The document provides 23 tips for motivating employees. Some of the key tips include:
1) Motivate yourself first by being enthusiastic so you can inspire your team.
2) Recognize employee achievements through thanks, awards, or mentions to boost motivation.
3) Be an active listener to understand employee needs, ideas, and problems and show them respect.
4) Help employees achieve targets by setting realistic goals and providing support.
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Motivate Employees by Understanding Needs
1. How you can motivate your
employees-
By Debojite Chandra Bhowmick
2. How can you motivate your employees-
If you like to motivate your people you have to be motivated first. Secondly, you
have to know your people; have to know their actual needs and expectations. But
it is not an easy task because people usually don’t like to express their actual
needs. They express it in different ways and most of the time it is misinterpreted
to their managers. Good leaders invest their time, effort and observation to
discover actual needs of their team members. Since different people expect
differently so they are motivated by different motivational factors. So, you can’t
motivate all of your team members by a single motivational factor. You can
motivate some people by giving monetary benefits but not all people. If someone
expect recognition or respect but you try to motivate him by giving money, it will
not work there. So, identification of actual needs of your team members and
developing customized strategies to meet their needs is the key to employee
motivation.
3. Motivate yourself first
If you like to motivate your people you have to be motivated first.
Your vibrant presence in the office will spark your team members.
Your speech, actions, movement will energies them. If you are de-
motivated, frustrated or demoralized you can’t be the source of
great inspiration, you can’t influence others to be motivated. So
be enthusiastic in your role in the office.
4. Don’t forget to give due recognition
Giving recognition of their achievement is the best way to motivate
employees. You can get many jobs done by recognizing them what can’t
be done by giving money. Although it is very effective tool to motivate
employees but most of the time managers fail to capitalize it. You can
recognize their achievement by giving sincere thanks, writing an
appreciation letter, giving them appreciation in public, rewarding best
employee award, best achiever award, best service quality award etc or
by mentioning their name in the company’s newsletter. Recognize every
achievement no matter how small it is. It improves motivation level and
inspires your team members to repeat their actions or behavior again.
5. Be an active listener
Listening attentively means you are respectful to your employees
and you are open to accept their suggestions. Most of the
employees feel that they have wonderful ideas but unfortunately
they can’t share their ideas and suggestions with their managers.
Managers believe they know better than their employees, so they
don’t listen to them carefully. Employees get frustrated and
become de-motivated. Besides employees face different type of
difficulties while doing their job that they want to share with their
managers. If you listen attentively you may get creative ideas
from your team members and you also can solve most of their
problems.
6. Help them to achieve their target
When we achieve something it gives us a sense of satisfaction.
When employees successfully complete their assignment their moral
goes high and they feel proud of it. Achievement is a great
motivator for employees. If employees consistently fail to achieve
their target, they become demoralized and it causes unsatisfactory
outcome. So set realistic target for your team members;
train, coach and develop them as they can achieve their target
consistently. Give clear guidelines; arrange necessary logistic
support, if necessary join your hand to help your team members to
meet their deadlines.
7. Offer challenging assignment
Offer challenge to your team member for the difficult tasks. I am
sure some of your team members will spark and they will be
willing to accept your challenge. They will put their best effort to
win that challenge and they will do it. Because they like to be
recognize in that way. You cannot do all jobs by giving money but
you can get the toughest job by offering challenge. Offer due
recognition of their extraordinary achievement, it will help you to
motivate your whole team.
8. Communicate effectively
Communication is the key to become successful in every position.
Confusing and unclear information causes de-motivation in the
team. They don’t understand what to do. Communicate clearly
what you expect from your team members and explain them the
rationality behind your expectation. Communicate company’s
vision and mission statement clearly to your team members. This
will motivate them because everybody likes to work in an
organization that has a vibrant future.
9. Delegate Responsibility
Delegate responsibility to your team members as they can work
independently. Proper delegation of authority will decrease your
workload and will increase motivational level of your
employees. Every employee likes to work independently; they
don’t like to be controlled. If they need to seek your permission in
every step operational activities will not run smoothly. So allow
them to work independently. Frequent interference and
disruptions make employees agitated and don’t bring good result
for the organization
10. Ensure good working environment
Good working environment is one of the important components of
employee motivation. A well organized and congenital working
environment helps employee to improve their productivity. Make your
office decorated as much as possible so that employees feel comfortable
because sometimes they spend more time in the office than their home.
Picture on the wall, plants, paintings make people feel good about their
environment. If possible keep enough space, right sized
desk, comfortable chair, suitable room temperature, adequate lighting
etc in the office. Take initiative to develop a sound interpersonal
relationship and stop bad mouthing, internal conflicts and office politics
which destroy congenial working environment.
