Online exclusive: Companies act to boost morale

To offset the effect of a sagging economy, companies are taking steps to boost employee, morale, a new survey finds. One in four companies are doing nothing, however.

Nearly seven in 10 (68 percent) chief financial officers (CFO) interviewed said they are implementing strategies to buoy the mood of their teams, however, not all employers have jumped on the bandwagon. More than one in four (26 percent) executives said their firms aren’t doing anything to improve morale.

Accountemps, a staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals, developed the survey. An independent research firm, based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States, conducted it.

In the survey, which allowed multiple answers, CFOs were asked, “In the past 12 months, what steps, if any has your company taken to improve employee morale?”

37% increased the frequency and/or quality of communication
26% had taken no steps
15% enhanced employee recognition
18% offered additional financial awards,
18% provided additional professional development opportunities
18% conducted additional team building

In a news release about the survey, “Employee motivation should be a continual priority for businesses but in a period of economic uncertainty, manager need to invest even more time and effort into maintaining team morale,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Motivating Employees for Dummies (John Wiley Sons, Inc.) “Companies that work diligently to keep their top performers engaged improve their chances to retain these key contributors,” he said.

Messmer noted, “Professionals crave information about the company’s performance and their own job stability. When there is little or sporadic communication from the company, employees are more likely to fill in the blanks themselves perhaps by jumping to negative conclusion.”

He added that although financial reward is a powerful motivation tool, not all incentives have to involve an expense. “There are many cost free ways to improve the mood in the office, including public praise, adopting flexible schedules when appropriate and even soliciting employees for their business development and cost savings ideas.”