It is a fact that good jobs are tough to find and in the same manner, good employees are ones who are difficult to maintain. Every CEO, businessman or manager must make sure that the employees are the lifeblood of the company. They should know that happy workers are productive workers.
Every employee is different and they would want to work harder when they feel appreciated and respected. With all these true facts, entrepreneurs should make sure that employees come to the office to work and not for a pay check.
Hence motivating employees to work harder would be the core idea of this article. Here are a few hints about how to motivate employees to work harder.
Important Factors to Encourage Employees:
Each employee has a varied set of factors which must be motivated in order to bring the best out of him. There are many factors in each organization which determines the employee’s motivation. Here are a few workplace motivation techniques or factors that boost employees.
1. Financial reward:
Many people work to satisfy their financial needs such as clothing, food, entertainment and housing for their families and themselves. Work is the main aspect which allows people live.
In order to enhance their pay, promotion and bonuses there are few workers who put in more of effort and time. Benefits such as retirement plan, healthcare package are few aspects that fall under this category. Many employees are motivated when such different kind of financial rewards are announced.
2. Leadership style:
This is another factor which determines the feeling of employees in an organization. The psychological climate of the company is changed and also performance plays the main role when leaders are changed in the organization.
Depending upon the goals and objectives of the organization, people in the organization and other external factors the leadership style must be set up. In many organizations there is no place for traditional to down leadership styles, employees wanted to speak, have a clear influence and wanted to be heard about how they work.
There are other leadership styles which are collegial where the employee who is in-charge of the department would possess the same type of knowledge and skills as their co-workers. By this way, people are respected for their skills, ability and knowledge in the organization.
3. Personal satisfaction:
Doing something that we love is the best job advice anyone can offer and is one of the main factors to motivate an employee. It is only the employees who love their work and would enjoy doing it throughout the day where they stay focused and dedicated towards work.
Not all the employees are passionate in their work, but it is the duty of the CEO or managers to provide a supportive workplace where they feel valued and rewarded. All these positive working posters are ones which keep the employee motivated and posted.
4. Structure of work:
The structure of work is another aspect that plays a main role in encouraging employees or motivating team. The structure of work where it requires creativity, motivation, imagination also requires a high level of energy, is a kind of nature that is exciting.
There is work which takes into account negotiating, communication, interaction with other employees or people in order to gather cooperation and get the task done, such kind of jobs are highly rewarding and also exciting too.
In order to accomplish any task in a cost effective manner, more amount of work must be routinized standardized and made relatively exciting. Perfect organizations are one that structure work according to the nature of the work so that it syncs with the employee and makes work look interesting and enjoyable.
5. Flexibility:
Motivation for employees is done when they are offered flexibility in their work which keeps them on track. When flexible timings are provided to employees for vacation, accommodate family, holiday and work from options, makes the employee feel encouraged and makes him motivated at work too.
In order to meet few goals and expectations, these kinds of perks and bonuses can be awarded to employees who encourage them. When flexible scheduling are planned, it paves the way to hire good employees who do not desire to work for full complete hours. Having a life outside of business is encouraging and supportive of employees.
Do Happy Employees Work Harder?
It is said that when employees are paid more, they are productive in the same manner there is also a link between employee’s happiness and their productivity. An economist at the University of Warwick has mentioned happiness amongst employees that has led to 12% spike in productivity whereas unhappy employees are 10% less productive.
One of the professors called Oswald mentioned that organizations that invest in the satisfaction and support of employees are ones that make happy workers. Apart from financial incentives, there are other factors that make an employee happy where Google is an example where the happy employees in their organization were 37%.
When a person feels positive, it is mentioned that his brain works extremely well and hence, it is important to make your employees happy. In order to make your employees happy and enhance productivity these few hints can be followed.
1. Providing awesome benefits:
Benefits such as free food, childcare, health benefits, transportation and much more are few aspects that make life better for employees. By offering such benefits, employees feel cared and appreciated which in turn offers the organization loyalty and willingness by employees to go for extra work.
2. Have an open mind and open leadership door:
There are a number of studies that have mentioned that employee engagement blossoms when there are an open mind and responsive and approachable management.
The real fact is that, all people spend a major part of their life at the workplace and when they find themselves voiceless their frustration grows.
3. Sharing profits:
When employees share their profits in good times, their investment in the organization would grow and would assist them at bad times.
