Your employees are very important and rather key components to the success of your business. There’s no denying that. Without good people to work with—you’re business is in danger of failing. It’s important to be motivating people on your team, in the directions of your business goals in order to succeed.
This raises a few questions:
- How do we motivate people to work smarter and harder?
- How do we encourage them to become more productive?
- Should we act like dictators telling their subordinates how and when to do their jobs?
- Or should we be the friendly type bosses, who people can easily approach?
Motivation can be tricky. Not everyone one on your team may be motivated by the same things.
Let’s take a moment and discuss some tips on how you can motivate your people to work smarter, and harder to be more productive:
Keep the Balance
Encouraging people to listen to what you have to say is not always an easy task.
In order to create efficiency, you will have to be a balanced leader. Be strict enough to ensure that people will actually follow you. On the other hand, be approachable enough, so that your employees won’t hesitate to come to you for important concerns.
There’s a fine line between being firm and sensitive, you need to decide what type of leader you are, and communicate effectively.
Remember:
An effective workplace is one which has effective communication. Accordingly, you should always ensure that you and your team(s) are able to communicate clearly—in order for you to reach your organization’s end goals together.
And speaking of goals. Do you know what your employees goals are, both personally and professionally? Encourage each team member to have a detailed plan of action, a strategy that can be measured to keep them on task to achieving their goals within the company.
To ensure that employees stay motivated, and achieving goals—use what psychologists call SMART goals.
Remind People of the Bigger Picture
Everyone has a reason for doing something. And that “reason” is the bigger picture…
For example: you didn’t start a business just for the heck of it, right? Of course not—you had a plan, and idea that led you to creating the business you’re in today!
Some of the reasons why you might have engaged in operating your own business, is because you you wanted freedom, more time to spend with your family and to be able to do the things that you’ve always wanted to do.
That same rule applies to your employees too. Remind them of the reason(s) why they are working with you in the first place. Sometimes, people lose track of the reasons of their endeavours—and you, as a good leader, must try to ensure that they don’t forget that.
Note:
Although employers have a vital role in motivating employees, the fact of the matter is: people will be more effective at work if they are able to motivate themselves too.
As a leader you need to help people reflect on their own goals. Let them feel and know that they are part of the team—that they are part of the bigger picture unfolding. By doing so, you’ll help them realize their inner strengths, and that they are worthy of wanting and achieving more.
This will help keep them motivated to work harder, and smarter—and will be reflected in their outputs of productivity too.
Remember:
At the end of the day, your business is one single unit made up of many individual moving parts. And each of those parts (your people) needs to complement the others. Don’t isolate your departments and teams, from the big picture, instead you need to encourage them to embrace it.
Reward Your Employees (If They Deserve It)
This is an important motivational strategy. After all, working on the same things over and over again can eventually become boring. Consequently, this may lead to loss of interest to work, thereby resulting in decreased productivity and other issues.
With that in mind, try to look closer at the people working with you.
- Who has been providing exemplary services?
- Who has been working with you for the longest time?
- Which team members have been forward thinking, bringing new ideas and solutions to the table?
- Have you done anything to reward them for a job well done?
Note:
Incentives such as Christmas bonuses and employee rewards should not be considered as useless expenses. Instead, you should look at them as business investments that will make your employees work even harder, and more productively.
Of course, the more motivated your employees are, both personally and professionally—the better things turn out for you and your business, as far as reaching your end goals.
Build Relationships
If you have a good relationship with your employees—then they will work harder not because you told them to do so, but because they sincerely and honestly want to help you and the organization succeed. They too then become a part of that success story.
Accordingly, this is a motivational strategy which can mean even more benefits for you.
Take the time to explain your business goals to your employees. Let them understand that they are an integral part of the team—and that they will share in whatever successes your business may have. Empower them to dream with you, and to work with you to reach the end goal.
When you openly share the overarching message, the dream, the bigger picture and strategy of the goal—then your people will work harder not because they have to—but because they want to. They’ll see the vision, and want to succeed just as much as you do.
Do you have any other motivational strategies that you believe can help make people more motivated to work? If you do, please do share them with us, by commenting below…
