To create a positive and productive work environment, cultivate open communication, recognize and reward employee efforts, invest in professional development opportunities, encourage work-life balance, prioritize team building, and foster a culture of respect and inclusivity.
I recommend using Productboard or Aha! for building product roadmaps, both platforms have robust features for capturing and managing user feedback and voting, albeit they aren't free, but offer reasonable pricing, while a more cost-effective alternative could be Trello combined with a plugin like Feature Upvote for collecting user feedback.
I have had a chance to work with some great companies and these are some things they did :
Gratitude Circle: Start meetings with a "gratitude circle" where each team member shares something they're thankful for. It sets a positive tone and cultivates a culture of appreciation.
Personal Development Budget: Provide a small budget to each team member that they can use for personal development, whether it's attending workshops, taking online courses, or exploring new hobbies.
Skill Swap Sessions: Host regular sessions where team members can share their unique skills or hobbies with the rest of the team. It's a fun way to learn from each other outside of work-related topics.
Random Acts of Kindness Day: Once a quarter, encourage your team to perform random acts of kindness for each other or the community. It fosters camaraderie and spreads positivity.
Hope it helps.