Morale issues are top of mind....

The most common issue I hear from the leaders I work with is they have to constantly deal with employee morale. Their employees are negatively affected by the economy. They see the gloom and doom around them, friends and family are out of work, they aren’t getting the bonuses and raises they received in the past and their career growth is limited.

The longer this recession continues, the greater the need for leaders to be engaged and to find new ways to motivate their employees. Here are some ways leading edge executives are dealing with their companies’ morale concerns:

1. Provide a candid assessment of the current the situation.
Give an honest status report on the overall health of the organization. Outline the major problems or challenges.

2. Focus on the steps you are taking to overcome these challenges.
Most employees want to know why the management is doing the things they are doing so the more informed they are, the less worried they become.

3. Communicate as much as is necessary so employees feel informed.
You want your team to be informed. You want them to feel comfortable coming to you during this time so it’s important for you to encourage communication about the recession and how it is affecting them.

4. Appreciate the effort and hard work your employees are doing daily.
They need to know you care, you appreciate their work and understand their concerns. The more appreciation they feel, the more inspired they can be in the work they do. Make sure you appreciate people one-on-one so it’s customized to specifically to that person.

5. Provide them with hope.
Discuss why 2010 should be better than 2009. However, it’s still going to be a difficult year and the signs of recovery will be slow and not overly impressive. 2010 will be the beginning of the recovery process which is positive news.

6. Use as many communication channels as possible.
But, as leaders, your focus should be on face-to-face communication. Get out of the corner office. Make the human connection, look them in the eye, and answer their questions. In other words, be there for them. As former Secretary of State and Army General Colin Powell once said, “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”