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As a business owner, keeping your employees motivated is one of the most important things you can do. The more motivated they are, the more work they can get done and the more money you will make. It can also help to keep staff turnover down and will ensure you are running a business that you can be proud of. After all, you want to own a company where those that work for you feel cherished and happy and where there isn’t a ridiculously high staff turnover. If you find that you are having more people leave, then it might be time to look at why this is and think about how you can make it better. Here we have put together some top tips on how to motivate your employees.
Why should you keep your employees motivated?
- It creates a good working environment
- It can help their mental health
- It prevents a high level of staff turnover
- You create an effective team
- Your business will grow quicker and more efficiently
- You know you are doing your best to establish a positive company
- It can encourage more people to want to work for you
- You can expect higher income
- Your staff will value and appreciate you
What are some ways that you can keep your employees motivated?
Keeping your employees motivated is one of the biggest things that employers need to do. It can have a host of benefits for the business and help it to be long lasting and successful. Here are just a few of the ways that you can keep them motivated and happy to be working for your company.
Have regular review meetings
One of the main things that employees want to know is how they are doing at work and how they can progress in their careers. No one wants to feel stuck in a rut and like they aren’t accomplishing anything. To combat this, make sure you have regular review meetings with your employees – or ask their managers to – in order to find out their career goals and let them know what they can do in order to get the promotion that they want. Speak to them about any issues or questions they have and how they think the company can improve. For example, if you work in a factory, figuring out takt time vs cycle time and showing your workforce how to adopt new strategies can really help. Ask for their feedback and find out what they think can help. This way they will feel valued and acknowledged and will work harder to achieve their goals.
Recognize and reward hard work
No one feels motivated if they work hard on a project and it goes unnoticed. This is why it is so important to make sure you actively recognize and reward hard work. Whether you do something such as send an email to acknowledge what they have done, offer a prize such as wine or cider to enjoy or pull them in for a chat, it will mean a lot to them. If they put their all into something but it goes unnoticed, they are unlikely to want to do it again as they will probably feel that they can put in the bare minimum and it gets the same recognition so why bother.
Encourage team building
Team building is another vital aspect of motivating your employees. This is because teamwork helps to keep the company going and also boosts morale. When employees know they have each other’s backs, they will communicate more effectively and get things done a lot faster. There is a host of team working events that you can do, from games and parties to dedicated days out of the office to help everyone build a healthy rapport. This will also help employees to pick up the slack when someone is out of the office, such as if they are on training or off sick. It also means that they will feel comfortable speaking to each other and collaborating on projects.
Make the office a nice place to be
The office environment is another vital part of motivating your employees. If it is a dark, dingy and depressing place to spend time they just aren’t going to want to do so. By changing things up and instead making it a calming and pleasant place, they will feel much more motivated to work harder. Add in things such as plants and pictures on the wall as well as ensure there is plenty of natural daylight. Have a water cooler and a nice kitchen or breakaway space where they can go for breaks and to have a cup of coffee. This will all make a world of difference.
Allow flexible working
Since the pandemic, more companies than ever have enabled their employees to do flexible working. This can be a really great way to motivate your employees as some might work much better from home than they do in the office. If you don’t want them to work from home all the time, why not consider having hybrid working? This is when they work from the office some of the time and from home some of the time. This way you still get to see them and check their progress but also means they get some time at home.
These are just a few of the top things that you as an employee can do in order to help promote a positive workplace. There are so many ways that you can do this and it’s better to do so sooner rather than later to allow time for it to make an impact. Remember your workforce is the backbone of your company and without their hard work and input, you would not be where you are today. Have you recently looked at what you can do to motivate your employees? Or do you have a good method already? What are some top things you do? Let us know in the comments below, we would love to hear from you.
