Top 7 Ways To Improve Employee Motivation

A team of the most talented workers without proper motivation will only produce average results. Put together a team of average workers and provide the proper motivation and you have a winner. Simply put, motivation is crucial for employee productivity.

If it’s so important, why do so many businesses overlook it? Well, a lot of business owners and executives believe that motivation is a personal thing driven by the individual’s personality, life circumstances, needs and values. As much as this is true, employers and managers also have a role to play in employee motivation. After all, the business has a lot to gain from a motivated workforce.

Employee motivation is, however, a bit more complicated than giving raises and promotions. Sure, they too do work, but they reward only a few employees. What about the rest of the employees who don’t get them? Let’s take a look at seven things you could do to motivate your employees without spending a lot of money.

1. Make your expectations clear. Without clear goals, your employees will become naturally aimless. Provide your people with achievable goals with measurable standards so that their performance can be evaluated. You should ensure that your employees understand what they are supposed to do, how they are supposed to do it, and how their performance will be evaluated.
   
   
2. Provide continuous feedback. Don’t wait until employee performance reviews come around for you to comment on something that happened months ago. Giving immediate and continuous feedback lets your employees know where they stand relative to the goals you want them to achieve. Employees will work harder when they know that they are making progress.
   
   Be very specific when giving feedback. Don’t give vague compliments like “you did a fantastic job.” Go deeper and compliment specific things that they did well. This not only shows that you are paying attention, but will also encourage the employee to use these strengths on future projects.
   
   Negative feedback, although important for employee improvement, should be given in a constructive way and in a manner that does not embarrass the concerned party. All errors and performance-related issues should be discussed in private.
   
   
3. Praise publicly. Let’s be honest here, we all love to be praised. So don’t deny your employees their moment in the spotlight. Announce in public notable achievements made by an employee and celebrate the achievement. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, something as simple as ordering take-out for the team will not only show appreciation but will also help in team building as people enjoy the meal together
   
   
4. Make performance rewards achievable. We all know of the familiar annual getaway trip gifted to the top-performing employee. A big problem with this kind of reward is that it will only go to one or two people. This makes the rest of your employees feel like there isn’t much point of working hard since the top price will go to the same few people each year.
   
   Instead of one big annual award, set up a series of smaller rewards given throughout the year to motivate continued performance excellence. Varying the basis of the awards will also help you reach more employees. Instead of just focusing on sales, add other categories such as most diligent and top researcher. This will motivate employees in all departments to put in some extra work.
   
   
5. Match the task with the talent. Assigning employees to tasks that you know they are particularly good at or will enjoy will help improve their confidence. Once successful at one thing, an employee will be motivated to handle other projects (even ones that they are not especially good at) with increased enthusiasm and excitement.
   
   
6. Create a positive work environment. Create a workplace that your employees enjoy coming to every morning. You can do this by encouraging collaboration, participation, teamwork and work distribution as this will help employees mingle, exchange ideas and create a familiar atmosphere. And although creating a positive workplace goes beyond the aesthetic state of the room, a well-designed and functional office will also help create this ideal space: So invest in some office decor.
   
   
7. Provide opportunities for career advancement. People are more motivated to work when they know they are working towards something. If you don’t give them an opportunity to advance, then your employees don’t have much to work for. Motivate your employees by providing training, guidance and opportunities that will help them achieve their career goals.

Joe Hannsen writes for several businesses in Australia and New Zealand including CDL Insight Australia.