Home » Employee Performance » How to Keep Your Staff Motivated at Work
As a team leader, your job is to keep your troops motivated, with a strategy that underpins the importance of employee motivation. This is a difficult task considering the competitive nature of everyday work.
By creating a team that’s inspired to work in the best interests of the company, workers can competently meet company objectives. Their job satisfaction will increase as a result, where they feel a sense of empowerment through their capabilities, and an elevated sense of self-worth.
Because it’s not always about money, sometimes it’s the small things that can make a big difference. There are many advantages when keeping staff motivated, from better productivity to less staff turnover.
If you want to achieve a competitive advantage, creating a personal and flexible corporate culture will help you differentiate from the rest.
As a small business, you can use this to your advantage, where there’s a better opportunity for transparency, and to cultivate beneficial personal relationships from the top down.
If you understand the importance of employee motivation, but don’t know how to achieve it, fortunately you’ve come to the right place. Here are some top tips for keeping staff motivated, which will bring you one step closer to success:
Empowerment
We live in a society where people feel validated when their worth is constantly communicated to them. Though we shouldn’t seek approval, it’s nice to know you’re appreciated in your work environment.
When an employee feels valued, they’ll understand the progressive nature of their efforts, and gain a sense of motivation to continue along the right lines.
Poor management will lead to employees feeling like pawns, when in reality they’re the key components for driving new initiatives. Everyone should have an opportunity to express themselves, where staff input is valuable to receive feedback on how you should treat employees.
Empower staff by allowing them to dream big, and by regularly communicating their worth to the team. This can be achieved with simple dialogue, and will go a long way to elevating the mood of your employees.
Leadership
Leadership goes hand-in-hand with the importance of employee motivation. A team who doesn’t receive sponsorship from an inspiring leader will ultimately feel dejected, with less motivation to fulfill the objectives that filter from the top down.
Supportive leaders collaborate with employees, and are always there in times of need. Offer a sympathetic ear, developing trust that helps you build interpersonal relationships.
When high standards are set at the top end, they have a better chance of trickling through your organization. A great leader is a role model who others look up to, and someone who holds themselves to high standards.
Leaders who set high expectations are confident in their team, and without expectations employees can lose their motivation to succeed. A great foundation for motivating staff is to assume competence, giving them the impression they’re capable, or at least appear capable.
You can then build on this confidence boost with varying training methods.
Positivity
People dedicate so much time to their working lives, it represents a huge portion of their existence. Can you imagine spending most of your time in a negative environment? Unfortunately, many workers do.
You can implement the best processes in the world, but they’ll fall flat if you fail to prioritize a productive workspace.
Putting employees at ease is half the battle, which mostly involves a use of empathy and support. Workers should be willing to share their true feelings, conducive to creating a transparent culture. When staff bottle their emotions up, this can have undesirable consequences.
More talking and listening is a recipe for success, alongside encouraging staff to admit their mistakes without fear of humiliation.
Often staff go into their shell due to a fear of reprimand, but will benefit when positivity is promoted. You can even encourage staff by offering them challenging tasks, which will liberate them from the grasps of their assumed role.
Teamwork
The importance of employee motivation stems from staff feeling like they’re part of a team. Work environments should be one of togetherness and unity, where staff feel at ease communicating with each other.
A communicative team who genuinely resonate with each other will be happier, and positioned to progress with their workflows in a stress free fashion.
Establishing trust among team members is critical, for creating focused and responsive individuals who look beyond their own aspirations. Healthy competition can incentivize staff too, aiding productivity.
Rewards
Maximize the potential of your workforce with a built-in reward system. You should encourage behavior that aligns with company objectives, creating positive reinforcements for productive behavior. This can be achieved with incentives, which play a crucial role in motivating your team.
Just a simple voucher will show you care about your employees, who will be encouraged to meet long and short-term business goals. Recognition is powerful, and when staff feel appreciated they can achieve great things.
