Motivating your team is often easier said than done. Effectively inspiring your employees to do better while also understanding the individuality of their processes is a huge undertaking, often leaving leaders with one question… “Where do I start?”
Believe it or not, there are many ways for a person to motivate their team, feasible in any type of workplace.
These strategies will undoubtedly lead you and your team to success.
1. Make the Workplace Comfortable
Making sure that the workplace in which your team resides is not only clean, but comfortable can be the difference between your employees feeling good about where they work and feeling inhibited. It’s been shown that the mood of employees can change based on their environment, making this very important to follow.
This tip goes beyond physical comfort, as well. Standing desks and a working coffee machine are always a plus, but the overall atmosphere says more than the physical amenities.
2. Create a Positive Atmosphere
By promoting happiness throughout the workplace, you can improve overall productivity and satisfaction among employees. Abiding by what your employees want can be a great start to achieving this! To learn what your employees really want, consider being more open to feedback or sending out a survey.
3. Set Deadlines
Though it might seem that the most effective way to motivate your employees is by being flexible, oftentimes not having enough deadlines can create a loose atmosphere that results in less work getting done efficiently. To avoid this, be sure to set deadlines so there’s never any confusion. If employees know exactly which marks they have to be hitting, it will increase their overall chances of getting the work done on time and effectively. Flexibility should only be reserved for specific situations.
4. Only Check In When Necessary
One of the biggest complaints from employees is that there are unnecessary meetings that actually make it more difficult to get the necessary work done in the amount of time given. To avoid this, only hold meetings when they’re important—taking away time from your employees to check in on the work they’re doing can be counterproductive for the overall efficiency. In fact, if you have dedicated employees, they can actually get more work done when they don’t feel like they’re being monitored, allowing them to work in the way that’s most efficient for them. However, there may be some employees who need more nudging than others.
5. Quarterly Team Building Sessions
Even the most well-oiled team can benefit from a team building session every quarter. Motivation, creativity and communication can be improved, which benefits individuals as much as it does entire teams. A culture of collaboration is vital for productivity. Talking about it is one thing, but leaders need to actively cultivate that culture. Committing to initiatives 4 times a year is the perfect way to do so.
