Employee motivation is a key factor in the success of any organisation. Everyone has felt de-motivated at one given time in their lives, and no matter how focused or committed you are to your job, it is very easy to lose focus on such days. It is the manager’s responsibility to help keep the employees motivated. Employees have a strong need of being part of something bigger than them and mostly look for other people that they can build a personal rapport with. A workplace human connection is very important in boosting the employees’ morale. Employees who don’t feel the connection at work tend to be very unhappy and manifest decreased productivity.
It is common to hear employees state that they left their previous jobs due to financial reasons, but this is only because they need positive references from their former employers. The truth is that money is not the only factor that leads to employees leaving their jobs to work somewhere else. Sometimes, these employees will exit a job and start working somewhere they won’t even get a pay rise; the reason being they will be working in a better environment where their skills are appreciated, and they feel valued.
As a leader, there are many things you can do to ensure that those working with you always stay motivated. Although it is not possible to motivate every employee individually, you can easily set a conducive working environment for them where they feel supported and motivated at the same time. Your actions at work will either work as their motivating factor or discourage employee motivation.
Although many people believe that monetary offerings are the key to a happy workforce, this is far from the truth. As a leader, ensuring the office is properly equipped with business stationery supplies allows people to do their jobs properly, a fundamental step to employee motivation. Most employees will gladly welcome activities and recognition that involves money, but this will only be short-term motivation. In the long-run, they will not forget how they are treated and their working conditions within the workplace.
Most managers or leaders tend to remove emotions from the business, which is a big mistake. When you find that your employees thrive on fear and negativity, you should counter that with an even more powerful emotion such as belief, faith and optimism. To succeed, you need to keep them motivated. Dwell on investing in them by mentoring, training, encouraging, appreciating and caring about them. These are very simple objectives that most employers overlook. While most employers expect nothing but excellence from their employees, they forget that they also have a part to play in getting the best from them. They should help every employee to do their best by creating a culture that motivates, excites and offers them room to better themselves.
It is wrong for any employer to micromanage. There should be enough trust between an employer and the employees, and this can only be achieved by building a relationship with them and giving them opportunities to contribute their ideas. Remember they are human and are bound to make mistakes. Give them room to make mistakes as their fear of failure will only drain your organisation’s energy. When you treat your employees as valued human beings, they are bound to feel motivated.
Since it might be hard to determine how to keep your employees motivated, it is wise to get as much information as you can from those employees that report to you about what keeps them motivated. Employees know what motivates them and will gladly tell you if you ask. However, make sure to follow through as they will expect to see changes as a result of their response. If you don’t make any necessary changes and don’t let them know why they will feel like, their voices are not valued, and it might prove hard to motivate them.
The bottom line is that employees choose to show motivated behaviour at work and so, even if you do everything discussed above as a manager, your employees will ultimately be in charge of keeping themselves motivated.
