Like every other manager, you want to be more innovative and build a healthier company culture. Imagine a world where your employees have fun doing even the most challenging tasks. Your company is proud of high productivity, increased revenue, reduced absenteeism, and low turnover. Sounds good? Great! It can be your reality with strategic employee engagement and motivation.
One of the world’s best industrialists and innovators, Robert Bosch, said, “I do not pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages.” But what happens when money is no longer an effective motivator?
The famous philosopher, William James, said, “The deepest desire in human nature is to be appreciated.” In addition to paying good wages, you want to look out for the factors that impact job performance. As an astute manager, you don’t have to be a counselor or a therapist to recognize the gaps in your workplace engagement.
[ez-toc]The Key Drivers of Motivation
It’s hard to stay motivated. Before employees, we are humans with many things going on. Our interests, emotions, and habits affect our performance at work. The need for money is often the catalyst for working hard, but there’s something even more significant – Our intrinsic needs:
- Purpose – Employees with a mission are self-directed and are motivated to work without external reward.
- Mastery – Employees who enjoy what they do seek mastery without necessarily working towards financial compensation or job security.
- Autonomy – Employees tend to be more motivated when no pressure or limitation is imposed on the work process.
Studies have also confirmed that intrinsic motivation leads to better outcomes.
10 Powerful Employee Engagement and Motivation Strategies
Engagement and motivation are like bread and butter to any business. When done right, they ignite other areas, such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Here are ten ways to improve employee engagement:
1. Get Creative With Rewards
Employee reward is not limited to cash bonuses and gift cards. Try switching things up a bit by offering something meaningful and personal – like a day off or paid vacation. Rewards should be fair, consistent, and on time so that employees know what they have to do to earn them.
2. Give Feedback Regularly and Honestly
Feedback helps employees grow within your organization, which makes them more likely to stay with your company. Schedule regular meetings with each employee to discuss any issues or concerns regarding work or the company. When these issues are resolved fast, employees feel heard and are prone to engage better.
3. Implement An Employee Engagement Software
Today’s gamification tools make work fun and engage employees. When implemented correctly, they can help managers access real-time information regarding their employees’ performance. This allows managers to monitor trends in behavior over time, identify areas where improvements can be made, and measure progress against goals.
4. Invest In Professional Training Programs
Employees are your greatest assets. The best way to invest in their engagement is to provide them with the training and tools they need to perform better. Training programs keep them up-to-date on industry trends and provide them with the skills that can pave new career paths within the company.
5. Offer Flexible Work Arrangements
Employees of all ages, especially millennials, value flexible work arrangements. If possible, you should offer this option to help your employees balance their professional and personal lives. They’re more likely to be engaged at work and less likely to leave their jobs. In return, your company gets to enjoy increased productivity and low turnover.
6. Create a Culture of Accountability
A culture of accountability is an opportunity to set a good example and show what you believe in. To do this, you need to create a set of standards and expectations.
Employees are more likely to step up and engage when they feel accountable for their actions and performance. This fosters a culture of trust between management and employees, which leads to better results in the long run.
7. Create Career Paths for Employees
We talked about investing in professional training programs for your employees. In addition, employees need to know where they’re headed in their careers.
Providing these training and opportunities for counseling gives employees a sense of direction and purpose at work, which increases their motivation and makes them more engaged in their jobs.
8. Create An Inclusive Culture
Managers must listen as much as they talk when communicating with employees. You want to make your employees feel welcome regardless of their background or beliefs.
Encourage employees to share their ideas and opinions openly, without feeling like they’re against the team. If someone has a new idea, whether good or bad, let them know you’d like to hear it.
9. Be Transparent About Company Goals
Openness and transparency help build employee trust, leading to better performance and engagement. Employees need to know what’s happening with the company, not just their department or project.
10. Schedule 1:1s
One of the most effective ways to keep in touch with your employees is having one-on-one meetings. You could schedule these meetings once a month or bi-weekly for each employee.
The discussion should be short and straight to the point. The goal is to use this time for general company feedback or to chat about personal concerns.
