Every employer understands the importance of motivation at the workplace. However, maintaining it is quite challenging because at the end of the day, employees are human beings. We share 10 simple ways to increase your team motivation.
How you treat your employees is how they will treat you. Also, they look up to you. As the leader, you are responsible for showing them the way forward through words and actions. Human beings tend to focus more on what you do than what you say.
The principles of motivation apply in all businesses and organisations. Therefore, to keep your employees motivated, you have to take your time and study the most successful companies in the world.
As the popular saying goes, success leaves tracks and so does failure. If you discover what other successful companies are doing and you practice what you learn, you will be successful. This article will share with you ten of the best ways to increase motivation at the workplace.
Recognise good work
Do you recognise the hard work of your employees? Recent research found out that seventy percent of employees in every organisation worked extremely hard after their managers recognised them.
If your employee works hard without being recognised for a while, he or she will start to drag his or her feet. He or she will do only the minimum to avoid being fired. If a number of employees take this approach, you can be sure that the business will fall very soon.
You should also note that recognizing your employee’s work is not just about money. In most cases, money is not a huge motivator. Treating employees like human beings instead of assets that generate money will increase their motivation.
Set SMART goals
It is usually tiring and frustrating to work on something that will never end. Working on something that does not show any progress is burdening. It shows that our work is not making any significant difference.
Setting SMART (Specific Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based) goals will increase your motivation and that of your employees’. When you and your team achieve a goal, you can celebrate together. Working together towards a clear goal and celebrating the achievements will put you on the angel’s side and it will pay off in spades.
Celebrate your wins
Part of setting goals is to provide an opportunity to celebrate the work of your hands. This does not mean that you should keep having parties every time your employees does something well or achieves a goal.
It’s important to let your employees know how their efforts are enabling the company to move forward. When celebrating the wins, be specific. Do not just tell them they did a good job instead; tell them they did a great job on XYZ project.
Stay positive
Staying positive is the hardest to thing to do today. We are faced by several problems at any one time to handle. The world around us is more negative than positive and so are our minds. Just like a garden, if not taken well care of, weeds will grow. We need to keep cultivating our minds by filling it with positive experiences.
When we become happy, the world around us becomes happy. For employees to be positive, the leaders have to be positive. Positive people are more productive than negative people. If your employees are not happy, they will make your clients unhappy and an unhappy client never comes back. Positivity and happiness will make your organisation productive and successful.
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Stay energised
As Assignment Masters reports, it is difficult to concentrate or increase your motivation when you don’t have energy. Eating right and drinking enough water is crucial if you want to boost your productivity. Some employees are so busy that they ignore or forget breakfast or lunch.
You should never sacrifice anything for your health because without it, you cannot work. If you are so busy at work, you can think of carrying healthy snacks or packed lunch. If you have employees, you should give them enough time to eat and relax. If you don’t, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time and money in the long run.
Take short breaks
You cannot increase motivation at the workplace when everyone is tired. It’s important to have short regular breaks in between for you and your colleagues to refresh and stay motivated. Again, it’s important to your health.
Sitting all day and working nonstop will do you more harm than good. After every hour of concentration, get up and go outside. Feel the gentle breeze on your face for a few minutes before rushing back to your desk. Every successful person I’ve ever met takes breaks regularly to go for a walk, play or socialise.
Stay healthy
When you don’t take care of your health, you’ll be forced to go to work when you are sick. And this is terrible because everyone around you will be sick. If you are sick, you are not likely to get any work done to the best of your abilities.
You should encourage your employees to stay healthy. Let them have some time off. Offer them medical benefits. If your employees are sick, they will be disengaged and this will cost you a lot of money in the long run. Having them take a day off will seem like a loss at the moment but it will pay off in spades in the long run.
Share your vision
When your employees don’t see any link between what they are doing and the mission and vision of the organisation, they will not be motivated. You have to include them in the organisation’s vision for them to be motivated to work harder and longer.
Let them see how their work is affecting the organisation, clients and the society. Working towards a greater good will be a huge motivator for your employees.
Transparency works like magic
The relationships you hold with your employees are built on trust. And trust is built by transparency. If you are not transparent, you’ll start having problems in your relationships.
The best thing you can do for your employees and yourself is to be transparent and encourage trust. When you are transparent, everyone will work using the same information. Communicating effectively with your team is the key to success in business and life.
Be clear
You need to be clear with everyone around you and most importantly, yourself. Everything begins with transparency and ends with clarity. Without clarity, you lose focus and direction.
You start working on things that are not relevant and you end up messing everything. The key to success is clarity. Give clear instructions to your employees and ensure they understand everything. Set clear goals to avoid confusion at the workplace.
In Summary
At the end of the day, do not forget to have fun with your friends and family. As the popular saying goes, work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Having some fun at the end of a stressing workday will relieve you.
Managing employees is not easy but there is always something to enjoy at the end. Using these tips to increase motivation at the workplace will make your work easier and your life a success. Start today!
About the Author
Justin Osborne loves to share his thoughts and opinions about education, writing and blogging with other people on different blogs and forums. Currently, he is working as a content marketer at assignment helper.
