How do we improve employee morale and motivate them when most employees are working under the threats of pay freezes and layoffs? How can we expect our business to survive without great employees? It is the employees who empower the customers to financially support the business through repeat sales. However, we cannot expect the customers to put their trust in the business if the employees do not trust the business. In most businesses, employees are one of the most overlooked resources. It is the job of business owners and managers to retain great employees if they want the business to survive the hard times we are currently facing. It is their job to inspire and motivate the employees.

So what are we to do? How do we improve employee morale and motivate employees when we are all living under the clouds of economic doom? As we look at employees, we need to recognize the leaders. It is these leaders who will help us get through these turbulent times and lead the other employees. These leaders will have a positive attitude and will look at the survival of the business as a challenge.

They will take the challenge and use creative and innovative ideas to ensure our survival. Their attitude on the current economic doom will be positive and this positive attitude will be contagious and increase the employee morale of the entire business. It is the job of owners and managers to recognize the employees and make them into company champions. If we cannot afford to reward these employees financially, then they should be rewarded with positive recognition. It is imperative that we let these employees know how much we value their performance and dedication.

As owners and managers, we need to lead, inspire, and motivate the employees to successfully conquer any achievable task, and then celebrate for what they have accomplished. A good leader recognizes individual talents within each employee and utilizes them appropriately. When times are challenging, effective leaders find ways to keep hope alive and employee morale high. This type of positive leadership will achieve the long term goals of the business without negativity or dissension from the employees and provide solid platforms for future tasks.

We need to change our employee strategies and ensure we have well-trained, highly motivated employees who understand our company and their role in making it successful. It is important for us to realize that employees need to know what is going on within our business and ensure them that together, as a team, we can and will survive. We need to inspire employees to be creative and embrace their ideas whether we use them or not. We should give employees more tasks, not extra work, but tasks which will benefit the business as a whole and give these employees the independence needed to complete these tasks. The independence they are given in completing these tasks, along with their involvement in the problems within their company, will make them feel as though they are a vitally important member of the company. Many times this is far more important than a monetary reward.

It is our employees who are the direct contacts with our customers. When our employees believe in our business, our customers can believe in our business. When our employees trust our business, our customers can trust our business. When we take care of our employees, the people within our community can perceive us as good citizens. The people within our community are those who financially support our business. During these rough times, we need to utilize all of our assets and avoid additional expenses. Our employees are our most underutilized assets, our front line, and our direct contact to our customers. It is these employees who can make or break our business. Jobs are currently hard to find. Our employees need their jobs as much as we need our business. Now, more than ever, is the time to let our employees know how they can help. Now is the time to recognize job performance.

Taking care of our employees through inspiration and motivation cost little, if nothing. By giving our employees recognition, we give them power. Everyone loves power. Power makes people feel special and important and they will always crave more and do whatever it takes to get it. We must recognize success in a positive way to ensure that success will breed more success. We need to give our employees the sweet taste of winning so they will continually crave it.

Donna Graham writes articles about people and small business. Visit her at http://careerlifeattitudes.com/ to read more articles about your career, your life, and your attitude.