How to Motivate Employees
Productivity in the workplace can only be achieved if employees are well-motivated. Work is not the most enjoyable thing in the world, but employees will enjoy and value even the most droll or hectic tasks if they have the right motivation. As a boss, it’s very important for you to make sure that everyone gets the job done. Here are some ways to motivate your employees.
Show Up on the Floor
A bad boss will take management advice straight off the pages of management books and spiels from motivational tapes. Management and self-help materials can only make broad generalizations about how employees behave. The best and most reliable way to understand your employees is to go out on the floor, and experience your employees’ working day. Your eagerness to interact with your employees does a lot to help them know that you’re approachable and considerate of their needs.
Lead, Not Order
Some bosses tend to delegate even the most mundane of tasks, and still others tend to bark orders out like dictators. The worst you could do as an employer is to boss people around, thinking that pushing them all over the place can motivate your employees. While tough love is sometimes necessary to get the job done, it’s important to act like the company leader that you should be:
Delegate tasks according to each employee’s capabilities, but don’t go overboard with delegating tasks.
Involve everyone in the decision-making process. While you’ll have to make a lot of critical decisions on your own, try your best to reach a consensus, especially when your employees are involved.
Whenever you can, try your hand at the tasks of your own employees. Not only will your employees admire your hands-on approach to running things in the office, but they will also appreciate your willingness to be one of them. You’ll also have a humbling feeling of satisfaction knowing the difference between the tasks you have to do, and the tasks that your employees have to do.
Make a Habit of Listening
The biggest mistake any boss can do is to turn a deaf ear to the needs or the ideas of their employees. Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean that you’re office royalty, and your employees should act as your loyal subjects. As a boss, you should consider yourself first among equals, which means that you happen to be the leader of the group.
Listening is an acquired skill for many bosses, especially those who think they know everything. If you’re not receptive to new ideas or grievances made by your employees, they will not have the motivation to think that they’re part of the same group. Instead of talking down on your employees, listen to what they have to say. A healthy exchange of ideas in the office does a lot to help them do their work better. You can also learn a lot from the perspectives and ideas of your employees.
Give Incentives
Dinner, a company outing, or even simple “Thank You” cards make your employees feel that you genuinely care for them. You don’t have to promise raises, bonuses, or promotions when your company’s finances won’t allow it. Simple treats to break the monotony of work can do a lot to help your employees break the monotony of a work week. Incentives like Employee of the Month can help employees feel valuable and have a healthy sense of self-importance.
Keep in mind that an incentive is not a carrot on the stick; while you should reward hard-working employees, you shouldn’t make work all about incentives. A bit of healthy competition is a good motivator, but things can get ugly when work becomes all about the incentives.
With these tips in mind, your employees will not think of an eight-hour working day as the “daily grind” anymore. Remember, motivated employees lead to an increase in productivity, as well as an increase in your employees’ sense of self-worth and self-esteem.