Ways to increase employee motivation
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Since the Industrial Revolution and the theories, employers have tried countless ways to improve employee performance and to promote motivation and morale. The corporate environment is very different. Some companies drive their employees through tough competition, while others strive to create a pleasant, team-oriented atmosphere. No one can say with absolute certainty that they have found a method of improving performance that works consistently.
Motivating your employees is a delicate and goal-oriented challenge that requires more than an annual review or a few notes in an employee’s personnel file. Just like training or learning a new language, the motivation and performance level of your employees will not increase overnight.
Everyone has weeks when you want to check off everything on your to-do list and weeks when you really want to be somewhere else than at work.
It is quite normal that employees experience a loss of motivation, but it becomes a problem when colleagues are constantly out of the game. That’s why we have sought expert advice to keep you and your team motivated day after day.
This advice is not industry-specific and most of it is cheap or not at all. They can be applied in small businesses, franchises, start-ups, and Fortune companies.
Below are some tips to increase employee motivation
1. Recognize major works
One of the most important factors contributing to employee motivation is the frequency with which their work is recognized. 70% of employees say that motivation and morale would improve significantly with increased recognition from managers.
After all, if an employee puts a lot of effort into a project to achieve extraordinary results, but their hard work is not recognized, why should they continue to be a high-performing employee?
It’s not just important to recognize great work. The way you recognize your team’s contributions also has an important impact. Recognition should not just be an annual bonus at the end of the year it should be meaningful and frequent
2. Set small, measurable goals
We all had plans that drag on and on and never seem to end. It can be truly demoralizing to be stuck in a rut, so it is so nice to see how you have made visible progress. It is also a clear indicator that our work is making a difference.
We met with Walter Chen, the co-founder of iDoneThis, who shared his thoughts on the importance of clear goals and tracking progress. The full interview can be viewed here.
Setting clear and achievable goals increases motivation every time you are convinced and keeps the team on track. You can reinforce these effects by taking the next step and celebrating these achievements.
3. Celebrate the results
What makes setting small, measurable goals so important is that it provides many opportunities to celebrate your team’s hard work.
That’s not to say that every employee should be applauded for getting to work on time, but it’s essential that everyone knows exactly how (and how much) each of their contributions will move the organization forward.
Be specific in your applause. Don’t just tell Mary you’re doing a good job. Don’t even stop at good work for the new email campaign. Applaud her success and if you do, attach her to the big picture. For example: Good work on the new email campaign will really make our community grow and improve our customer pipeline.
4. Stay positive
Let’s be honest we’re a little wary of people who are constantly happy.
Negative emotions have their place, and some really good processes or cultural changes can result from a difficult discussion. However, it is important to find ways to incorporate positive experiences into your team’s interactions to create a net positive work environment.
Why? Because it’s actually a competitive advantage to have happy employees. Research shows that happiness increases business productivity by 31% and sales by 37%.
It turns out that happiness and positivity play a bigger role in the success of your business than you might imagine. If you’re still not completely convinced, take a moment to watch this amusing and fascinating presentation by psychologist Shawn Achor, where he explains why:
A simple shift of prejudice towards positivity and happiness can have a direct impact on your work experience and relationships, which are important factors for success, motivation, commitment, and productivity.
5. Stay fueled up
It’s hard to stay focused and motivated when you’re angry. That is why it is so important that everyone stays fed, hydrated and in some cases caffeinated.
Unfortunately, it is often the case that employees are so busy with their work that they hardly have time for lunch. This is not good for their health and even worse for their productivity.
Healthy snacks at work are an easy way to help your team maintain energy levels throughout the day. The cost of these snacks is likely to be offset by the increased productivity of your team.
6. Take regular breaks
Bumping your head against a problem for three hours is rarely productive. Taking a step back and taking a moment to recalibrate is not only helpful to stay motivated, but it’s also important for your health.
Sitting around all day is not good for you, nor is working non-stop. A short break every one or two hours can have a positive effect on your body and mind. Don’t forget to get up from your desk and get some fresh air!
Sitting around all day is not good for you, and neither is working non-stop. A short break at intervals of one or two hours can have a positive effect on body and mind. Get up, stretch your legs, rest your eyes and come back to work with a refreshed mind and body.
7. Stay healthy
If you’re sick, stay at home! It is unlikely that you are doing your best work when you can barely keep your head upright, and if you do not take time to rest, it will only prolong your illness and prevent your body from recovering.
Make sure that the guidelines you put in place do not prevent people from taking the time they need to stay healthy. Think about how you deal with holidays, health care and employee well-being. The stress and frustration of worrying about sick leave leads to withdrawal and costs companies around the world billions of dollars every year.
A generous vacation policy or more flexible planning options may seem expensive at first glance, but they can actually save your company a lot of money in the form of lost productivity, poor attendance and suboptimal commitment.
8. See and share the big picture
A large part of understanding the purpose of your work is to see how it fits into the overall picture. You can help promote motivation in the workplace by ensuring that your team understands the impact of each of its efforts on the organization, customers and the community.
Completing a task usually gives a small sense of accomplishment, but knowing how that work has helped others is the real antidote to detachment.
10. Provide clarity
To motivate you in your work, it is crucial that you really understand what your goals and expectations are. For many employees, this understanding begins with transparency and ends with clarity. Without clarity, transparency loses its effectiveness and motivational power.
Make sure that you give each employee a very clear and concise mission for which they can be motivated because it is almost impossible to invest real motivation in something you know nothing about or do not understand at all.
11. Anticipate and share positive results
Success is easier to achieve if you can imagine it. Professionals of all kinds, from athletes to musicians to CEOs, practice this technique to improve their motivation. Fortunately, if you set yourself a clear goal, you’re more than halfway there.
Help the team understand what it would mean to reach that goal. If someone is making real progress towards that goal or outcome, share that progress as a source of motivation for everyone.
12. Find a goal
Although it is commonly said that Millennium employees are motivated by a purposeful work ethic, in reality this is true for most employees. We met with Arthur Woods of Imperative, who explained why determination is a key factor in motivating employees and how to share and express that determination.
Another key to staying motivated is knowing that the work you do makes a difference in some way recognizing the impact you have on your customers, your business, or the world.
13. Loosen the reins
Autonomy and flexible working hours are incredibly effective motivators. By giving employees more autonomy over when and how they do their work, you can actually improve their efficiency and help keep them motivated.
Tell your employees what needs to be done by when; let them decide when the real work needs to be done. For some, this may mean arriving early, for others it may mean working on weekends.
The key is to give them the freedom to work on their project when they are most motivated, not just when they are at work.
14. Providing a sense of security
It’s not about hiring a doorman for your office (although you should make sure that your employees feel safe at their workplace!) We are talking about employees who feel safe enough to show their best side at work.
Psychological theory suggests that there is a hierarchy of basic needs that people need before they can be motivated to reach their full potential. Safety is just below physiological needs such as food and water.
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