Top Tips for Keeping Your Staff Motivated

Your employees are a crucial part of your business; they represent your brand and help customers decide whether to remain with you or move to your competitors. However, it’s not unusual to discover that some of your staff have reduced their efforts. Research has shown that almost a third of UK workers were unhappy with their jobs and were just going through the motions. As a business owner or manager, how can you get your staff to love their job and put in their best effort? Here are some steps to help you go about it. 

Communicate with your staff often

Your workers could feel disengaged due to some underlying issues. It’s advisable to identify these factors to enable you to come up with possible solutions. In doing this, you need to be patient with them and establish communication lines that allow them to voice their concerns comfortably and without fears of potential consequences. 

One way to go about this is to promote feedback; make it a priority to check up on your workers and ask them how they feel. You should also find out what they’re not satisfied with and come up with ways to address them effectively. You can get this information from your workers by conducting surveys if they wish to remain anonymous or hold one-on-one meetings for more personal and detailed feedback.

 Practice the art of appreciation

Appreciation is a good motivator and also helps to keep your staff happy. 60% of employees admitted during a survey that they’d prefer working for a business enterprise that paid more attention to employee appreciation. This figure shows how crucial it is to make your staff feel appreciated. It’s, therefore, necessary for you to regularly acknowledge the good works that your team does, as it will keep them dedicated to their job and duties. 

An effective way to do this is to praise them for specific tasks that they executed efficiently. Additionally, learn to say “thank you” and “please” at all times as it indicates respect for them. You could also plan certain days in a week where you treat them to free meals, provide bonuses and other financial incentives. Besides, you can also offer career advancement opportunities by organising training sessions and events to express and develop their skills and talents. These and many more will go a long way in expressing your appreciation to your workers. 

Empower your workers

Workers tend to love their jobs when their interest is sustained, and one way to achieve this is to push them out of their comfort zones. While routine might provide stability at the workplace, it also contributes to staff feeling bored because they’re not challenged enough or allowed to come up with their ideas. Perhaps, they’ve grown past their current positions and are looking to advance their careers.

You can empower your employees by providing the space they need to be innovative regularly. It will help if you also apportion more fulfilling tasks that give them the space to grow and develop new skills. You can encourage them to perform a task that they’ve never done before, as this will help test their capabilities and motivate them more if they execute them effectively. Empowered workers are essential and productive in whatever they do. 

Build a good company culture

Company culture refers to attitudes and behavioural traits that are unique to your business and is essential for motivating your employees. Workers are likely to perform better when they have a sense of belonging and shared values, which is why you should establish a culture that pushes your workers to commit to their roles. However, you must identify the values that your workers uphold and highlight them in line with your company culture to help them get on board. It will help if you incorporate role fit, employee development, and teamwork into your company values, empowering your workers. 

Introduce stress management

It’s not uncommon for your workers to experience burnout and fatigue due to stress, and this can cause them to have less interest in their jobs and perform below expectation. However, you can help your employees manage their stress by organising sessions to talk about what is bothering them freely. Also, you can reduce the workload when you notice that your workers are showing signs of burnout. Occasional company retreats and team bonding sessions can also go a long way to help them regroup and come back more relaxed to achieve set goals.

Your employees are vital to your business, and their contributions ensure that your brand is effectively represented. These tips are not all there is to keep them interested, but they’ll go a long way in empowering and motivating them to be the best at their jobs.