What Can Employers Do to Keep Staff Motivated?
What Can Employers Do to Keep Staff Motivated?
What Can Employers Do to Keep Staff Motivated? Keeping staff motivated is key in enabling an organization to achieve both short-term and long-term goals. Motivated workers are more productive and go an extra mile to get things done. They also feel a personal connection to what they are achieving which leads to improved quality of work. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to keep the fire burning in the work place and managers struggle to establish what keeps employees motivated.
So, what can employers do to keep staff motivated? The goal is to make them feel passionate with their work and willing to spend more time with each other. They need to develop a sense of reward which does not need to be financial, and feel that they are of value to the company.
If you have tried a variety of methods and are still struggling with indolent staff, here are some strategies that guarantee positive results.
Motivating employees in the workplace
What Can Employers Do to Keep Staff Motivated?
- Create a friendly atmosphere
Since staff spend a significant amount of their lives working, it is important to make the office atmosphere conducive and appealing. A friendly atmosphere can be defined as one that provides physical, psychological and cultural conditions that improve health and general wellbeing. Due to globalization, employees from different cultures are forced to interact. It is important to ensure that the environment not only tolerates but also values differences.
- Provide incentives
Incentives take different forms but need to go beyond a pat on the back. Monetary reward is seemingly the most common and preferred by managers. However, in most cases, it achieves temporary compliance while the goal is to produce lasting changes in attitude. If you give cash to the staff, make sure to include a meaningful note to instill intrinsic motivation. Other forms of reward include bonus check, company benefits, and a badge for successfully completing a task. Note that research shows negative reward such as punishment is ineffective in creating enduring commitment.
- Let the staff feel valued
The tendency of individuals to overestimate how visible their emotions are to others, commonly referred to as illusion of transparency, explains why most managers assume employees know they are appreciated. However, making effort to depict value is a strategy worth trying when trying to make staff feel motivated. A manager ought to make staff aware of what is happening within the organization. This will help them understand that they are part of the business activities. A manager can also give balanced feedback, create opportunities for growth, and offer flexibility. Notably, efforts to let the staff feel values should be a habit. The expressions of gratitude also needs to be authentic, specific, and genuine.
What factors in the workplace motivate employees?
What Can Employers Do to Keep Staff Motivated?
- Positive communication and transparency
Communication is inevitable in a work environment, yet for a manager it can be the most difficult thing. It is important to allocate time to interact with staff and discuss ideas and concerns. Most organizations filter the type of information the staff is receiving, especially when it is flowing upwards. This mainly occurs in an environment where managers do not tolerate failure and a culture of finger-pointing is thriving. Transparency allows members to be truthful and prevents misunderstanding that could occur due to distorted information. Generally, the manager should seek to establish a culture of open communication.
- Know what makes each staff member tick
This is perhaps one of the hardest tasks for managers in a large organization as it requires a vast set of skills, yet it gives incredible results when motivating the staff. Learning about each member means discerning their goals, investing in their personal and professional growth, and listening to their ideas. One key element a manager can employ is to act like a mentor. Mentorship plays a critical role in establishing a relationships with your staff and it can help them view you as someone who cares. They will be encouraged to share their thoughts more, some which can be important for the company. Other activities that can be effective include having lunch with each employee and addressing their concerns, playing games, and holding social gatherings. The goal is to make each employee feel special hence motivated to work
- Lastly, be a leader who can be emulated
What better way to keep your staff motivated than leading by example? As a leader, employee are going to emulate you hence the need to set the right tone for the company. In most cases, if a leader is lazy, it will have a negative impact on the staff mentality even when one has followed all the other steps. Thus, at the end it is up to the leader to create a positive work culture.
Final Word
Now you understand what an employer can do to keep staff motivated by following the six simple steps. However, it is important to note that adjustments may need to be made as you try find which strategy works best. While every company is different based on the goals, the six steps have been formulated to suit each institution. Focus on ensuring at least few strategies are successfully implemented and the reward of motivated stuff will have a positive impact on the future of the company.