The impact good systems can have on staff morale

There are several reasons why staff morale is important.

• High employee morale results in increased teamwork
• Companies with happy employees have better retention rates
• Companies with happy employees have lower absence rates
• Good morale improves office relationships
• A happier team is more productive
• Higher morale results in greater attention to detail
• Happy employees are more creative at solving problems

In this article, we’re looking at how good systems can boost staff morale and which systems you should focus on first.

How does having good systems boost staff morale?

Even the smallest of investments in your systems and processes can boost staff morale as it shows a commitment to improving the organisation and supporting your people.

Reduce frustration and waiting times

You’ve probably experienced the frustration of waiting for a piece of equipment to warm up or watching a slow webpage load. How about time wasted searching for paper documents that have been filed in the wrong place or simply gone astray?

You might think these things only cause minor annoyances, but they all add up. Dealing with slow and outdated systems day after day takes its toll on staff morale.

Something as straightforward as digitalising documents will reduce the frustration of unnecessary waiting times and allow employees to concentrate on more important and fulfilling tasks.

Enhance communication and collaboration

Employees need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively, especially when they rely on the input of other colleagues to complete tasks.

There are a whole host of tools that allow colleagues to easily share up to the minute data, work on projects collaboratively, and communicate with multiple departments simultaneously. Investing in these tools improves engagement by creating a more cohesive and efficient team.

Reduce customer complaints and workplace stress

Nobody wants to spend their days dealing with frustrated and unhappy customers, but if you don’t have good systems in place, that is what will happen. Your employees will spend their time dealing with complaints that could have easily been avoided.

Dealing with negativity day after day doesn’t create a pleasant working environment. At best, employees may feel demotivated and unwilling to do more than the bare minimum. At worst, they’ll suffer from anxiety, stress, or even depression. This will lead to increased presenteeism, absenteeism and attrition.

Meet expectations

Many of your employees will have access to the latest gadgets and technology at home – smartphones, wearable tech, laptops, tablets, smart appliances, and GPS trackers, to name a few. Not to mention most homes now benefit from superfast broadband. And most employees will also have experience using digital platforms for banking, shopping and paying bills.

The point is they are aware of what technology is available, and they’ll expect to be provided with similar at work. If they are faced with outdated equipment and antiquated systems, they aren’t going to feel valued and will quickly start looking at alternative employment.

Upskill your teams 

When you invest in new systems, you provide your employees with opportunities to learn new skills or develop existing ones, leading to increased motivation and engagement.

It also enables you to future-proof your organisation by upskilling and cross-skilling your teams.

You can even invest in online eLearning systems that give your teams flexible access to digital courses. An informed workforce can help mitigate risk and improve customer service.

Which systems should you focus on?

It’s clear that having a motivated workforce is advantageous and that your systems will directly impact staff morale, but where should you invest first?

There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to digital transformation, as it will depend on the size of your team, your services and your budget. That said, there are some areas you should pay particular attention to.

Customer portals

Allowing your customers to self-serve online is a fantastic starting point. It frees up capacity by taking the strain off call handlers and reducing face to face interactions. This allows your teams to focus their attention on the customers that need the most support.

You can make it easier for your customers to find information and raise enquiries, and allow them to make payments, place orders, and check for case updates.

Digitalisation of forms and data

Paper forms can easily get lost, damaged or misfiled. Then you have the problems associated with manually inputting data into the relevant databases.

With digital forms, you make it easier for customers to complete any documents, and you make life easier for your staff.

Information can be automatically pulled through to the relevant databases, and the documents can be accessed quickly – no more rooting around in filing cabinets.

Automated workflows

Automating workflows is a fantastic way of increasing capacity without hiring new employees.

So many processes and tasks can be automated – from sending out basic email responses to pulling data from multiple databases and creating up-to-the-minute management reports.

Staff training

Online learning platforms are an extremely cost-effective way of upskilling your teams. You can easily arm employees with the knowledge and confidence to protect themselves, their colleagues and your organisation. 

The biggest advantage of eLearning (other than the cost-saving benefits) is accessibility. Your employees can complete training modules from anywhere, on any device, at a time that fits around their workload.

CXM

You’ve probably heard of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, but a CXM (Customer Experience Management) system takes things to the next level.

A CXM records customer interactions in a similar way to a CRM, but it offers a more comprehensive view. It allows for a real-time flow of data and deeper insight into individual customer behaviour.

A CRM provides data for the business or organisation using it, whereas a CXM is there to support the customer too.

Digital transformation with Meritec

Meritec specialises in creating digital solutions for local authorities and public sector organisations, but our solutions can benefit private sector businesses too.

Our approach to every digital transformation project is collaborative – a partnership with you to ensure the solution we provide is the right fit. Our low code platforms, software solutions and CXM 360 have been developed by our own in-house team, meaning all standard features can be customised and adapted to suit.

All our solutions are designed to be intuitive and agile, requiring minimal technical knowledge from your teams. Plus, we’re on hand to provide support and develop your digital infrastructure as the needs of your organisation change.

We also offer eLearning programmes on fraud awareness, mental wellbeing, cyber security and risk management. Each of our digital learning courses has several versions, which are tailored to different sectors and specific organisations.

If you’d like to learn more about any of our solutions, get in touch to arrange a demo and discuss your needs.