How To Motivate Employees Without Money
What if your company is so small that it can’t afford the luxury of bonuses, raises, or other perks? How can you motivate your team without money? Here are some ways to get employees engaged:
- Get the right people on your team who share your vision and values and want to work hard for your company’s success.
- Create an environment where people can feel safe sharing ideas.
- Treat employees with respect, and they will perform better as a result.
- Give employees opportunities to take on new responsibilities and stretch their abilities.
- Avoid micromanaging. People will feel more responsible and engaged when you give them less direction.
- Encourage autonomy – Give employees as much freedom as possible without compromising the safety or quality of the work.
How To Motivate Lazy Employees
There are many reasons why employees might feel disengaged at work. They may feel like their role is minor or boring. They may also feel overworked or underappreciated. Here are some tips for increasing employee engagement and motivation:
1. Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Employees need to know what is expected of them to do their jobs well. If employees don’t know what the company expects, they will spend their time doing other things that may not be productive for the company or themselves. This can lead to a lack of motivation and focus on the job at hand.
2. Give Regular Feedback
Regular feedback is vital for two reasons: firstly, it helps you gauge how well your employees are doing at their jobs; secondly, it lets them know what areas they need to improve on so that they can get better over time. Instead, focus on positive aspects and areas where adjustments could be made.
3. Create Support Networks
All employees need friends at work who will listen to their problems and help them solve them when required. This network is ideal for organizations with many departments and pod structures.
How To Motivate Introverted Employees
Introverted employees are often thought of as being unengaged and unmotivated. However, this isn’t always the case. As a manager, you want to give this kind of employee a reason to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.
Also, you can organize more out-of-office activities to help them loosen up and connect with the team. The more they find meaning in their work, the more they are encouraged to open up to others.
From another perspective, leaving introverted employees in their zones is okay. Some employees usually need some time alone to think.
They may not want to work in groups all the time, but this doesn’t mean they don’t want to contribute their ideas or be involved in brainstorming sessions with other team members. Some employees are creative problem solvers and usually need space to work.
This can make it challenging to be productive during office hours when they’re expected to interact with others.
How To Motivate Hourly Employees
The employee experience may be different for hourly workers. They may be driven by work-life balance or the desire to earn more money.
As a manager, it’s essential that you create a culture of appreciation that ensures hourly employees get the same type of recognition as salaried colleagues. In addition, you could offer opportunities for professional development.
How To Motivate Remote Employees
One of the most common challenges remote workers face is their lack of motivation. Without the ability to see and interact with co-workers in person, it can be hard to feel connected or engaged in the company’s mission.
They also don’t get to enjoy office perks like free coffee and lunch. Here are a few ways you can increase workplace motivation for remote employees:
1. Provide the Right Equipment
Some companies with big budgets send the tools needed to perform office duties as part of the onboarding package for new employees.
They can include a laptop, a microphone, and subscriptions to software programs. You can even take it a step further by providing a WIFI program to ensure they are always connected during work.
2. Provide Clear Expectations and Goals for Each Team Member
You should provide clear expectations for each team member from day one. This will help them understand where they stand concerning their performance and how much effort it would take to contribute to the team.
Getting Started with Employee Engagement Software
We’ve highlighted many ways to increase employee engagement at your workplace, but ensuring that you have the right tools to make this happen is essential. Employee engagement software can make this process much easier for your company. Engaged employees bring energy, creativity, and commitment to their jobs, which translates into higher performance.
Many gamification solutions available today can help you measure employee engagement within your organization. These tools allow you to track key metrics such as performance reviews and goal-oriented activities to determine where your employees stand daily.
Gamification as the Ultimate Engagement Strategy
Gamification uses game elements in the workplace to motivate employees to perform specific tasks. In this context, gamification aims to help sales teams and call centers reduce turnovers by increasing employee engagement.
Whether completing more calls daily or hitting sales targets, this system encourages higher productivity because employees want to win badges and rewards.
Are You Ready to Engage and Supercharge Your Employees?
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