Motivating your staff can have a transformative effect on your business. When staff are motivated, they will show up to work every day ready to give it their all. They'll also be more creative, more open to learning new things, and less likely to leave. By creating a positive work environment, you will not only achieve excellent results, but you will also reduce your recruitment costs over time.
To increase motivation, you have to create the conditions for your team to do their best work, and this all starts with management. You have to lead by example and put in place the systems, rewards and support needed to really motivate individuals to give it their all. If you're looking for some tried and tested methods to help motivate your staff, try these 7 powerful tips.
1. Recognise achievement
If you set goals for your staff, this can't be the end of the conversation. You need to be willing to step up and recognise their accomplishments when they achieve great things.
So when an employee gains a new qualification, smashes an achievement goal, or sets a new sales record, you need to be there to celebrate their achievement. Creating an atmosphere of positive reinforcement is better than reprimanding individuals for not achieving their goals.
2. Offer rewards
Some individuals are motivated by the promise of reward. This could mean personal bonuses, extra time off work or office perks such as free food. Once you know which of your team are motivated by rewards, you'll know how to tap into their competitive spirit.
Offering rewards can help to keep workers motivated when morale is lacking. It can help to turn a difficult day, week, or month around and help to push team members over the finish line. It's important to remember that motivation won't be consistent and often comes in ebbs and flows. This means you need to work hard to keep it topped up. Alongside monthly rewards, consider offering awards at random times to help bolster morale.
3. Be consistent
When creating a motivational environment, your staff need to know what they can expect, and this means you need to be consistent. If something is worthy of a reward one week, you need to be willing to recognise it every week.
While staff will recognise that not everything is going to be fun and games all the time, they will expect some level of consistency if they are to remain motivated to continually achieve excellence.
4. Share the bigger picture
It can be hard when you feel like a small cog in a big machine. It's difficult to get excited and motivated when you aren't kept in the loop on the bigger picture. Sharing the big picture planning is one of the easiest ways to motivate your staff to want to achieve bigger and better things.
In short, it's easier to stay motivated when you know what you are working towards. Including your team in monthly catch up meetings or looping them into email threads from upper management will ensure that they feel included and valued as part of the wider team.
5. Lead from behind
You might have heard that you should lead by example, but the best leaders lead from behind. This means that you're in the trenches with your team and working with them to achieve the collective goals.
Leading from behind means that you are aware of the struggles within the team and the daily challenges that they face. This puts you in a better position to provide support, encouragement and feedback.
6. Create the right conditions
One of the simplest ways to motivate workers is to allow them to create the conditions that are best suited to their working style. Some people thrive in a busy team environment while others appreciate the focus that comes from working alone.
Trusting your team to work in the time and place that suits them best is one of the simplest ways to motivate your team. Offering flexible working - both in terms of the hours that your team works and the location - demonstrates a great deal of trust. When a person feels trusted to achieve, rather than being micromanaged, they are more likely to achieve great things.
7. Prioritise health
Motivation isn't endless, and your team needs to rest and recharge regularly. The simplest way to prioritise health is to make sure your team always takes a lunch break away from their desk. You could also provide healthy snacks to encourage them to step away from their desks and get moving throughout the day.
It's also important to protect mental wellbeing by ensuring that workers do not feel obliged to work outside of office hours. By making it clear that you want your team to achieve great things, but that you'll be there to help them along the way, you're far more likely to achieve desirable results.
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