With the rise of the gig economy, independent contractors and virtual teams have become an essential part of modern business. As more people opt for flexible working hours and work from home offices, businesses in almost every industry are creating remote-friendly environments to adapt to this new reality.
This shift has accelerated the need for employee empowerment in a big way. In order to stay competitive, businesses now expect their employees to be entrepreneurial thinkers who are constantly stimulated by challenges and new ideas. Keeping employees motivated at your business is crucial if you want them to remain loyal and productive employees.
Motivated employees take pride in their work and feel fulfilled by contributing to the success of a company. Therefore, identifying the best ways to motivate your team is imperative if you want your employees to thrive at your company as well as outside of it.
From understanding what motivates people at work to implementing specific strategies that keep people engaged and excited about coming into work every day, we’ve got tips on how you can implement employee motivation effectively at any company level.
Why is employee motivation important for large scale and small businesses?
As organizations grow, the impact of employee motivation becomes more apparent. Challenges arise that require more coordination between departments at an alarming rate as companies employ more workers. This creates challenges that require employees to think creatively and solve complex problems.
As these organizations grow, the challenges of motivating employees are magnified. It becomes more difficult to maintain the personal connections that are so important to motivating employees. These connections are imperative for large and small businesses because it ensures that employees want to do their best because they will be a part of a team with a purpose.
Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to increase motivation at work, help employees build a connection amongst themselves, and ensure that they want to do a great job in all things they do!
Strategies to Help You Keep Your Employees Motivated
There are a number of ways to keep your employees motivated at work. The most effective way will depend on the needs of your team and organization. Some of the most common strategies include regular rewards, community involvement, challenges, and to have a sound work environment.
Reward programs are one of the most common ways to keep an employee motivated at work. With a reward program, you can provide employees with incentives like gift cards, discounts, or even cash to keep them coming back to work. You can also use reward programs to recognize good work and celebrate milestones with your team.
If your employees want to feel as though they are part of a larger community, then you should try to involve them in some way. For example, you could hold an employee-led social event once a month or organize an employee-designed project. You could even try holding regular team lunches where employees can socialize and network with each other to increase community involvement.
Motivating employees is a lot like motivating children. You have to keep pushing them to be the best they can be. This means that you should set challenging goals and provide pressure for employees to excel. Challenge and pressure are especially useful when your team members are feeling bored with their jobs and are simply coasting through the days.
One of the best ways to keep your employees motivated is to maintain a sound work environment. An efficient and well-organized office will help to keep your employees motivated in many different ways.
For example, an organized environment will help to keep employees focused on their work. It will also make it easier for employees to spend time with their colleagues because they won’t be spending time searching for information or work materials.
Make Sure Your Team Feels Valued
Employee engagement begins with making sure your team feels valued. A team that feels valued will likely be less likely to quit or feel like they are being treated unfairly. Make sure to let your employees know that you value their work and that you are happy to have them on your team. If you have a policy in place that addresses how employees should be treated, make sure that everyone is following it.
Make sure that you communicate with your team members regularly. You can do this by sending team-building emails, comments on their work, or sending out a company newsletter. If you are not sending out regular communication, you may be missing opportunities to let your employees know that they are valued.
Offer Flexible Work Hours and Work from Home Options
Another important way to motivate your team is to provide them with flexible work options. By doing this, you will be making it possible for your employees to work from home or adjust their work hours to fit their personal schedules. This will help to keep employees happy because they will be able to choose how they want to spend their time.
If your company has a remote-friendly culture, you may want to consider providing remote work options as well. This way, employees who would prefer to work from home can do so without having to sacrifice the benefits of working in a traditional office setting.
Conclusion
There are so many reasons why employee motivation is important for your business. Happy employees are more likely to stay with your company for a long time and may even be set on retiring with your company. They are also more likely to be more productive and have a higher morale in the office which increases happiness.
Happy employees are also surprisingly less likely to get sick and take time off when they are sick. They are also less likely to file a workers compensation claim against your company if they end up getting hurt. If you want your employees to be happy and motivated, you must make sure that they feel valued in the workplace.
