Tips for Motivating Your Employees

The pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, and as the vaccine rollout begins to have an effect around the world, many employees are faced with the prospect of returning to normality as it was pre-pandemic. With over a year and a half out, it’s only natural that employees will have lost some of their spark and motivation over the course of the crisis. As an employer, it’s your job to re-energize your team and show sensitivity to their apprehension about returning to life as it once was.

Employee Motivation

Many people have lost loved ones and experienced extreme hardship over the last 18 months, so it’s inevitable they might need a boost in morale. Apart from showing an understanding on a human level of the effects of the previous year and a half, here are some ways you can motivate your employees and get them ready to perform at their best.

Initiate Regular Feedback Meetings

There have been many studies that have shown employees respond positively to regular feedback. It gives them a sense of how things are going, how their performance is, and what they’re doing well. Not only this; regular feedback means that employees and employers alike can communicate effectively and air any grievances that could potentially be hindering their productivity and morale.

Every week or two, try and have a conversation with each member of your team and give them praise where possible. It’s thought that 39% of employees feel underappreciated, so congratulating them on a job well done and expressing gratitude can go a long way to keeping your team motivated to do a good job.

Demonstrate Respect and Trust

In a workplace, there is often a hierarchy based on job title and experience. As an employer, you sit at the top of the food chain so to speak. There’s nothing wrong with being at the top – as long as you don’t abuse your power and look down on those in lower-level positions. It’s important to remember that a good team will be able to work without a manager, but a manager can’t work without their team. With this in mind, remember to always be respectful.

Up to 79% of people report being micromanaged at one point or another in their career, and nothing shows a lack of trust and respect more than constantly badgering your team and scrutinizing their every move. It will make them feel incompetent and inferior, and it could even push them to quit. In fact, 30% of those who are micromanaged do actually leave their jobs.

Giving your staff effective training and leaving them to get on with their job will encourage them to do their best and they’ll feel less pressure, resulting in higher levels of motivation and output.

Initiate Employee Rewards

The third and final way we recommend you try and motivate your employees is to introduce an employee recognition scheme. This differs slightly from giving feedback because, in addition to verbal praise, your employees will also receive a quantifiable reward for their efforts.

There are several ways you can introduce employee rewards, ranging from quarterly or yearly bonuses and materialistic prizes through to an awards night or a pay rise and job progression opportunities. Employee rewards don’t need to be expensive or grandiose – they can be as little as a voucher for a local restaurant.

Whatever it is, you should find that your team pushes harder to get the prize and you should be able to see a visible change in motivation. This model lends itself to positive reinforcement, and it’s something that can work for businesses of all sizes.

Summary

These three tips should help you motivate your team, boost morale, and increase retention rates. Do you do anything that’s not on this list to increase the output and productivity of your team?