Do you wake up every day, grab your coffee and feel motivated to do your best work? If your answer isn’t yes, then now is the time to re-evaluate your work environment. If you aren’t motivated, then odds are that your employees and co-workers aren’t either. Motivation is the key factor that drives people to work smarter, become more productive and realize a more fulfilling work environment. The key to finding this balance is understanding what motivates your team, thus providing an environment that fosters a sense of accomplishment and growth.
Oh, if it were only that easy. If you could just walk up to a person and flip a switch to turn on motivation, wouldn’t that be great? Well, it is not as easy as a switch, but we have provided seven strategies that are proven to be successful.
Communicate to people that what they do is important. No one likes working in a vacuum. Employees like to feel that they are contributing and working for something that matters. Telling them what they do is important will make them feel a part of your team and encourage them to work harder and strive for success.
Say Thanks! Saying thank you can go a long way for an employee. We all like to feel appreciated and noticed. Appreciating your employees inspires them to work harder to impress you.
Offer help and ask for it. Offering help will show your employees that you are “in the trenches” with them. Creating an environment where employees feel encouraged to ask for help lowers stress levels. When you ask for assistance, it shows them that you are a part of the team. Breaking that barrier of hierarchy will lead to more collaboration.
Provide autonomy in how people do their work. Giving your employees some freedom with their day to day tasks breaks up the monotony. No one likes to be micromanaged. Providing autonomy shows you trust your employees and believe in what they can produce.
“Surprise” people with enriching, challenging assignments. Who doesn’t like to be surprised with something new and exciting? Surprise your employees with a challenging assignment you think they will enjoy. It’ll freshen things up for the employee and help them contribute in a new way. Who knows, you might even learn that this employee has a skill set you’ve never seen before that you can utilize in other areas.
Adopt a learning attitude toward mistakes. Mistakes happen. Adapting to them in an appropriate way can lower stress. Teaching your employees to learn from their mistakes and not allowing self-deprecation, will provide a positive learning environment, improving their skill set and knowledge for the company.
Celebrate Success. Celebrating an employee’s accomplishments creates a fun working atmosphere that adds to motivation. Creating incentives or taking to them out to a spontaneous recognition lunch, helps inspire success.
Motivation is a key factor in life – and when it comes to our work environment, it truly is the main key for success. As a manager, it is to your benefit to understand your employee’s unique personality and values. This will drive the way he or she becomes and/or remains motivated to perform their best work!
Bet you’re ready for another coffee! And remember, you are not alone in running your business – DecisionHR is here for you each step of the way. Questions? Need assistance? Contact us today.
888.828.5511
