Most businesses today are structured around teams. They can be an incredibly powerful way to deliver business goals and create positive community and values in an organisation. However, motivation can be a big issue within team structures. When it begins to drop away this can have a broad effect on the entire business. So, how do you motivate your team and make sure that the momentum remains?
Provide a quality working environment
It’s not difficult to see how physical discomfort (e.g. poor office furniture) or a challenging environment (poor light, overheating etc) could have an impact on motivation. So, one of the simplest ways to help keep motivation levels up is to ensure that your office is a pleasant place to be and one that is conducive to work.
Provide opportunities for advancement
It’s easy to underestimate the value of training and skills development to employees. If everyone in the team is given opportunities to improve skills, understanding, knowledge and abilities they are much more likely to remain engaged and motivated. From job specific training, to courses that relate to the wider industry, giving employees the opportunity to grow on an ongoing basis is incredibly motivating.
Be wary of micromanaging
Employees thrive when they feel a manager has trust and confidence in them and most dislike the constant pressure of having someone always looking over their shoulder. In fact, 38% would rather take on an unpleasant job than sit next to a micromanaging boss. So, if you want to keep your team motivated it’s important to learn to let them work autonomously.
Goal setting is crucial
Employees need to have clear goals for their own role and to be aware of the objectives for the wider organisation. With an understanding of how they fit into the context of the broader business, they will be motivated to do more to positively affect its future. On the other hand, employees without goals have nothing to work towards. And those that don’t understand the goals that have been set will most likely do the minimum required to achieve them.
Failure is natural
Punishing failure can quickly demotivate a team and leave very little room for the kind of experimentation that often leads to exciting innovation. Creating an atmosphere in which failure is seen as natural – even encouraged as part of the process – will motivate employees to take risks and explore new ideas.
Teams must learn to collaborate
Without collaboration, teams fail. Employees are always more motivated when they feel that their contribution is valued and that they are encouraged to speak up and make it.
Focus on engagement and happiness
There are many different factors that go into creating engaged and happy employees but the outcome is always the same: they are more motivated and productive. From pay and benefits, through to business culture, the freedom employees have and making them feel like they matter, it’s possible to create a business environment in which happiness and engagement thrive.
Our
Motivation Skills course will help you to understand what makes people tick and how great managers motivate.