It’s no secret that motivating employees is the key to a successful business. But it’s also a fact that keeping your employees motivated is not an easy task.
Especially when you have so many responsibilities as a manager, it might be difficult to focus on employee motivation. It is particularly difficult if you’re running multiple teams and trying to build your business simultaneously.
Zippia reports that small businesses account for 99.9% of all businesses in the US and employ around 61.7 million people in America alone. These businesses, on average, generate around 525,000 jobs annually, so it also becomes a responsibility to keep them satisfied and motivated.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to keep employees motivated throughout their tenure in your organization. All you need is a little creativity and ingenuity.
Here are seven effective strategies for managing employee motivation:
7 Simple Ways To Keep Your Employees Motivated
1. Encourage Employees to Socialize and Collaborate
You can encourage your employees to interact at work by allowing them to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and give each other feedback. It is a good idea for employers to encourage their team members to interact because it improves morale, keeps employees motivated, and helps them succeed as a team.
In addition, employees should be encouraged to share their expertise with other employees to learn from one another while working on projects together.
2. Schedule 360 Degree Feedback Annually
360-degree feedback is a structured, anonymous method of giving employees regular feedback. It helps managers identify strengths and weaknesses in their employee’s behavior, skills, attitude, and performance.
When you conduct a 360 feedback session with employees at your workplace, you get to know how their colleagues perceive them. This exercise helps improve the working environment and individual performance by allowing managers to better understand what motivates each team member.
A 360-degree feedback software solution can also be helpful in getting this done. It allows you to ask for feedback from your employee’s peers and colleagues quickly and easily, so there’s no excuse not to do it.
3. Give Your Team a Chance to Learn New Skills
A recent study by Gartner reveals that around 58% of employees require job-based training to enhance their skills to perform their jobs successfully. Learning new skills can help you grow professionally. It enables you to be more flexible, adaptable, and marketable when applying for jobs in different industries.
More importantly, it will help you stand out from your peers and potential employers who want to hire someone with diverse skills that they can bring to their company.
For example, if an employee learns how to use software like Photoshop or InDesign better than others on his team, he might be asked by the boss when a project needs those programs implemented. It could lead directly to him getting promoted within his organization.
You should also remember that sharing your knowledge with others makes them feel respected by management. They see value in what they’re doing at work and trust that your company cares about their professional development and success.
4. Create an Environment of Competition and Fun
A happy, motivated employee always feels like they have something to prove. The best way to do this is by creating a competitive environment where your employees can rise above their coworkers or peers in the office. Creativity and productivity will flourish when you create an environment where people feel they need to compete for their job security.
There are many ways that you can create such an environment. Some examples include:
- Set up regular “fun days,” where everyone chooses one activity that everyone gets involved with, like playing Frisbee on the roof.
- Have monthly company outings where teams compete against each other in different activities. It could include bocce ball tournaments, relay races, etc. The possibilities are endless.
5. Provide Flexibility to Employees
The first step is allowing them to balance their work life with their personal life. The more freedom you give them, the more likely they will be motivated and enjoy being part of your team. Some examples include:
- Flexible work schedules: Flexible working hours or even a compressed work week can make it easier for employees to adjust their schedules based on other important commitments.
- Flexible work locations: Working from home once or twice a week allows workers to avoid expensive commutes and spend time with loved ones nearby. It also avoids traveling long distances daily from suburbia into the city center, where most offices are located today.
- Work breaks: Short breaks throughout the day can help reduce stress and improve productivity by giving workers time to relax and recharge.
Although the flexible working format was in more demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend still favors many businesses and employees even after two and half years. A study by McKinsey, which surveyed 25,000 US employees, reveals that 58% of employees take at least one day a week to work from home. At the same time, 35% of respondents have options for working from home all five days a week.
The survey further states that, if allowed flexible work, 87% of employees would happily accept the offer. Hence, providing flexible work opportunities is the latest motivational factor every business should consider for their employees.
6. Make Regular Training a Part of Your Business Routine
One of the best ways to help your employees remain motivated throughout their work tenure is by providing regular training opportunities. Regular training can help employees learn new skills, new ways to do their jobs, be more productive, work better with each other, and many other things.
Training also helps your business by providing a great opportunity for staff members to share ideas and best practices with each other. As a result, it can lead to increased efficiency and productivity in addition to an overall greater sense of unity within the company.
7. Offer a Mix of Different Incentives to Motivate Employees
A mix of different incentives can help you to keep your employees motivated. It is because an employee will have a variety of interests. For instance, some may be interested in earning more money while others may prefer time off work.
Therefore, you should offer a choice of incentives so that each employee can select one they would like to receive as an appreciation for their hard work.
Incentives should also be relevant to what motivates each employee. For example, if an employee loves going out with friends and family after work, offering them time off could be an effective incentive. However, if they don’t like leaving their house after a long day at work, giving them extra pay might be more suitable.
Takeaway
You can motivate your employees by offering them rewards and benefits they care about. One way to do this is by asking what they want, but another approach could be offering a mix of different incentives to motivate them.
Ultimately, it’s important to remember that people work for many reasons besides money. Thus, giving your employees an opportunity to get creative with their compensation package can help build a culture of appreciation in your office and help you retain valuable talent.
Keep your employees motivated by creating an environment where they feel valued and appreciated. The best part is that these strategies are easy and inexpensive to implement, so there’s no excuse for not doing them.
Additional:
