If morale in your company needs a boost, it is often the result of managers forgetting that it is the employees who run your daily operations. Remember that as skilled and knowledgeable as employees are, they are still individuals with feelings. Employers must remember to keep the work environment fun and productive instead of just sticking to boring attitudes and rigid policies that produce low morale.

The best solution for tackling low morale is to make positive changes that don’t need to break the bottom line. Trust, respect, recognition, and encouragement are the bricks that successful employee/employer relationship are built upon. Let’s look at a few tips that can make you feel inspired to make a change and see more of the successful results that your business deserves.

1. Begin to recognize employee achievements and their milestones like work anniversaries and birthdays. Employers can choose how and why they can recognize the input of their employees. Recognizing employees is an appreciable way of showing your employees that they are valued by your company which, in turn, helps to raise their job satisfaction and productivity.

When customized quality recognition awards or trophies are added to an employee’s acknowledgments, this becomes the coup d’etat that will also motivate your remaining employees. The award can be varied depending on the achievement level. Adding personalization to the award makes business-wide participation even more desirable.

2. A platform of openness allows employees to help the company they work for make positive changes. Depending on the size of your company, eliciting feedback from employees has always allowed managers to brainstorm and develop more positive results. If your company is large, you have team leaders in place. Ask team leaders to submit pre-queried questions about the company’s future plans or ask about the present environment.

Feedback can be solicited in a weekly check-in date and time or an informal setting. Employees have the best sense of what changes help their jobs and their company. Putting employee ideas into action is a great morale booster. Managers should keep an open mind and listen to feedback when they review the employees’ responses. Yes, you will receive a mix of business-related suggestions and several personal responses, all of which are important to keep morale high.

3. Ahh, there is nothing like a nice cold beer or wine spritzer on Friday. It becomes fun when you are surrounded by your co-workers. Yes, how about a Friday happy hour? Serving light drinks after work on Friday, in the office, with hor d’ oeuvres paid for by the company is a great way to unwind at the end of the workweek. Or, as everyone calls it – Happy Hour!

A work sponsored Happy Hour helps to create social bonds and keeps employees on all levels engaged, resulting in high morale. Coming together in solidarity is more the theme of a Friday evening gathering. Not everyone drinks, so serving light fares in an atmosphere of fun works well for everyone.

4. Allow employees to increase their skill levels is an incentive that helps the company economically and increases employee value. Helping employees learn new skills ensures that they can continue to have a meaningful impact on the direction of the company. Also, with new skills, it ensures an industry that the goals they are creating are being met and that you have people in place to meet the company’s emerging needs. It’s also one of the best ways to improve employee motivation.

5. Organize a volunteer community project. Bringing everyone together as a team, in addition to giving back to the community, goes a long way to uplift your employees and increase social bonds with each co-worker. Volunteering is an awesome way to boost morale. Choose a local charitable organization and arrange a day and time to have the employees come together. Companies can draw on their employees’ skills because charities don’t always have a lot of resources and expertise in certain areas. But skill-based volunteering is where your company can contribute.

Volunteering helps to develop and grow employee leadership skills, increases their networking performance, and strengthens their problem-solving abilities. For your company, volunteering in the community strengthens your reputation as a socially responsible company. Without a doubt, volunteering makes your company look like an attractive potential employer. Volunteering is an idea that is a win-win morale booster.