Work makes up
around a third of our lived; for many people, they spend more time with
colleagues than they perhaps do with their families, especially when work is
busy, or a demanding project is on hand. With deadlines looming, it can be easy
to forget that in this heady mix of stress and more stress, there are people –
your staff – who may be left slightly worse-the-wear from this latest
stress-inducing project.
It is important that staff feel cared for
and motivated by the company for which they work. When staff feel listless,
rudderless and put-upon they will quite often vote with their feet and move on; what can be somewhat worse is that a member
of staff, bored and disgruntled, stays to tell everyone how bored and
disgruntled they are… and do so over and over again.
The time to motivate staff is NOW and ALWAYS
Motivating staff does not have to be a
complicated equation or booking a paintballing session, followed by a pub
crawl. Motivation is something that needs to start in work, and the first thing
you need to ascertain is what could be draining staff so that they do feel
disgruntled, put-upon, bored, tired, stressed and generally lacking any serious
oomph to get things done.
And so here are 7 simple, yet
startlingly effective tips for motivating staff…
#1
‘All work, no play makes jack a dull boy’…
…or so the saying goes however,
falling back on the almost obligatory paint balling sessions, followed by ‘the
pub’ is not the play of which we speak. Having an office night out every now
and then is no bad thing, but you will find that all people want to socialise
in this way.
What we are advocating here is
far simpler, and yet overlooked. When work is busy, breaks and lunches are
often not taken or halved. Eating at the desk is not something that should
happen on a regular or daily basis.
One great way of motivating staff
is ensuring that everyone has the break to which they are entitled to. Simply
by having time to drink and eat reduces stress, burn out and, in the long run,
stress-related absences.
So get the kettle on and take the
weight off your feet for half an hour.
#2
Work on the atmosphere
It won’t happen overnight but in
busy offices and sectors of work, it can be difficult to ask for help. In some
cases, this is because people cannot make their voices heard or feel they
cannot ask. In other cases, it is because they don’t realise they are
struggling and need help.
A key motivating factor is when
people feel they are important and cared about. A supervision process whereby
people have regular, uninterrupted time with a senior figure within the
organisation to discuss everything from workload to health & safety
concerns.
Being listened to and concerns
acted upon, without any backlash is key in creating an atmosphere on which
people thrive and are motivated.
#3
Constructive criticism
There is a school of thought no
criticism is constructive. Criticism, unlike a critique, is essentially
negative; a person is being told that their way is not correct or wanted etc.
and thus, by its very nature, to criticise someone is tough and receiving
criticism is just as hard to swallow.
However, we don’t live in a
perfect bubble; things go wrong, people go wrong and they need to be corrected.
There is also another strand to constructive criticism and this is linked to
motivation. In order for us to grow as people and employees, we need to know
where and how we can improve.
Motivation is linked to
performance too; feeding back to staff how well they are doing, as well as
being trained or led in the right direction is just as important.
#4
Appreciation
Motivation – or lack of
especially – is linked to appreciation. From a nod of thanks at the end of the
day, to a wholehearted clap-a-thon when the deadline has been met, the project
delivered and the client happy. Everyone needs to feel that what they do,
regardless of how small, is appreciated.
Some firms operate an employee
recognition scheme, but there can be downfalls and dips with this. Start by
saying thank you and then look at a staff raffle every now and then… don’t hide
being gadgets and giveaways as many people see these as false, and paying lip
service rather than being genuine.
#5
Recognise low morale… and act!
Recognising when someone is
‘struggling’, or not able to ‘cope’ or may have other, far more pressing
personal issues that work is only one half of the equation. Acting to help them
is the second part.
Dealing with an employee who is
de-motivated is a situation that requires tact and empathy. You need them at
full speed, operating to the best of their ability with a high level of
productivity; you are not going to get this is motivation is lacking. Find out
why and act!
Motivating your workforce is not something
that be done on a whim or paid scant attention to. Look at your work colleagues
now – are they motivated?