For example, publishing fifty shades of gray by the international literary sensation boosted profits for the publisher and where every employee in the organization was awarded $5000 bonus. This is an example of smart leadership.
4. Workplace fun:
In order to make employees happy, there should be fun at the work place. Fun in the sense means bringing in quirks, passion, and personalities to the workplace. By this way, a proper work/life mesh is developed and employees are themselves at work.
Fun, games, and laughter are few stress relievers and help employees to build bond amongst other employees.
How to keep Employees Happy and Motivated?
Here are a few ways which explain how to keep employees happy and motivated. Only happy and motivated employees can boost productivity.
1. Providing tools for success:
Employees must be provided with the right tools and direction in order to accomplish their goals. A good example can be cashiers in retail where they are provided with autonomy where prices can be adjusted and extended coupons are used.
With the assistance of autonomy, customers are happy and also the cashiers are relaxed in dealing with irate customers. Managers must not assume that the employees have all the required tools, support, and training from supervisors, it is good to check them personally and find them.
2. Communication made well and often:
Regular meetings, memos, training sessions, newsletters, FAQ’s are few aspects which are used to present your vision to the employees. It is good to ask a question where ever required. In case they are muddled, it is good to redesign data as they require and understand.
Communicating effectively is one of the essential tasks of the manager. With proper communication, the employees and managers share common goals and work in a collaborative manner, by this way they are happy and can boost the company.
3. Support new idea:
When employees turn up with new ideas and thoughts remember that it is a good sign that they care for the company. They work for the enhancement of the organization and hence supporting the idea that employee offers can make the employee feel happy and motivated, though the idea works or not.
4. Don’t make employees feel bored:
Employees switch to a short span of attention once they are bored with whatever they do, hence it is good to deviate from work for a short time and excite them with new stuff.
Plan for some happy hours, host cupcake baking, a sudden push-up contest in the mid of the week, and meetings handled by varied people in the office each time. All these facts can make the employee happy and motivate them.
5. Friendly competitions to be encouraged:
An organization is said to be productive when it has competition. Motivate your team to participate in competitions in the organization which can lead them to good fellowship.
6. Acknowledgment for professional achievement:
Every employee would like to be recognized for what they have done, in that manner when an employee is acknowledged for the job well done by higher management, he feels happy and motivated. This is a happiness which is beyond what others can think of.
7. Celebration of personal milestones:
Celebrating employee’s birthday can be an unforgettable experience for any employee which makes them feel happy. A celebration of other events like engagement, work anniversary and other personal occasions can make the employee feel important and happy.
8. Encouraging learning new skills:
Time keeps changing and every employee who is interested can learn new skills to keep them updated or brush up old skill for future use.
9. Thank employee for good work:
When a big issue is solved, or a challenging task of the job is accomplished or any other aspect is brought to attention, saying a word of thanks can be good.
In the same way a kind note or an appreciative email can also be a great way to thank your employees. There are employees who prefer a social accolade or silent thanks.
10. Give them more responsibilities:
Do not make your employees a guaranteed productivity killer by providing the same tasks again and again. Providing new tasks each day can make them feel happy and interesting. It is good to offer them with more responsibilities where they become more comfortable with their abilities and keep them stimulated.
When they love what they do, then they are more productive and feel happy. Irrespective of the task, it is good to set goals for employees so that they are provided a chance to shine.
11. Being transparent:
It is always good to be transparent and visible in an organization. When workers are kept in the dark, then they are unaware of the business happenings and feel excluded and unsecured. It is good to develop a stable and reliable team where everything is open in the office environment.
12. Provide opportunities:
When employees work towards a common goal, they are motivated. When there is no opportunity for any aspect then they do not work much and hence offering employees an advancement and opportunity is mandatory. It is good to motivate employees and provide them with the required training and skills so that they climb the career ladder.
The employees are to be groomed so that they are ready to fetch the new opportunity which is on the way. By this way, the company’s reputation is developed and considered as a great place to work on. By offering new opportunities, the employees feel happy and motivated.
Conclusion:
These are a few aspects about ways to motivate employees to work harder. Employees who have the passion towards their job role are the ones who would enjoy their work and reach success promptly.
There are a number of aspects mentioned above that makes an employee happy, motivated, encouraged and interesting. Moreover, there are many other tips and hints which can be followed in order to keep employees encouraged.
