Why is Employee Motivation Vital for a Thriving Company?

We’ve previously touched on the importance of managing a team through effective leadership. This ties in well to maintaining employee motivation and satisfaction.

But where do you start?

The hard and fast truth is that your employees will face a dip in enthusiasm every now and again. Everyone has good and bad days, it’s part of a normal working environment. Managers should be looking at the long term and ways to combat dwindling motivation.

Be particularly aware of the impact that one individual’s lack of motivation could have on the rest of the team. It’s important to ensure that team morale is at a high more often than not.

Why does Motivation Dip?

Understanding why motivation might take a plunge will help you to put measures in place to prevent this in future. If you don’t know the root cause, then you’re unlikely to be able to do anything to stop it.

Do you take time to check in with your employees? Do they have a facility to provide anonymous feedback to you?

Once you’ve established what your employees may feel is lacking or that they need more support with, you can begin to address these accordingly.

In the meantime, here are some ideas on how to give your business a boost…

Values and Company Culture

Extensive research into the impact of company culture on shaping motivation amongst employees, reveals that a strong workplace culture is vital for success. A survey involving 20,000 employees, across 50 companies, concluded that ‘why we work determines how well we work’ in other words, if your employees can really immerse themselves in your company culture, they’re going to be more engaged, happier and deliver a better service.

Perks and Fun

All work and no play isn’t an ideal environment for a team to be in on the daily. Whilst the workplace should primarily be a serious and focused environment, without a dose of fun you might actually be damaging productivity. Studies have shown that introducing ‘causal Friday’ or team social events help to create an engaging culture where people look forward to going to work. Offering rewards or incentives can be another way to introduce an injection of levity into the working day, whilst keeping employees focused on the task at hand.

Flexibility

Whilst flexible working is on the rise, we know it’s not always viable for a company to offer its employees a duvet day. However, where possible, if you can allow employees the option to work from home then you may see a boost in job satisfaction, morale and motivation. So be mindful that improving your employees’ work/life balance could have have its benefits for the company too!

Development Opportunities

If you value your employees, you’ll want them to grow and develop as your company grows. They’re an asset to you and offering opportunities to learn new skills or progress their career will encourage them to feel loyal and engaged in their work. It also shows that your company is investing in them and that they are valued team members.

Communication

As mentioned above, an open dialogue will allow employees to feel comfortable voicing when they need support or training, aiding productivity. Effective communication helps to strengthen relationships across your team. Discussing the future of the company with your team also shows that you value employees’ opinions and want their involvement in the development and future of the company.

 

How does your company currently maintain employee motivation? Could you benefit from introducing any of the above suggestions? If you have any other methods, we’d love to hear how you keep your team engaged and thriving!