Better Business
Blog: How to motivate your workforce
Ask a room of business people “what do effective leaders do?” you’ll get replies such as “set strategy”, “create a culture” and “motivate”. Ask them what effective leaders should do, you’ll get mixed responses.
The answer is “to get results”.
To help get results, businesses need a motivated workforce. There is no two ways about it. However, while most businesses appreciate the correlation between employee motivation and profitability, they don’t invest enough time and energy into this area. This is especially true in the current climate, where employees are informed that they should be grateful to have a job. Yet gratitude does not enhance profits in the way motivation does.
There are many ways to motivate employees that go beyond using a stick or a carrot, and here are some ideas for you:
1. Be an effective leader by being yourself
Effective leadership is vital for motivating employees. Whilst you should learn leadership skills, it is imperative you remember the golden rule: always be yourself. Never try and be something you are not; learn from others but never copy them.
Aldermore Insights with Jon Cooper: Edition 9 – Why lending strategy is becoming more central in buy to let
Sponsored by Aldermore
2. Have different leadership styles
You can’t use a one size fits all approach for each employee and for each given work scenario. Everyone will be motivated in different ways. Sometimes you will need to be a coach, other times set the pace or be more democratic to get employees to buy-in.
3. Communicate
Lack of communication is a big cause of demotivation. So get out there and talk to your employees or moreover, listen, as listening is the most effective form of communication. And as part of the listening process, get feedback on how you yourself are seen by your employees.
4. Make time for your employees
Be disciplined and put time in your diary to do this every day, be it for an informal chat or a more formal one-to-one. Use this time to provide feedback, which can be good or bad rather than just talk to your employees when you have some negative feedback. Be fair and consistent and don’t over-use the phrase “you did a great job” because it can dilute the sentiment. Similarly, when you do say this, say it in person and not via an email.
5. Create a great working environment
People spend a lot of time at work and it is very important that they enjoy the working day. For this, people are important. Your employees will want to get on with people around them and feel part of the group. To help, don’t be afraid to let your employees laugh and have some fun. Treat them as adults and the payback will be great.
6. Provide the necessary resources
Little things like the photocopier not working, whilst sounding trivial, can have a big impact on falling levels of motivation. So make sure that employees have the necessary resources in order to do their job. The cost of fixing the photocopier is less than losing a client.
7. Put love into the job
Most people say they don’t like their jobs. The job is, well, boring. The truth behind such statements is deeper and often they don’t feel loved or feel their role is important. Your employees will crave recognition, and to be valued for the contribution they make to the team. Ensure that your employees know how their role fits into the big picture. If they realise that they are valued and that their role is important, they’ll be more motivated. This can be helped by setting clear and measurable goals, which must link to business objectives. It can also be helped by involving employees in your decisions, which is a great way of getting buy-in.
8. Create autonomy
A big demotivator for employees is when their manager is breathing down their neck. Give them space and time to maximise their potential. Make them feel trusted and respected. Let them get on with their job; give guidance but don’t do the job for them. For some, find ways to stretch them.
9. Provide on-going support and development
Allowing employees to enhance their skills has big benefits to organisations. It will make them more effective. It is also a great way of motivating.
10. Know what can cause problems
Knowing how to motivate is one thing. You must also know the causes of demotivation. Pay is the obvious one here. Pay is not a motivator, but get it wrong and it can act as real demotivator. Probably the biggest demotivator is company policies and bureaucracy, and this is likely to be especially true within a regulated company. So find out what policies and bureaucracies cause issues. If it is something essential, just explain the importance of such measures and demonstrate empathy. But if it is not required, cut it out.
Jeff Knight is managing director of Tonic Marketing