Are your employees always watching and waiting for the time to hit five o’clock? Do you hear more sighs than sales calls throughout the day? Signs of declining motivation in employees can vary, with everything from mood changes to frequent minimum efforts. If you begin to notice sudden absenteeism, frequent tardiness, and a decrease in overall productivity, it may be time for a motivation makeover.
There are several underlying reasons your employees are experiencing dwindling productivity. A worker may feel like their job isn’t essential, causing them to believe they’re unvalued or unneeded. Without development opportunities to climb the corporate ladder, employees may feel stagnant and dissatisfied. Additionally, emotional conflicts outside of work can also contribute to a lack of initiative and enthusiasm.
Besides causing you professional stress, low employee motivation can result in progressively apathetic workers, unwilling to put forth their best effort, and uncaring of the company’s overall vision. Decreased work ethic can also bleed into their customer service, causing curt reactions and dissatisfied clients.
So how can you help your workers stay motivated? Implement these simple tips, and you will be well on your way to a happy workforce once again.
1. Establish an employee recognition program
Employee recognition programs are crucial in maintaining a healthy work environment where workers are recognized and rewarded for what they do. Incentivising can help improve motivation, inspire industry passion, and lead to consistent improvement. As job satisfaction increases, so too does work performance, which incites happier staff and less turn-over. Retaining talent means you can avoid wasting valuable time hiring and training new applicants who are likely to leave at the drop of a hat.
What’s the best way to reward workers? For starters, publicly recognizing employees for a job well-done is a way to positively reinforce hard work and further incentivize other employees. Reward consistently hard-working employees with additional time off, raises when possible, or, for a unique reward, consider a turkey gift card, perfect for your company’s notorious foodie.
2. Maintain a friendly work environment
Rarely do employees thrive in an atmosphere of hostility. To sidestep disagreements and uncomfortable environments, encourage kindness, connection, and workplace friendships by being on a first-name basis with your employees. Furthermore, a clean, well-lit, plant-happy workspace will do wonders for improving morale.
3. Specify goals
When people can picture their goals, they’re more motivated to step up and work hard to achieve them. Setting small weekly or monthly objectives creates a definite end-goal, giving your employees something to aspire to and a tangible way to track progress.
4. Create ways to improve
Productive employees want to feel as though they are contributing to big-picture objectives and company progress. Set up ways your workers can advance in the ranks by offering training and specialized certificates. You’ll churn out efficient and knowledgeable workers, and your employees will feel satisfied by learning and improving as they move up in the company.
5. Address complaints
When someone brings an issue to your attention, deal with it immediately instead of dismissing concerns or sweeping it under the rug. Though it may not seem like a big deal to you, your employee will feel heard and that their input is valuable. Employers who consistently ignore worker complaints see higher turnover rates and a dissatisfied workforce.
The bottom line
Workers deserve recognition and rewards—especially if they’re to stay motivated. By encouraging employees and stimulating motivation, your business will improve, and your workers will stick around for the long haul.
