If you want to know how to motivate your employees and gain positive employee engagement, you must make them passionate about going to work every day and want to spend time with you and your colleagues. Motivating your employees no longer has to be a challenge. Here are 12 great ways you can use to motivate an employee:
Create a friendly work environment
Your employees spend a great amount of time in their lives working in the office. So try to make the office look as friendly and attractive as possible.
When you create a friendly environment where it’s welcoming and comfortable, your employees will be more than eager to go to work every day.
Recognize employee achievement
Everyone wants to be recognized for something they have done; regardless of whether it was for a job or personal achievement. Recognition of a job well done from upper management will mean more to an employee than you think. Always remember to give credit when it is due.
“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.”
Margaret Heffernan
Reward employees
There will be times when it takes more than a pat on the back. Try to give simple incentives when you reward committed employees.
It doesn’t have to be monetary rewards all the time; Simple things like a week of having a personal parking spot in the office would suffice. Rewarding employees could also be part of company profits.
Positive communication is the key
Everyone communicates on the job and it’s probably the easiest thing you can do with your employee. However, it can also be the most difficult. Spend a short period each day to talk to your employees; discussing things from concerns to ideas.
This will not only make your employees happy, but will also provide your employees with a much-needed insight into your business.
Encourage friendly competition
A little competition between employees would not hurt. A competitive environment is a productive environment. Encourage employees to participate in competitions or challenges, as it is healthy and can lead to greater camaraderie.
Friendly team competition helps with employee engagement and participation.
Have a meaningful and valuable goal
Managers must ensure that the company has a vision and a plan at the corporate and individual level. Employees who have a path ahead that can lead to promotion can work toward a goal. Achievable goals are very helpful as it gives employees the urge to work harder without being asked.
Create a professional career path
When employees have an idea of what is provided or what the incentives are, they become even more motivated. This will lead to increased commitment to your employer. Your team members will be more valuable to your organization and themselves when they have the opportunity to learn new skills.
Give your employees the training they need to advance their careers and learn about the latest technology and industry news.
Be a leader worth following
As a leader, employees will look to you to set an example for the rest of the group. Leaders tend to set a tone and values for the company. Doing so could have a significant effect on the mindset of employees. If leaders set an example of positive thinking, employees will follow, and the entire work culture will become more inspiring. This is vital to motivate an employee.
Encourage creativity
Creativity does not have to be based on the work that employees do. It could be a simple task like giving ideas about the next company retreat or teamwork exercises.
“An employee’s motivation is a direct result of the sum of interactions with their manager.”
Bob Nelson
To promote teamwork
Try to eliminate any bureaucracy and hierarchy within the organization and create an “openness” to new ideas at any level and working together as a team keeps employees motivated.
Welcome to all ideas
They are all unique and unpredictable and each with individual wishes and some with complicated ideas. Remember not to divert ideas or suggestions no matter how silly or pointless they may sound.
No strategy can hope to please all of your workers at once. A silly little idea could turn into something brilliant sooner or later.
Don’t let employees get bored
Some staffs have a short attention span. Plan a happy hour every Friday, host company lunches on alternate Wednesdays, arrange a short trip once in two months, or allow a different person to host weekly meetings to break the sadness.
In summary
Now you know how to motivate an employee with these 12 simple methods. As you work to find the best motivators for your workplace, keep in mind that you would need to make adjustments and changes as you discover what works and what doesn’t.
Each company is different. Some of these ideas may work for your company, while other methods may not.
Refine your motivational strategy as you get to know the people in your business and they will reward you with greater dedication and a positive outlook for the future of the business. Don’t forget that an employee who likes to come to work is a worthy investment. Try to increase the happiness of your team too.