Richard Branson, the English Business Magnate says “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” Well, these lines say it all on how to keep your business well-oiled and running smoothly, it all depends on how you treat your employees. Although he says that there is no magic formula for great company culture, and the key is just to treat your staff how you would like to be treated, there are still an awful lot of employees roaming around unmotivated and utterly frustrated with their work life. So what can you do to motivate your employees and run your business smoothly? Here are some powerful motivational tools and techniques that can help have a better employer and employee relationship.
- Incentives: Yeah this is although an old one, but nevertheless many companies are adding new additions to it. Incentives have always been the biggest motivator for employees. Who does not love some extra cash? Incentives can be divided into financial and nonfinancial incentives. The financial incentives include types like basic remuneration, bonus, commissions, rewards, and non-financial (safety, equipment, training, etc.). Taking care to give the proper incentive that an employee deserves is extremely important. Many a time the management tries to be a Scrooge and even though they give the bonus or reward, it will be much less than the employee has put the effort in the work. By doing this although the management justifies itself that it has rewarded the employee, but it will be a futile act, as the employee is already demotivated because s/he feels that they deserved much better, and it can sometimes even trigger them to find a job elsewhere where their efforts are appreciated. Along with financial incentives, some nonfinancial incentives too are great motivating tools like additional medical care insurance, guaranteed child care, extra holidays, equipment, social events and trips, educational subsidies, etc. You can use tools like Kudos which is an employee recognition system and is a social network for corporate spaces that helps develop a strong corporate culture by helping employees connect by giving employee-to-employee feedback, manage-to-employee feedback, and also offering customized badges and certificates.
- Empowering the Employee: It helps if an employee knows that s/he has a say, that they have faith that their boss will listen to them out before a decision is made. Instead of jumping to conclusions or judgement, it is always better to hear out what the employee has to say. Also considering their opinion while making a decision will make them feel worthwhile. Also, most employees have an idea of how they can be more efficient, but not many will have to courage to share it with their management. It only requires the management to ask them, and the employee might come up with a great solution on how s/he can be more productive. Once they let in on their secret, you need to implement it which will increase their trust in you and motivate them to work better. Also, empowering them to take some of the decisions on their own to a certain point without needing the approval of the superiors can really help the business work smoothly. You can use tools like TINY pulse which not only helps in identifying workplace problems, but it also features such as target settings, weekly check-ins and feedback. Feedbacks help in recognition of good employees.
- Growth Opportunities: No good employee likes to be caught in a dead end job. One of the important motivations for an employee is that they know that they can grow into a better position within the company. One way to motivate them is to let the employee that you care about his or her future. Showing interest in their work and letting them know where their career is headed in short mentoring them by suggesting and coaching them can really bring out a positive attitude in an employee. Offering training that helps them develop the necessary skills to climb up the career ladder and grooming them to get better opportunities is a strong tool to keep them motivated. You can use tools like HighGround which offers an HR cloud platform intended for representatives to enable organizations to construct exceedingly drew in and high-performing societies through persistent criticism, continuous worker advancement and ongoing acknowledgment. If inspired to never stop learning, and keep growing, they would become far more valuable to your team and the company.
- Communication: Many a time when an employee comes with a genuine personal problem, managers tend to avoid them and try to be cold. This can make the employee feel like they are not cared for. Giving an ear to genuine issues and understanding their health problems, family commitments, problems, frustrations, and concerns and coming up with a solution or helping them out in whatever way you can really be a very sensitive gesture that is almost very minimal in the corporate world. At times, all they need is a short vacation to avoid a burnout, rejuvenate, come back to work and be more productive. Communicating with them face-to-face and the sensitivity you show towards their issues can keep them motivated and loyal.
- Your Behavior towards Them: You would want to treat your subordinates that way you would want to be treated if you were a subordinate. Making them feel important even with small gestures as buying gifts like a pen, a tie, or awesome Barron shirts can go a long way. These are not incentives but just tokens of appreciation. Treating your employees with respect and dignity will get you everywhere. It is a basic thing that one can do to keep their employees motivated.
With these powerful workplace motivational tools, any workplace can run smoothly and grow quickly.
