If you think the only way to motivate your workforce is with a big paycheck, you might want to think again. Of course, money is an important factor, but there are many other ways you can ensure your team members are happy. If you’re able to keep your workforce motivated, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes. Once you’ve got the right team on board, it’s a simple case of engaging your employees and managing them well. Failure to do so could result in a less than favorable turnover and a business that is constantly in a state of chaos.
Licensed Image from Shutterstock – By Natali_ Mis
If you’d love to avoid such negativity in your business, keep your employees motivated and be in charge of a business that enjoys excellent performance and growth, here are some ways you can do it.
Support Your Employees
One of the most important people in your business is you as the leader. You are the one who is able to influence how your employees feel, more than anyone else. Aim to be supportive of your employees, working closely with them, gaining their trust and providing a supportive ear. The best leader is one who leads by example and who understands that their expectations have a big impact on their employees.
Positive Working Environment
One of the best ways to make your employees feel good about being at work is to provide them with a working environment that’s pleasing to the eye, well-lit, functional and a fun place to be. Start by looking at the equipment they’re forced to use. Should it have been relegated to the junk pile several years ago? If your employees are becoming increasingly frustrated with the equipment they’ve got to work with, an update is quite obviously long overdue. As well as up-to-date equipment, keeping the workplace clean, tidy and aesthetically pleasing is also important. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Try looking around for deals, look online and re-purpose someone else’s office furniture.
Value Your Employees
It’s vital your workforce knows how much they are valued on a personal level. There’s little value in them thinking they are just a small cog in a much larger wheel or just another payroll number. Provide each of them with ample opportunity to express themselves and have their own set of personal goals.
Good Communication
It’s vital you keep lines of communication open at all times. Being able to communicate effectively is an important skill for a manager. If you’re able to communicate with your employees, you’ll be able to share common goals and work together to achieve them. Provide information in the form of training sessions, newsletters, memos, and hold regular meetings. Encourage employees to ask questions if they’re unsure about anything.
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Teamwork
By encouraging teamwork, you’re helping employees learn to trust each other, stay focused and be more responsive. Teamwork also creates an atmosphere of healthy competition which improves creativity and productivity.
Provide and Support Continued Education
Don’t let your employees think they’re stuck in a dead-end job. Give them room to grow and plenty of opportunities for advancement. The growth of your business depends on the growth of the individuals that work in it. Provide in-house training opportunities and encourage your workforce to take part in continuing education programs. They might want to further their knowledge of marketing or management, for example. There will be many options available such as an online MBA degree from Walsh University. As an online course, such a degree can offer both flexibility and scope to further their career.
Recognition, Rewards, and Education
It is often the case that all an employee is looking for is a pat on the back when a job is well done. Monetary rewards are not everything, but of course, they do have a place. Do you ask your employees to go above and beyond but then offer no recognition of their efforts? You might find they do it once or maybe twice, but any more than that and they’ll be wondering whether it’s worth it. It doesn’t take much to offer some words of praise. If people feel their efforts were worth it, they’re more likely to carry on working hard.
Consider introducing an incentive program, as this is a very successful way of keeping a workforce motivated. It could take the form of a quarterly bonus, a commission structure, or profit-sharing.
Share Positive Feedback
Job satisfaction is an important factor for the happiness of your employees. It can come from many directions, not just informing them know they’ve done a good job. If your customers are letting you know a good job has been done, then make sure this praise is passed on to your workforce. You could do this at regular weekly meetings or by sending out a newsletter. If your employees know they’ve made a difference to a customer, they’ll have a much deeper connection with your business.
Be Transparent
If you keep your employees informed on the progress of the business, they’ll feel more invested. Share such information with them on a regular basis, perhaps in the form of daily, weekly, or monthly sales reports or figures relating to the number of new customers. If your employees are able to access this kind of information, they’ll feel like an important part of it. It can also highlight areas where things need to be improved, and some of your employees might be able to offer some suggestions.
Flexible Schedules
Thanks to technology, there really is no need to stick with a rigid nine-to-five schedule. For many types of business and jobs there’s no need to even go to work, as many tasks can be undertaken from home. A recent study was undertaken by Forbes in which respondents were asked about the factors they looked for when searching for jobs. An interesting 46% said that flexibility was the most important. There are many ways for you to allow for flexibility. Allow employees to work-from-home or introduce flexitime, for example.
One last tip is to ask your employees whether they’re happy, and what you can do to make them happier. You might be pleasantly surprised with some of the answers.
