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We’ve all heard it a hundred times before: it’s important to keep staff happy. Most of us know that this isn’t just about improving productivity either — it is, quite simply, the right thing to do. But when it comes to putting the principles into practice, it can be tough to find meaningful ways to keep everyone motivated and smiling. And while one-off trips and rewards are great, they can be quickly forgotten. The real trick is to implement long term happiness and care strategies.

To lend a hand, we’ve put together five employee happiness strategies, which take inspiration from Springwise innovations, as discovered by our global Springspotters network. These action points are designed to keep employees happy and engaged in the long term.

1 Find ways to track employee morale

It’s pretty common sense that employee morale can have a big effect on company performance, but getting an accurate picture of how employees are feeling is one of a manager’s biggest challenges. Hoping to offer a solution, Happiily is a site that lets employees speak honestly and anonymously while giving managers an early heads-up when there are any problems. Also of note, MoodHacker is an app designed for companies to improve the wellbeing of their workforce by giving employees tips to de-stress at the right moments.

2 Automate and streamline the new employee onboarding process

For small businesses looking to expand, getting new employees set up with all the relevant accounts and systems for their new role can be an unpleasant and time-consuming job. Tasytt helps with this by automating the training process and ensuring new hires are linked up with the company’s systems and culture from their first day.

3 Encourage physical fitness through gamification

Corporate wellness programs that aim to create a healthier workforce can save employers money on health insurance payouts, not to mention improve individual productivity and wellbeing. But the age-old team bonding activities can often be strained and awkward. Step Ahead: Zombies provides an answer with its story-themed walking challenge, which encourages workers to escape an in-game zombie apocalypse through IRL activity. Another tech is Prana, an all-in-one wearable device that tracks breathing and posture, using gamified training to improve employees’ health.

4 Prioritize employee flexibility

Offering flexibility is a good way to ensure employees have autonomy, which is vital for encouraging good performance as it makes employees feel like they are in control of their own work. This could mean anything from offering flexible hours, to the option to work remotely or take naps via a convertible desk if they feel the need to catch some Zs. Another way could be to offer flexible insurance — voluntary/supplementary benefits ensure that employees are better covered, resulting in lessened stress, better job satisfaction and increased productivity.

5 Try incorporating nature and the outdoors to your workspace

Studies have shown that seeing and experiencing nature has powerful positive effects on people’s state of mind and working abilities. For your team’s next away day, KantoorKaravaans could provide mobile micro-offices that let your workers do their day to day business in the middle of beautiful, national parks.