online rules in your business.
The size of your company will determine whether you can offer — and afford — the full spectrum of benefits that include health and wellness benefits, or enhanced options such as yoga classes and meditation periods to reduce stress. If you have an outside contracted human resource and benefits provider, ask about your options. Once you narrow down the employees with low morale and their issues, don’t call them out in front of other employees, but do begin to take corrective actions to help them — and reduce low morale in the workplace.
Understand What You Learn
Once you know the problem, note that home-related and personal issues tend to pass over time. You may not need to take action, but do stay aware of the employee’s issues.
Legal issues, such as a hunting citation or a DUI, take months to resolve, and interaction with court systems can sometimes sour those who were once good employees. You will have to judge what is said (there are two sides to everything) and what to do. Have an open mind, but also be the judge if a bad attitude is causing customers to leave because of a negative employee. How much information your employee can or should reveal is a gray area, but discussion with most employees about the problem often starts the corrective process.
Steps to Solving the Problem
Once you know the issues, some corrective options include coaching any low-morale employees and encouraging them to either take time off, settle and resolve issues away from work, or leave their chips at the door. Employees are paid to perform at certain expected levels, and if one is underperforming, have a private conversation and follow-up discussion(s) as needed. Other employees might make comments about underperforming employees because they have to pick up the work load or because the negative employee is affecting them in some other way.
Again, listen carefully to what your all employees say and don’t say. What you learn will help you make decisions ranging from releasing the employee or taking other corrective actions. Remember also that morale issues are often personal matters (non-work related), and even if another employee knows or brings up the matter about the troubled employee, never discuss personal matters of employees with other employees. Private issues should remain that: private.
Improving Morale Is Part of Good Business
It’s a fact that no employee wants to work in any business where the motto from management is “work, work, work!”. Remember, the hunting industry is based on discretionary income and setting aside time to do things hunters enjoy. These are probably the same things your employees like to do, because most employees select a job in a market segment that they enjoy. Yes, there are those who work only for paychecks and see a job as just a job. You can quickly identify those employees. Hopefully, most of your employees know what the goods you sell mean to your customers and like working with and meeting other hunters.
For your employees who like to hunt, offering flexible hours during hunting seasons can be a morale-boosting action for many. Remember also that on opening day or opening week for hunting seasons, the sales in your business will probably be down, because your customers are away — they are in the woods. Take note of which employees like to hunt which species, so if needed, you can rotate flexible hours based on those who likes to hunt deer vs. waterfowl vs. elk or upland birds.
You will probably see that some employees like to take vacation during opening week or peak hunting periods during the seasons. Make a calendar if you must so employees can sign up for planned hunts and schedule work times so everyone won’t be gone at once. Keep the calendar as a reminder that you can adjust on an annual basis. Permitting time off to hunt can create more of a team environment and makes employees feel valued and listened to — and it improves morale.
Consider organizing an employee dove hunt or deer-hunting camp on your closed days of the week. If you have new employees who lack gear, you could consider offering loaners or discounts to help them gear up and participate. Note also that females and minorities are growing hunting market segments, and these employees should be invited and included. Take photos of these events to share with the group and post in the employee break room. Remember to keep employee photos professional and not to ridicule someone who made a key mistake off premises.
Employees also like to be recognized, and you can do this on your social channels or bulletin boards for employees of the month or quarter, or congratulations if they earn degrees or complete a sales course provided by a supplier. The reasons to recognize employees are nearly unlimited, and these small steps make big differences in morale in the workplace.
After the recent closed business environment across much of America, more and more employees rolled into the work-from-home segment. This option is obviously not available for your show floor sales team or range managers, and all employees in your business who must be present to serve customers. When and if you can permit other employees to work from home, this option — if used only a day or more a month — can improve morale. Sending employees to work-away, whether it be looking at competitors, taking training, or testing hunting rifles or shotguns at a range, can create a valuable workday for some. These breaks away from the store or off the sales floor can increase morale.
Employees also like to stay informed and engaged, so be certain to communicate regularly about incoming new products or resupplies, when a store will possibly be reconfigured inside with new displays or sales areas, or if there will be more employees joining the team. Keeping all employees informed avoids the negative rumor mills from grinding out misinformation. Rumors can often pull down morale.
During slower periods, simple gestures of thanks do make a difference. If you schedule a provided breakfast — and you as the owner cooks the meal or helps serve a catered meal — this type of action can improve teamwork. Off-site or casual behind-the-store cookouts with rotating breaks for working staff show that you work at creating a fun working environment. Provided an unannounced lunch or supply of free snacks in the break room (or special coffee and tea break during mid-morning), or providing all employees with a company logoed hat or T-shirts or discounts on hunting gear can help employees feel more valued and drive up that team member esprit de corps. Test the waters and see what works best and what receives a lukewarm reception.
Remember to also recognize important dates for employees, such as work anniversaries and birthdays. Make it a point to invite all employees to join in the recognition and any event on these days. Also make it a point to recognize those who go above and beyond in customer service, complete the most sales in a month, and such efforts that show initiative. You can also make employees feel more invested in the overall efforts by asking their input on projects, such as building seasonal displays, or types of instruction classes to offer. If an employee wants to earn hunter education instructor certification so she or he can teach courses, consider allowing this sort of effort to be paid work time. Remember, it’s the small things that add up as morale boosters.
As with all things that improve your business and the environment within the walls of your retail center, judging morale and improving it — or keeping the positive morale at a high level — will require efforts on your part. Don’t wait for morale to become low or very negative. Take steps to keep it high and profits will follow.
