All year, I’ve been video-blogging about specific actions leaders can take to build employee morale in their departments and their organizations. My last tip was to say thank you in writing. Today’s strategy goes in a different direction. It is to give your employees the opportunity to represent your organization at an industry event.
Let your employees represent your organization at an external event
This may not seem like a big deal, but this is one of those actions that has a surprisingly great return on investment. The reality is that in most organizations, the folks involved in direct revenue-producing activities are the ones who often are the outward face of an organization, and for that reason, are the ones most likely to attend industry association conferences, community fundraisers, networking events, and the like.
But these revenue producers, or salespeople, who interface with external stakeholders are always supported by a small army of workplace colleagues in the background, usually located back in the home office. For a powerful way to build employee morale, consider asking one of these background supporters to represent your organization, either independently, or along with one of your front-line salespersons. Not only will this action show your employee that they are valued, but it will also give them a first-hand insight into a part of the organization they may very well know about, but never experienced. Whatever the specific outcome though, this seemingly minor action will most certainly boost employee morale.
So … have you tried this? What have been your experiences? I know we’d all love to hear about it, so please add your comments below.