There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a workplace, but one of the most common issues is a lack of motivation from the staff. Especially when you’ve worked in the same place for a while, doing the same thing every day, it’s difficult to get excited about going to work or doing your job. This lack of motivation can kill the great relationship you once had with your staff, and it can significantly hurt your business. If you want to avoid that, here are a few ways to keep your staff motivated.
1. Up Your Incentive Game
What motivates people best? A treat! If you want to keep morale high and motivation among your employees, you can try offering some bonuses and other incentives that will satisfy them. The rewards can be financial, but you can also offer recognition by choosing a traditional “employee of the month”, or you can extend other privileges to the workers who distinguish themselves most out of your pack.
This will ensure that your staff knows what they’re working towards and they will be extra fired up if they want to be the ones to snatch up that financial bonus, trip, certificate, etc.
2. Have A Great Office Space
You may not even realize it, but your office space actually contributes significantly to how content and motivated your staff is. Think about a boring, beige, empty shell of an office. Just cubicles upon cubicles and a sterile, unfriendly, unwelcoming atmosphere. Does that sound appealing to you? Would you enjoy working in that environment, and would you give it your all?
Now compare that to a bright, colourful space that smells like coffee. An open space where everyone works together and you can hear the buzz of office chattering and minds at work. Isn’t that much more inspiring?
3. Offer Some Ways To Unwind
And speaking of office spaces, in recent years, companies have really stepped up their “unwinding facilities” and in-office entertainment. It pays to include a pool table, video game station, bean bags, etc. in the break room, so that your employees can take a break whenever they need to recharge their batteries, get their creative juices flowing, or need a little pick-me-up before they go back to work.
4. Put Effort Into Team Building
The trip itself may be expensive, but team building is invaluable, and you will see its effects in time. Your staff need to be a close-knit group of people who know each other and have each other’s backs. Taking them away somewhere and having them spend some time together teaches them how to work together effectively and how to form relationships.
This is going to manifest itself positively in their day to day activities, when they will have the tools to solve their problems and conflicts and find ways to collaborate. There will be less need for office mediation and fewer hurt egos and feelings.
5. Work Hard, Play Hard
Team hang-outs are just as important as team-work, because the team that works hard should play hard, as well. Just like some evenings are spent working late to finish a big project on a deadline, others should be spent going for a pint with your team, just to give everyone a chance to unwind and connect. All work and no play makes everyone crazy and it can kill motivation in the workplace, so you need to make sure you balance out hard work with some intense bonding time and fun outings together.
All in all, motivation comes from all sorts of different sources, so you have plenty of things to work with when it comes to finding ways you can stimulate your staff and motivate them to continue working hard and passionately.
It’s important to recognize merit with a financial incentive, but the office space is equally important, so make it cheerful and welcoming. You should also have some means of entertainment in the office to give your employees a chance to unwind, and don’t forget about meaningful time spent together. But that won’t happen in the office, so organising some outings and team building trips is essential.