It’s no longer about paychecks and ambiances. Then what’s the catch? Team AccNet takes a deep dive into the importance of employee motivation in the workplace.
Which kind of employee would you rather have on your team; The one who looks forward to new opportunities and learn new skills, or the one who spends a lot of time online shopping at work, while doing the bare the minimum to get by?
The difference is employee motivation. Highly motivated employees are an incredible asset to your team and your company. HR managers are seeing a significant increase in workplace-related issues being reported since the pandemic started, and they’re showing no signs of abating. From “Quiet quitting” to “The Great Resignation”, employees are setting new trends on how we work, and keeping them motivated should be high on your agenda.
So, what is employee motivation in reality?
Employee motivation is the level of commitment, energy and innovation that a company’s staff hold during the working day. It’s as important as it is difficult to track; maintaining and improving motivation in the workplace can be a problem for many companies, as not every task will be interesting. Therefore businesses must find ways to keep their employees engaged, with motivation monitored and nurtured too.
How does that matter to a business?
Keeping employees engaged and involved in the company’s mission is about much more than simply maintaining performance and productivity.
When teams and individuals lose their motivation, they contribute less of themselves, and businesses can begin to lose their forward momentum. New ideas seem to dry up, innovation disappears, team culture fades away, and morale drops as a lack of interest in the company’s goals takes hold.
So how do you turn things around when energy levels are waning?
It’s time to rethink your Employee Motivation techniques.
There are no quick fixes to magically motivate your employees. Keeping motivation high should be an ongoing process and requires time and attention. Fun activities and bonuses only boost morale for the short term.
If you want to help your teams perform at their best, day in and out, consider one of the solutions below.
Introduce mentorships:
Sometimes we just need someone to hold us accountable. Someone who shows us the ropes and pushes us to be better. A mentor can do all that, and then some. This can be a great way to motivate those employees who deep down are ambitious enough, but don’t know what to do. A mentor gives them the possibility to brainstorm and test their ideas, learn new skills from someone who has experience and see first-hand what success can look like.
Establish expectations:
Establishing employee expectations can help to improve productivity and engagement of the staff to their specific assigned jobs. Telling employees what the company expects from them gives clarity to the whole workplace and helps to improve their way of approaching their goals.
Communicate with them on what is the long-term vision of the company and how they can contribute to it. Set the standards in the workplace that every employee plays an important role and contributes to the company’s growth. The true implementation of expectations in the workplace may also require communication in writing.
Sometimes, it’s as simple as letting them know, when they do things right!
Not feeling appreciated by a manager for your hard work is demoralizing. Learn to recognize when an employee has performed their job well, and take the time to privately or publicly acknowledge the good work they’ve done.
Then comes the Recognition…
Recognizing and rewarding employees for their hard work and achievements is another effective way to keep them motivated. This can include things like bonuses, promotions, and public recognition. It is important to note that rewards do not have to be only monetary. They can come in the form of supporting their professional development goals, education etc.
Empower Employees:
Want to keep things exciting for your employees and keep their creativity and knowledge up to speed? Let employees develop their own personal development plan.
Allow them to map out their own individual development plans and give them budget or tools to up their skills and knowledge. The trick here is to let your employees pick what they want to learn. Anything else that gets forced on them will actually demotivate them. This can also mean they show interest in skills that have otherwise little to do with their as part of their job roles. Enable them to learn this anyway: enthusiasm can be contagious and positively impact their work as well.
Have you taken a closer look at their relationship with Direct boss/Manager?
How often have you had a toxic boss and wanted to leave the company, start looking for a new job, or even make that change? The same can be the case with the staff you are responsible for. To demonstrate that you are a good manager who supports your colleagues, we recommend a series of ideas:
Support an open-door policy: When employees know their voice is heard and that it matters, they feel motivated and confident about their position within the company.
Avoid micromanagement: Specifically, don’t be that person who has to constantly control the smallest details, who is unrealistic about delivery times, and who ignores the experience of colleagues.
Show confidence: Let your employees know that you trust them, and they won’t let you down. A vote of confidence appreciates more than you think.
Work-life balance is not optional. It’s Mandatory!
The rise of hybrid working has made it difficult for employees to switch-off. Hence, they are most often burning the candle on both ends, trying to balance family and work commitments.
When it comes to Gen Z, workplace flexibility is a very important factor, followed by salary. Be flexible about where they work, when they work, and how they work, and they will be highly motivated.
Managers should lead by example by respecting the stated working hours of their colleagues. Turning a blind eye to people overworking themselves not only leads to burnout but creates an unfair pressure on those around them to push themselves too far. Not only is this sort of workplace environment demoralizing for everyone involved, but it’s ultimately bad for business too.
Your Key Takeaway…
Undeniably for employees, money is the most important aspect of why they come to work every day. But it is not the only one. You, as a manager or business owner, have so many other systems and tools available to motivate precious candidates to choose you and employees to work better and stay longer in your company.
Motivated employees don’t need to be told how to get things done; They take initiative, are eager to take up additional responsibilities, are innovative and go-getters.
Now, when someone asks you why employee motivation is important, you will have some good arguments to share.