If you are the leader of a business, you’d like to always hope that your staff come to work day-in-day-out ready for action. You and I both know this isn’t the case; your employees are not robots and even the most self-driven employees need a little motivational nudge from time to time. Money is always a nice incentive, but money isn’t everything if your workplace is an unpleasant environment. Here are some ways to motivate your employees through creating a positive place to work.
Support new ideas
Employers often see a worker coming to them with an issue as them complaining and shut them down before they’ve even begun to explain. This mentality needs to stop. If an employee comes to you with an idea or solution to a problem they believe is hindering the company, it means that they care about the direction of the company. Supporting their new idea and letting them run with it is motivating in itself, regardless of whether it works out in the end.
Break up the monotony
They call it three-thirtyitis for a reason. Almost every employee feels a bit lazier in the afternoon not to mention sitting at a desk all day is incredibly tiring. So how do you excite everyone (besides coffee of course)? There are a couple of ways to induce a sense of liveliness, and one of them is to have a ten minute yoga break. Just ten minutes, everyone gets up, and does yoga together. It will clear their mind and create a culture that people will love. Other ideas include hosting a bake-off, happy hour to work on a creative project, or a push up contest.
Celebrate Milestones
Celebrating birthdays and company anniversaries never gets old, it brings your team together acknowledging milestones in the form of a celebration reminds them that the hard work they are putting in is paying off and is being acknowledged.
Keep Them Informed
CEO’s generally have a clearer picture of the in’s and out’s of their business, including when you are going through hard times or when new products are in the pipeline. It pays to keep the people below you in the loop with what’s happening right throughout the company as it makes them feel as though they are an integral part of the organization.
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Even though your employees have appointed tasks, it’s still an accomplishment if they finish it on time and at a high standard. While you expect them to complete these projects, don’t forget to recognise their hard work by giving them a compliment or shouting them out on an awesome job to the rest of the company.
Act on Feedback
Someone’s come to you asking for improved lunchroom facilities or a second monitor to complete big tasks. Make sure you make every effort possible to go out of your way and meet their needs. However don’t mistake this for wants – not every employee needs a Playstation, X-Box and Wii at their disposal in the lunch room.
Encourage Further Training
Times are always changing, and if you’re employees skills are becoming outdated, ensure that they have every opportunity to learn and grow. This might be through a training program like http://axcelerate.com.au/, upgraded technology or through attending industry conferences. Not only will it motivate them, but it will benefit the company moving forward.
Keep it light amongst the seriousness
No one can be serious all day, it hinders creativity and makes your workers feel as though they’ve just attended a funeral. Encourage laughter, organise themed days, or use gags/gimmicks to inspire performance increases. The sillier the better, so you may give someone a plastic phonograph for setting a new company record, or a kids drum for the person that drums up the most business.
Are you a manager? How do you keep your employees motivated? Tell us your tips in the comments below.
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