With the holidays and the end of the year right around the corner, stress levels around your association can sky-rocket. When your team feels down, work quality and morale can suffer. Here are five ways to reduce stress and boost morale in your association.
Set Clear Goals
Setting clear and attainable goals can help keep your association on track. When looking into next year’s budget and reviewing the accomplishments of the previous year, connect with your team about what comes next. Plan a brainstorming session to encourage innovation, and get a chance to review everyone’s feedback.
Once you’ve created some goals, such as boosting engagement or increasing membership, discuss a few key ways to move toward achieving them, and perhaps decide on some dates to check in on your progress. By making a document with these goals that’s shareable and editable across your association, you’ll help everyone feel involved and give them an idea of where your organization is headed.
Be Transparent About Issues
Transparent and honest leadership helps develop a strong and healthy bond between your team. Sharing successes is wonderful, but sharing issues and bumps along the road is equally as important. The workplace will become a more supportive environment, and employees will feel less inhibited about sharing ideas when you are all on the same page.
Give Valuable Benefits to Both Members and Employees
In order to retain membership as well as keep the morale of the team high, associations need to show their appreciation. Offer valuable benefits to members that will keep them engaged with your mission, such as exclusive newsletters, discounts, and training courses. When members are happy and fulfilled, the general feeling of your association’s team will be a lighter one.
Don’t forget about your employees. Providing ample opportunity for further education, such as having a budget for training courses and conventions, as well as giving holidays off and offering discounts with local or like-minded businesses are just a few examples of how to show your appreciation.
[Related: How to Ensure High Membership Renewal Rates]
Schedule Regular Casual Reviews
Regular check-ins with your team can be more helpful than a formal, annual employee review. Designating a weekly slot of time for “open office hours” or a casual email check-in with individual members of your team can really open communication, ease any transitions, and improve the bond between members of leadership and other members of the association. Work on and acknowledge Issues as they arise, and positive acknowledgement will boost morale.
Plan Fun Engagement Activities
Studies show that workplace fun has a positive effect on employees, enhancing their performance at work, reducing stress, and improving morale. Planning fun team-building activities, creative events for employees and members, learning opportunities, and simple happy hours or lunches can reduce the stress in your association and, in turn, boost work ethic and innovation. TINYPulse published a great list of several creative team-building exercises.
Need more ideas on how to reduce stress and boost morale, as well as streamline your organization’s process and spark engagement among your team? Contact Dennison & Associates today to discuss our services and schedule a consultation.
