Motivating employees

It's a tough time of year for employers who are struggling to motivate their employees. Unfortunately, motivating people is far from an exact science. There's no secret formula, no set calculation, no worksheet to fill out. In fact, motivation can be as individual as the employees who work for you.

Motivation is about moving people to act in a way that achieves a specific and immediate goal. Although each employee is different, I've done some research and have found a few useful ideas.

Processes are important
Setting clear expectations and processes to reach a specific goal is a great way to motivate employees and keep them on track. It’s important that employees understand the bigger picture and how their tasks fit into the overall results. Sometimes teams procrastinate because they don’t think it would affect others in putting off certain tasks. Little do they know that what seems irrelevant to them is actually a cornerstone for your next steps and that a project might not be able to move forward until they finish that step. You might need to explain the chain of events that are necessary to accomplish the big goals. No step is unimportant.

Give employees time to socialize
During crunch times we are often reluctant to take time out for socializing as we don’t want to break the team moment or think we don’t have the time to waste on this. However, oftentimes this is exactly what your employees need to get re-energized. Create mandatory social events where employees may get to know one another, especially if teamwork is vital for the business. The key is to do something fun, no matter how small, on a regular basis.

Make Employees Part Of The Solution
Employees need to be involved. Empowering employees to make decisions about their work and to solve day-to-day problems demonstrates your confidence in them and motivates them to live up to your expectations. International bestselling author Paul McGee also has some interesting ideas around the motivation of staff.

If you are in need of some assistance with your recruitment efforts, we can help. Communicate Recruitment represents a range of exclusive, skilled candidates across all levels of the Finance, IT, Engineering, and Supply Chain/Freight sectors. Contact us today.

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