11. Align employees Goal
Every organization has a unique goal for which it operates; at the
same time every individual has his own personal goal. If you like to
get the best of your team members, you have to harmonize
employee’s goal with organizational goal, otherwise they will lose
their interest or even they may quit organization. It is the
responsibility of a good leader to present the job to his employees
in such a way that they feel they are advancing to their own goal
by serving the organization.
12. Respect your employees
You can ensure exceptional working environment, good training
facilities, offer handsome salary, everything for your team
members but if you don’t respect them, your every attempt will
end in smoke. They will not be motivated, because people like to
be treated with respect. Listen attentively, be considerate to
accept their opinions, they may have some great ideas and people
will feel motivated contributing to the organization. If they don’t
perform to their full potential, breaks organizational rules, even if
they face severe punishment treat them with respect. These will
intact high morale and motivation level of your employees.
13. Assign interesting work
Assess employees’ individual skills and interest and allow them to
work where they fit into the organization. In some cases you have
to interchange their job or territory according to their interest and
potentiality. If changing the scope of their work is not possible,
help them to see their job from different angle as they can enjoy
their job. If you assign a job they don’t like they will be bored
and it would be difficult for them to be successful. Create an
environment that allows their inherent energy to flourish.
14. Ensure job security
If you like to get the best output from your team members, ensure the
security of their job and let them feel that it is their organization. They
will be committed to serve the organization for ever and will put their
best effort for the development of the organization. You can’t expect
outstanding performance who is worried about his jobs security. It will
destroy creativity of your employees, they will looking for suitable
opportunities to leave your organization instead of concentrating their
own job. Sometimes employs are fired simply because his boss or CEO or
owner of the organization doesn’t like him. This is worst example of
employee’s job insecurity. It creates panic in the team and the whole
team become demoralized.
15. Ensure good training facilities
Provide good training facilities for your employees, because it
brings mutual benefits both for the organization and employees.
Some employee specially younger and talented employees are
more interested to sharpen their knowledge and skill. You can
offer them in-house training or send your team members outside
the organization for a good training. If it is not possible for you
than arrange training session within your team for development of
your team members. Arrange training as they can enjoy,
sometimes it becomes punishment for employees and causes de-
motivation in the team.
16. Show them Career Path
A leader is called a “Dreamer”. Let them see their future in an
optimistic way. Clearly visualize their future position in the
organization and give a clear guidelines how they can reach that
position. If your employees don’t see any opportunity for their
career development they will not stay with you. Set career path in
your organization, promote people from within. If you do that you
are sending a positive massage to everyone that there are indeed
further career opportunities within your organization.
17. Let them understand your door is open
for them
Let your employees feel that your door is always open for them to
share any idea or opinion with you. They may have some
wonderful ideas which can help to grow your business. Besides
employees face different obstacles while doing their job, if they
don’t get the opportunity to share their problems they become
frustrated and it may causes poor productivity. Employee’s access
to share their ideas and suggestions with their manager will keep
them motivated.
18. Involve your employees
Involve employees in decision making process, value their opinions
and incorporate their suggestions as much as possible , they will
feel proud being the part of decision making process. It will have a
greater impact in the execution process, as they own the
decision, they will put their highest effort to implement that
decision. If decision is taken without consulting employees they
may think that it is not their decision, so they may be reluctant to
execute that decision.
19. Celebrate achievement
Whenever your team achieves something don’t forget to celebrate
it. Celebrate your achievement with all of your team members.
Give due appreciation to every members of the team. Offer a
lunch or tea party or something interesting to them as they can
enjoy it. They will feel proud being the part of your team.
20. Make occasional fun in the office
Being a boss doesn’t mean you can’t laugh or make fun in the
office. Keep yourself natural; you don’t need to be a robot.
Making fun in the office will help you to reduce working pressure
and will rejuvenate your team members. Being serious in working
place is good but being too serious may drainage your energy and
may cause poor productivity. Create an environment where they
can express themselves and enjoy their work. Otherwise office will
be boring to your team members resulting poor morale and
unsatisfactory outcome.
21. Offer a Handsome Compensation
It is true not all employees are motivated by money but if you pay
below industry average, I am sure, all of your employees will be
de-motivated; at least for fulfilling their basic needs. Employee’s
compensation can come in the form of regular raises in their
salary, performance bonuses, commissions, profit sharing or any
numbers of extra benefits like offering vehicle facility, mobile
allowances, leave encasement or may be form of different
allowances. If you are not in the position to increase direct
monetary benefit of your employees, help them to earn their
performance bonuses which will mutually benefit both employees
and organization.
22. Take feedback
When plan is put into actions offer regular feedback of their
progress, actually where they are standing. If they do well give
them due appreciation. If it is not done, find out the reasons, help
them to make contingency plan and if necessary offer your
assistance to complete the job. If you don’t follow up the given
assignments they may be reluctant to complete their jobs resulting
disappointing performance and at the end of the day they will be
demotivated.