Tips & Tools : Employee Motivation
Employee Motivation
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How motivated are your employees? Are they fully engaged and passionate about their
work?
In challenging economic times it is natural for most people to lose some level
of enthusiasm. When we cut costs and people around us lose jobs and even their homes,
our desire to take on the “biggest and baddest” challenge at work can falter. But
in these times, the last thing we need is lost productivity and less passion. In
fact, what we really need is to raise the bar and get more productivity and creativity
from our people.
Can you motivate your employees to do more?
There are many differing
theories on the psychology of motivation but the one area where there is agreement,
is that people do things for their own reasons, not yours. Motivation isn’t something
you can give someone -
But you can make a
difference. Here are the top 10 things you can do to create a climate that will
inspire your employees to be motivated to do their best work and achieve the results
you desire.
1. Know and care about the concerns of your employees. Do they feel appreciated and
listened to? Take the time to talk to them and discuss their priorities and desires.
Frequent informal conversations will help you know more about them as individuals
and enable you to better understand what really motivates each of your employees.
Remember people do things for their reasons not yours. If you can help employees
get what they need to motivate themselves through their work, they will bring a higher
level of passion and energy to what they do.
2. Develop and communicate a compelling
organizational vision. People become motivated if they are excited about the purpose,
the goals of the organization and how they can contribute towards achieving them.
If you communicate a clear vision with passion and enthusiasm and you will rally
the troops. Each employee needs to understand how their own work contributes towards
the company achieving its goals. To be motivated, they need to be confident that
their work makes a difference.
3. Address ineffective teamwork. Working as part of
an effective team can lead to impressive improvements in morale and motivation. Unfortunately
the converse is also true. Even the most self-
5. Communicate with everyone respectfully. Yes, fear and intimidation can
produce real motivation to take action, but this approach does not produce sustainable
effort and results. Treating people with respect is at the heart of building business
relationships. Respecting the right to differ is a concept like motherhood and apple
pie. We all agree with it but do we truly foster it? Give people the freedom to be
themselves and choose how to achieve the agreed upon results. Read more about building
business relationships.
6. Provide employees with the opportunity to be creative.
People will feel more motivated if they work in an environment where they are challenged
and still have the opportunity to innovate. Give people freedom to make decisions.
Encourage collaborative problem solving. Develop strong skills in delegation. Solicit
their opinion and feedback on the issues and challenges you cannot delegate entirely
to them. Read more about creativity.
7. Invest in developing employees. Demonstrate
that you care about your employees' success by providing opportunities for them to
grow professionally. Take the time to provide effective feedback on a continual basis.
Recommend books and articles that are useful resources. Provide an adequate training
budget and encourage its use. Recommend the support of a business coach or mentor.
Allow employees to spend some time on projects that they care about...even if they
are outside their standard responsibilities.
8. Regularly recognize and reward effort
and results. Employees need recognition and praise. Give ample feedback and recognition
whenever possible. Look for opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate successes
...even the small ones. Be specific in your praise so that they know what behavior
has contributed to the overall success of the organization.
9. Ensure compensation
and other rewards and benefits are fair. There are a number of extrinsic rewards
that have a short-
10. Ensure that the right person is doing the right task and fully understands their
role. This is perhaps one of the most often overlooked areas of motivation because
it requires us to step back from the day to day and take a more holistic and strategic
view of the business. Getting the right people in the right role and then ensuring
that their responsibilities and expectations are clear is a critical foundation for
success.
And finally as a bonus...
Help your employees find work/life balance. Many
employees today are struggling to balance the heavy demands of life and work. By
providing benefits that make it easier for employees to take care of themselves,
you will ensure that they are better able to perform in all aspects of their lives.
Examples of this type of benefit include flexible work schedules, membership to a
health club, on-
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