It's a million dollar conundrum - how to motivate your staff?
How an employee feels about their job and the place they work, will determine just how motivated they are in their current role.
If a person is happy in their job then their productivity will increase.
But job satisfaction is a complicated equation to get right.' There are myriad factors both tangible and intangible'why a person will be happy in their job and the reasons will differ greatly from person to person.
The tangible rewards such as a person's pay and benefits will go a long way towards a person's job satisfaction, but the culture of an organisation will also play a major role.
We all know that motivated staff work better and harder. But how can you ensure that your staff'are always motivated?''Below are the first five in'a series of ten'of the most effective in our experience:
Turning up to a scruffy office with a temperamental computer and a boss who barks orders at you all day, wouldn't'get you working at your best.
So how do you ensure that the working environment is conducive to getting the most out of your staff?
You'll never find a working environment that will suit'everybody, so it's about finding a happy medium.' 'From lighting to temperature, noise to even the smell of an office, it's important to create a welcoming environment.
So, let's address that'bark of the manager.
We've all worked for an authoritarian, or perhaps a neanderthal manager who likes to bark out orders whilst having no real concept of what they're asking for.
These type of characters rarely exist in the modern workplace.' Instead,'today's manager tend to focus on nuturning talent.' So how does a manager prise that valuable feedback from their workforce to ensure that they are happy in the workplace?
The traditional and perhaps lazy route is to reward a staff member of the month with vouchers as a pat on the back.' All well and good, but often a better way to ensure people feel motivated and valued is to celebrate their success with some positive feedback.
An email or phone call from a senior manager to thank someone for their hard work will often have a much bigger motivational effect than a '10 Argos voucher dropped on their desk.
We've all worked with one of life's drifters.' Whilst you're working hard and delivering what is asked, they're busy updating their fantasy football team, not caring one jot about who might be watching.
But in these times of high unemployment and tough economic times, strong management demands that individuals like this are identified and swiftly jettisoned from the business.
It can be extremely demotivating if somebody works with a drifter and yet the drifter continues to deliver poor results and yet somehow still keeps their job.
Get rid!
If the management team is smartly dressed and punctual in the mornings, then this will encourage your staff to replicate this behaviour.
Dressing smartly simply puts people in a professional mindset.' But if a manager looks shabby and struggles to get in before their staff in the morning, then this will send out a very negative message of what is and isn't acceptable in your workplace.
Lead by example in everything you do at work.' It can be very difficult to reprimand a member of staff for something if you are an habitual offender.
It's vital to ensure that each individual of your workforce feels that they are a pivotal cog in your businesses success.' But how does a manager understand what motivates their staff in various roles?
The best ways I've seen this achieved are via one-to-ones and employee feedback software where employees can give their opinions anonymously without any fear of retribution.
It doesn't always need to be sweeping changes to increase motivation of some individuals.' I've managed an individual in the past that was on the verge of leaving a business under somebody else's management.' In a one-to-one, I identified that the individual in question needed a greater challenge at work. 'I therefore gave her responsibility to deliver a project involving key stakeholders in the organisation and she thrived within the business.
Hopefully you have found the first part of our guide to motivating your workforce of use.' We would love to get your feedback on the above through our LinkedIn page, which you can join in'here.' And you can find part two of this blog below for a further five tips to help motivate your workforce.
