Keeping your employees motivated is the key to delivering great service that keeps customers coming back to your business, regardless of which industry you operate in. If your employees are blah, that will translate to how they answer phone calls and talk to customers. Have your employees be hungry and excited each and every day. But how do you keep employees motivated and interested so that they willingly give their best to your business? And how do you know which will work best for your business?
Here are 6 ways you can keep your team motivated to perform their best for you and your business. Don’t feel stuck using these ideas, use them as building blocks to create an innovative way to motivate your team.
Reward Great Work
What do you do when an employee of yours does well? Do you send them an email thanking them? Perhaps you make a speech and acknowledge them in the office. Or maybe you offer performance incentives.
Roughly 86% of businesses have a formal rewards program in place designed to motivate staff to do their best, and that’s not really a big surprise. Just think back to when you were a kid. Your parents probably used a similar technique to push you – remember the promise of cash for every A you got? The thinking here is the same. Whether you opt for seriously cool rewards like a weekend trip away, or something simple like a VIP parking spot, do something that will keep your team motivated and working hard.
Create a Welcoming Environment
I have to say this one is super important. I go and visit clients looking for help building a motivated team and this is the first thing I notice. A dull office is very unlikely to inspire your staff to give their very best. Create a warm and welcoming environment where people want to work. To create this type of atmosphere it is dual – you need a physical space that is appealing and favorable to work, and you need a working relationship with your team that promotes voluntary excellence. Make sure you do what you can to create a cool space and collaborative work environment and your team will want to work harder for you. Keep in mind that you do not need to be a “google” and install and arcade or video game area. you just need to throw a bright colored paint on the wall, some up to date art work, possibly more modern furniture. It can be done cheap. Go to some of your staff for ideas, after all their “ideas” being shown off every day is a good motivator right there.
Surprise Your Staff
Your staff is a lot like your spouse or significant other, surprise them and keep them on their toes and boost their spirit. From flex time to working remote, there are a number of ways you can give your staff the freedom they need to deliver their best, but there is still the trap of routine that can dull even the most enthusiastic employees spirit. Don’t let your team get stuck in a rut, break the cycle as often as you possibly can. Give them a day off, bring in breakfast, do a lunch, give them a small personalized gift. Just whatever you do get them excited to be part of your team each and every day. You will be shocked at how quickly you’ll feel morale rising.
Invest in Training
I have read hundreds upon hundreds of employee applications in my career. One of the key things stated is that they are looking for advancement and growth. Growth is central to employee motivation. After all, who wants to work a dead-end job with no prospect of advancement? Exactly, nobody and that is why training your team is so important. Motivation is different to everyone but the urge to advance is almost universal. Create a culture of training and do everything you can to follow through. All to often companies put training structures in place but don’t invest in their staff. Set it up and GO FOR IT.
Speak to Your Team
Conversations with your team is critical to maintaining their performance levels and keeping everybody motivated. if you have open conversations with your team you will discover that different personalities define motivation differently, and you need a personal plan to keep everyone happy.
While you’ll probably never have the resources to invest in each employee’s request, constant conversations will help you define what every employee needs and formalize a process that makes sure everyone is as happy as possible.
Lead by Example
From gift cards to motivational posters, one of the most effective ways to keep your team doing what they love is to lead by example. Often as business owners, we become detached from the daily tasks and people who keep the business running. Great leaders get stuck in and collaborate rather than delegating tasks – they get stuck in and do their part to make sure the company succeeds and fails together.
As a business owner it is your responsibility to drive morale and motivate staff by showing them what is expected of them. Watching you in action should be the boost that your team needs to give their best daily.
Closing Thoughts
Motivation is highly personal and universal. Find what works for your team and make sure that you do what you can to keep staff excited about what they do and you’ll see the benefits – happier staff push themselves to excel, meaning a better bottom line, boosted productivity, and a happier workplace for everyone.
How MCDA Can Help
We have built and consulted with some of the greatest teams in a number of industries. If you need some ideas on how to motivate your team, have us come in for our simple 3 step process to help you develop the perfect plan.
Step 1 – We will come in and meet with you 1 on 1 to better understand your business needs and to assess where you feel your team stands.
Step 2 – We will meet with your key staff members and a random sample of employees for a quick and simple 1 on 1 to better understand where they feel the office lacks in motivation.
Step 3 – We compile the data we gathered from you and your team and create a simple plan for you to motivate your team and boost productivity and your bottom line. We meet to discuss roll out and create a plan that you can live with. We will set up some goals and some measurements to make sure that we are getting the most from the plan.
Call or email us today to setup your first meeting!