If there’s one thing that all business owners fret about when running a company, it’s motivating their employees. But employee motivation is a crucial part of a successful business. Without them, there is no passion, no drive, no determination, and this leads to issues.
It’s a challenge to balance motivational actions. You don’t want to go overboard, as this seems disingenuous. Similarly, you can’t act too aloof, because if it seems you don’t care, then why should they? However, with a few smart changes, you can ensure a motivated office.
Praise and encourage
It sounds juvenile, but adults need praise and encouragement just as much as kids do, and arguably even more so. If you want to keep an office motivated, delivering recognition and offering support when warranted will keep your team working towards heftier goals.
However, you must be careful and while praises and encouragement are important, too much praise soon becomes meaningless, while praise that’s too infrequent means your team will have no idea what is good and what is not.
Create flexible schedules
Thankfully, the working world is moving away from demanding 8 hours behind a desk every day of the week, so you should continue with this trend and offer flexible working schedules.
Living to work is outdated, and people have lives outside of their jobs. Forcing people to stay any longer than they need to, or even be in the office when they are not required will sap motivation, lead to burnout and a significant drop in productivity.
Give them something to aim for
No matter what anybody says, they want to feel like their lives are moving forward. They want to feel like they will, one day, progress from their current situation, and this is why you should give them something to aim for.
Offering professional development options or providing increased responsibility will make them feel valued, and that motivates them to work as hard as they can. You can also avoid hiring externally and instead undertake senior position recruitment from within so that your employees recognize there is room for progression.
Help them trust you
Most importantly for motivation, though, is trust. You must trust your employees, and they, in turn, must trust you also. You can build this trust in several ways. You can follow through on promises, you can be completely transparent with all aspects of the company. You can demonstrate that you are there to support them, rather than sell them up the river.
Another way to build trust is to show that you care for their safety and their health. If possible, you can provide Small Business Health Insurance to help them and their families should they encounter issues. You can’t run a company if your employees are not healthy, so looking after them means they will do everything they can to look after you.
Ms motivator
It’s never easy to determine the best way to motivate your team. Still, as long as you do what you can to ensure you praise your employees, don’t overwork them, offer room for professional and personal growth, and give them a reason to trust you, you’ll get on just fine.