10 Ways To Start Motivating Employees

guide motivating employees keep workers productive

For a business to grow and thrive, it not only needs a team of qualified and well-trained employees, but they also need to be highly motivated to carry out their respective duties. As a manager, one of your top priorities is to retain your employees and keep them motivated. When employees feel unappreciated or undervalued, they will eventually leave their current employers in the search for better opportunities. It is crucial that you ensure that your most talented employees are happy and satisfied with their job and have no reason to want to leave. 

With that being said, here are 10 expert tips on how to motivate your employees and avoid employee dissatisfaction. 

10 Top Tips To Motivate Your Employees More

1. Provide Room For Creative Expression 

It is important for employees to be able to creatively express themselves when carrying out their duties. This goes a long way in fulfilling their inner need for self-worth. For an employee, there is nothing as motivating and satisfying as contributing their ideas and suggestions and having them implemented by the company. You should take it upon yourself to nurture employee creativity by allowing room for creative expression in the workplace. 

2. Offer Educational Incentives 

A majority of employees aspire to further their education. You can fulfill this dream by taking the initiative to sponsor employees who want to acquire a college degree and cover a portion of the educational expenses. By doing this, you are essentially helping your employees to become more qualified for their jobs, which will have positive impact on your organization. When employees feel that you mind and care about their educational aspirations, they will be more motivated to work for your company. 

3. Recognize Employee Achievements 

Most of your employees are likely to be socially active in the community. Perhaps they have some sort of recognition for their contribution in charitable organizations or some kind of non-work related activities. Recognizing these kinds of achievements can be a great step forward towards employee motivation. An excellent way to do this is through a company newsletter. Recognizing and appreciating an employee's worth not only to the organization but also to the community is a unique and special to motivate your employees. 

4. Reduce Employee Workload 

If an employee has to work late into the night or come in earlier than expected to stay on top of the workload, then the employee is being overworked. Ensure that the workload is distributed fairly to avoid overworking your employees using a schedule maker tool. Too much workload often leads to stress and burnout, which is a sure-fire way to send your employees packing. If necessary, you might need to hire extra employees to minimize the employee workload. 

5. Pay Incentives 

All employees want to be fairly compensated for the work do. This is a no-brainer. After all, that's one of if not the main reason they are working. With this in mind, you need to carefully consider whether your wages are within industry standards. If the answer is no, there is no way you can expect your employees to stay at the company for long. It is equally important that you think about introducing some sort of pay incentive based on the performance of your employees. Plenty of companies conduct employee evaluations at least on an annual basis. If an employee has shown exceptional performance in the course of the year, they need to be rewarded with a pay raise commensurate for their outstanding contribution to the organization. 

6. Offer Proper And Regular Training 

It stands to reason that an employee can't be expected to perform well at their job if they aren't properly trained for that position. It isn't easy to complete a task if you don't have any instruction on how to do it. When you provide adequate training for the job that you are expecting your employees to do, you put them in the best position to do an exemplary job. When employees clearly understand the job they are doing, they stay motivated to do it and this benefits your business locally

7. Open-Door Policy To Management 

Your employees need to feel that they have the freedom to approach the management should an issue arise. There is nothing as demotivating as feeling that no one cares about your issues or concerns. Create an environment whereby employees can approach the management regarding any issues that arise at the workplace. You can start by lending a keen ear to any employee who wants to discuss perhaps a personal issue that is impacting their job performance. It is important, however, to ensure that these kinds of discussions are kept confidential. 

8. Offer Employee Amenities 

Amenities such as cafeterias, gyms, a daycare center, etc., are all excellent features to add to the company. Such amenities allow employees to address their personal needs which allows them to better focus on their job. Think about it this way, if an employee isn't busy struggling to find childcare, time to work out, a place to eat lunch, they are able to better focus on their job which boosts their performance and productivity

9. Work Stations Should Be Comfortable And Efficient 

You can't expect your employees to be at their peak performance if they aren't comfortable at their workstations. It is important to ensure that all workstations have adequate lighting and they are properly spaced. The employees should also be working in an area far from high noise levels to avoid unnecessary distractions. Also, ensure that the furniture is comfortable and offers sufficient support to prevent back strain and injuries. 

10. Extracurricular Activities 

These are fun non-work-related activities that allow employees to socialize with co-workers. Events such as after-work parties, picnics, employee birthday parties, sports teams, or fantasy football leagues are all great ways to show employee appreciation. Make sure employees feel included and that they are part of a team, or even a family depending on your company culture! 

Master Motivation 

It is not always easy to motivate employees, but a motivated worker is a lot more productive. Keep these 10 top tips in mind to keep your workforce more efficient and with higher morale!

Social Selling Entrepreneur Sales Suggestions: