This is just a plain fact, your employees are the main asset that you have. In order to make the most out of your greatest assets, it is very important that you keep them properly motivated. Not only will you be able to improve the overall morale of the workplace, but you will also be able to improve productivity, and reduce employee turnover.
There isn’t a single approach that will work for motivating all your employees. In order to do it properly, you will need to make sure that you are always making constant improvements to your employee motivation strategies. Let us take a deeper look at some strategies that really work very well.
A friendly and positive work environment
source: ccl.org
It really matters what your workplace looks and feels like. With the ongoing pandemic still raging, doing this has become a lot more difficult. More and more people are looking for remote working opportunities. Also, there has been a rise in hybrid workplace models. All these different types of employment opportunities have all contributed to making the workplace less attractive of a place to work in. So, you need to handle this situation properly and also make sure you understand that you will not get things right, right away. It will take time and it is completely normal.
Therefore, you also need to rethink the physical workspace and make sure it supports both deep work and collaborative work. Also, there are bound to be some remote employees and it will do you a lot of good if you helped them set up proper home workspaces. This will include making sure that they develop good remote working habits and also the setup they are working on.
Effective Communication
source: gofluent.com
This is absolutely vital when it comes to making sure that your employees are properly motivated and that they are feeling a part of the company itself. You need to make sure that all communication is done professionally, yet with a tone of compassion and integrity. You need to make sure that your employees feel comfortable and that they are able to express themselves freely and without the fear of consequences.
You should always set up some time in order to make sure that you get face-to-face communication with your employees. This does not have to be in close physical proximity. It can even be done remotely over a video call. You need to make sure that your employees feel like they are being listened to and that you see them as actual people, not just another clog in the machine.
Good performance should be rewarded
Everyone likes to be rewarded, and this applies to your employees as well. When you reward an employee for doing a particularly good job, you will be setting a precedent for all employees. That precedent is the fact that when desired actions and behaviors are rewarded, all the employees are motivated to carry out those desired activities.
One thing that you can do is to hand out actual physical statements of appreciation in the form of personalized business thank you cards. You can also consider a recognition program. In this way, your employees will be able to choose their own rewards and that can be very satisfying and motivating. Make sure that you and your employees understand that you are not handing out gifts. Make sure that you do not show favoritism when handing out rewards.
Pay attention to employee wellbeing
source: icehrm.com
The old adage, “health is wealth,” really does hold true when you think about it. Employees who are happy and healthy will obviously do better than employees who are not. This should be plainly obvious but yet, a lot of employers do not pay attention to this particular aspect of employee motivation strategies. Even if you are in the midst of a particularly stressful project, you should still make sure that your employees do not get burned out in the process.
There are a few things that are more harmful than employee burnout when it comes to the motivation levels of your employees. Make sure that you give your employees the flexibility to handle their own work according to their own workflows.
Also, make sure that they are given enough breaks throughout the day in order to avoid burnout. The significance of making sure they get enough breaks throughout the workday cannot ever be understated. Even a small break can refresh the mind and will ultimately lead to better results for the entire company
Make sure that you lead with respect and trust
source: lifehack.org
All employees want autonomy and independence as well, wherever they work. Everyone wants to be trusted and respected with their responsibilities and to not receive that trust, will really erode the relationship between management and the employees.
You should make sure that your employees are able to plan and work according to their own schedules. One of the worst mistakes that a lot of managers make is to get into every little detail about the work aspect of their employees and start micromanaging everything.
Final Words
Making sure that your employees are properly motivated is absolutely vital to the success and overall growth of your company. Employees need to feel valued and appreciated, their good work needs to be celebrated, and most importantly, they need to feel valued and appreciated as people. Otherwise, you will never be able to get the most out of your employees and it will eventually harm your overall company.
Make sure that you employ the strategies mentioned above in order to keep your employees properly motivated and dedicated to the cause of the company.
