Employee motivation is a challenge many managers and business owners struggle with. It is common sense that motivated employees work harder and produce better results, but how can we cross that bridge from theory to practice?
Employees who feel unmotivated are a common feature in companies around the world. People can quickly lose interest in work that is repetitive, unnecessary, too easy or too difficult. Staff can also feel alienated from the business when they are kept distant from the upper-level management, uninformed about the results of their daily tasks, or unsure of whether or not anyone even notices their contribution.
Motivational Techniques
With so many reasons for burnout and dissatisfaction with work, improving employee motivation can seem impossible. If you're struggling to keep your workers happy and motivated, try implementing policies around these three 'I's: information, incentive and innovation.
Information
The most common enemy of employee motivation is the lack of information. If your employees don't know what's expected of them, don't know why they're doing something or don't know who to collaborate with on projects and problems, you'll have a staff that feels helpless and disconnected from their work.
Good 'information' will let your employees know exactly why they are important to the business and will leave them feeling more invested in their jobs.
- Staff members who feel piped in to the company feel more engaged in it, so make sure your employees know what's going on around them.
- Talk to your employees every day. Even just to say 'good morning' or 'goodnight'. Regular contact with the upper level management will make staff feel more like a team member.
- Make sure your employee know exactly what their job description is, what's expected of them on a daily/quarterly/yearly basis. Nothing can be so demotivating as uncertainty.
- Tell your employees why their tasks are important. Adults are typically disinterested in tasks when they don't understand the context. Tell your staff the bigger story of the company and make sure they know where their work fits.
Incentive
Even the best informed employees need incentives. While a steady pay check may be enough motivation to get someone in the door, it takes more to coax your staff into working their best. Be sure to reward consistently high-achieving employees with pay raises and bonuses. People love to feel their good work is valued.
People want more from work than just money however, and offering the occasional bonus is just the beginning of good employee motivation. More than anything else, research has shown that employees want to feel appreciated by their supervisors. In fact, money is almost never the primary motivator of highly motivated staff. Think about these innovative incentives to boost employee motivation:
- Tell your staff when they're doing a good job. Regular encouragement is a great motivator. Consider an 'employee of the month' programme to let your high achievers know that you notice them.
- Consider non-monetary reasons your staff might choose working at your company over another. Flexible scheduling and internal promotions might be more motivating factors than higher salaries.
- Give your staff clear targets/goals for set periods of time. Let them know that they will be evaluated on these and rewarded if they are achieved.
Innovation
Research has indicated that managers at non-innovative companies have more trouble managing staff and fostering motivation that those at companies that encourage thinking outside the box. Why might this be?
Employees who are not encouraged creatively typically feel no control over their job and are often bored by the dull repetition of their tasks. It's important to allow your staff to think innovatively about their jobs and your company and to share those ideas. Who knows? One of your accountants may come up with your next big marketing slogan.
To foster an innovative culture at your company, try these strategies:
- Be receptive to new ideas, no matter when they come or who they come from.
- Reward creativity. Make sure credit goes to the person it belongs too (nothing crushes the desire to innovate like the knowledge that someone else will take the credit for your great idea).
- Do not punish failure: make sure your employees are not so afraid of failing that they shy away from trying new things.
- Formalise the creative process: schedule regular brainstorming sessions, providing staff with a channel through which to communicate new ideas.
Keep these three 'I's in mind when you structure your business and you may be surprised at how achievable employee motivation can be.
Employee Motivation: Three Tips for Better Management
Business.govt.nz has free advice on how to increase employee motivation and tips for health and safety in the workplace
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