5 Tips to Help Motivate Employees and Increase Their Performance
It’s not surprising for employee production to drop from time to time but it can be very concerning if inconsistency lasts weeks or even months. As an employer, you may be seeing employees that have lost all motivation to work and it can be very stressful if some of these employees are your top performers. No need to worry, here are five tips to help you motivate people in your company and see an increase in their performance levels:
1. Delegate tasks
Most of the time, employees lose motivation because job satisfaction is no longer present. Not all employees are fine with having a routine and working the same tasks every day. If this is the case for your company, switch things up a bit and delegate different tasks from time to time. Just make sure to delegate tasks that fall within the skills of your employees. Don’t delegate tasks just because employees are tired of a routine. This will negatively affect your operations and cause some serious financial problems in the long run.
Delegating tasks helps both tenured and new employees. For tenured employees, it gives them a break from their usual routine and gives them a chance to expand their skillset. As for new employees, this helps them get familiar with company operations and eventually work on different tasks and increase productivity in the future.
2. Communicate effectively
Communication is key when it comes to running a successful business. It doesn’t matter if you have five or a hundred employees, communication is essential so that operations run smoothly and goals are reached efficiently. Communication is also key to a more effective collaboration especially if employees in your company work simultaneously on the same tasks.
Email and chat are some of the most common communication and productivity tools in the workplace. Try to utilize more traditional face-to-face communication when dealing with quick matters to help save time and prevent employees from jumping in and out of their work. Also, don’t forget to set clear expectations and guidelines to avoid confusion. Nothing frustrates an employee more than working with unspecified processes that change constantly.
3. Give out incentives
Giving out incentives is one of the most common ways to motivate employees. They’ll be more focused and eventually improve productivity if they know something can be achieved from their hard work. Just make sure to limit these incentives as employees may be too reliant on them and will no longer work if no extra incentives are given out. Remember that these only act as bonuses or gifts on top of their salary and other employee benefits. Also, only incentivize deserving employees and not the ones who regularly slack off.
Incentives can mean many things but they mostly pertain to gifts or salary additions. Some of these gifts include office or home essentials, gift certificates, and food, among others. Incentives can also be as simple as thank you cards handed out to employees for a job well done. You don’t need to break the bank when it comes to giving out incentives. As long as you’re sincere and truly grateful for the hard work put in by your workers, they should appreciate whatever incentive they’ll be receiving.
4. Give each other feedback
Although it can be considered as effective communication, giving feedback belongs in a class of its own since it can greatly motivate staff and other workers in your organization. It has been proven many times that employees who constantly receive feedback (including negative feedback) always perform better. In contrast, employees who don’t get such benefits will only get confused especially if they get reprimanded for doing something with no clear set of instructions.
Although it can sometimes be tiring to always give feedback, it can tremendously improve employee engagement and help create better two-way communication between you and your employees. You also get suggestions and opinions from employees on how to improve certain tasks. After all, they are the ones in the ground doing the actual work. The more employees are involved, the more they will be motivated to come to the office every day. Just remember to practice democratic and participative management styles to maximize whatever opinions the employees are airing out.
5. Consider remote work
Unmotivated employees may need a change of scenery but this doesn’t mean looking for a new job. Consider setting up a remote work schedule for your employees especially those who want to spend more time with their families. Not everyone is amenable to this kind of work setup and some of your work processes may be difficult to accomplish in a remote work setting, but if you feel this helps in inspiring employees then try everything to make it work.
To lessen the burden on your end, carefully plan out the remote work schedule. Start with a few employees or an entire department and make your decision from there. If possible, invest in your employees’ remote work equipment or you can let them borrow whatever office equipment you have. Just make sure to implement a strict return policy to avoid damaged or stolen equipment.
In closing
Employee motivation can be tough but it’s not impossible. Motivate your team today with the help of the five tips listed above. You’ll be seeing improved productivity from your employees in no time.
