Keeping employees motivated and engaged can be quite tricky, but companies that ignore this aspect and fail to build and maintain proper employee engagement levels put their entire future at risk. It’s not difficult to grasp the correlation between employee behaviour and business success. If workers are genuinely satisfied with what they do, have an overall positive attitude and feel engaged at work, they are more likely to put more passion and energy into completing their tasks and thus actively contribute to their company’s success.
Research backs up these claims, with a recent Gallup report showing that companies with highly engaged teams are 23% more profitable than those with a disengaged workforce. That’s because they register lower turnover rates, are better equipped to deliver superior customer service and score higher on other key markers that are directly linked to profitability.
So, if you don’t want your company to lag behind, you need to make sure your employees feel content, motivated and committed to fulfilling their roles to the best of their abilities. There are various measures you can take in this respect, depending on the type of enterprise you run and your individual objectives. However, one trick that can prove more effective than expected and always seems to work regardless of each company’s specific circumstances is using branded merchandise.
Branded items like printed t-shirts, hats, jackets, tech items, wellness products and so on are not just a way to catch customers’ attention and improve a company’s visibility. They can also be utilised as a method to enhance your staff’s morale and increase their participation. So, if you’re wondering how something so seemingly inconspicuous and unimportant can help you achieve so much, stick around for the rest of the article.
Creating a sense of belonging
When someone new joins the company, it takes a while for them to fully integrate into the organisational culture and start feeling like they’re part of the team, which is perfectly understandable. If you want to make the onboarding process smoother and help new hires adapt faster to their work environment, branded items can be a useful hack. That’s because owning items that carry the company’s logo can help employees establish a deeper connection to their organisation and the people whom they work with who are also part of the same community as them. These simple objects are a tangible representation of common goals and vision and can cultivate team spirit in an organisation.
In other words, receiving company-branded items contributes to a sense of belonging and helps employees identify as members of the group. It creates a feeling of unity and solidarity, which is crucial for building cohesive teams and encouraging collaboration. Also, promotional merch benefits not only newcomers but also existing employees, as they too need to feel like they’re part of a whole and connect with their co-workers.
Showing recognition and appreciation
If you want your team members to keep up the good work and maintain their drive in the long run, you also need to show your appreciation and make them feel heard and seen. This doesn’t mean you have to organise solemn ceremonies, hold affected speeches and award them with trophies and decorations.
Branded products can be a great way to acknowledge their contribution and celebrate their achievements, be it the completion of a project, getting promoted or hitting a new milestone in their professional journey. Whether it’s apparel, office utensils or customised gifts like personalised lighters or tote bags, offering these simple items as rewards or tokens of gratitude shows employees they’re more than just a number, making them feel like they matter and their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed.
Fostering a positive work environment
Spreading promotional products all across you company will help you create a more welcoming and pleasant work environment. When you put at your employees’ disposal a wide variety of useful branded items that they can use on a daily basis and that make their life a little easier, it sends a message that the company cares about them and is interested in supporting their wellbeing and professional success.
Employees who feel valued and realize they have the necessary resources and assistance to thrive in their endeavours, are more likely to stay motivated, think outside the box to find creative solutions for the challenges that the company is facing and push harder to accomplish their tasks.
Reinforcing brand identity and values
It’s also worth noting that using promotional objects is also a clever strategy to communicate your business’s brand identity and bolster your company culture. All the items that bear your company’s logo and images serve as a reminder of what your brand stands for, keeping your core goals and mission fresh in your employees’ minds. It’s much easier to connect staff with the company’s vision and values and convince them to become more engaged when they’re constantly reminded of what your business is about and what everyone is striving towards.
As for the types of products you should use to improve employee morale and motivate them to perform better in their jobs, the options are diverse and can be tailored to your specific needs. It’s generally recommended to choose products that reflect your company’s brand image and goals. Employees should be able to associate these items with your company so they can reinforce their affiliation with the organisation whenever they use them.
It’s also important to keep your workers’ needs and preferences in mind when deciding what type of branded merchandise to invest in. If they find the objects relevant and practical, they’re going to use them and appreciate them more.
All in all, employing branded merch is without a doubt a useful method for elevating employee morale and engagement, so no matter what type of business you’re running, you should consider giving it a try.
The post Branded merch might be just what your company requires to boost employee engagement and morale first appeared on HR News.