Employee motivation is a result of multiple factors some individually based others environmentally based. Employers can mitigate most factors that cause poor employee motivation through proper planning and approaches. Here are some actions employers can take to help improve overall employee motivation.
Improve Work Culture and Environment
In a previous article “How to Build a Better Organizational Culture”, we discussed how companies can improve their organizational cultures. Improving employee motivation starts with improving work culture. Companies can do this by developing staff and communication methods. Companies need to develop their staff in such a way that both their skills and communication will benefit the overall productivity of the company. This requires having a reporting system and method of communication that is shared across all levels of an organization. Any system and method used needs to include a positive feedback system. The goal of developing staff and adopting special reporting and communication systems needs to be a priority, that is etched in a company’s guiding principles.
It is extremely important to understand your company’s core purpose. What is your companies’ “reason” for existing, what are the core values? For example, Microsoft, they have the following values: innovation, diversity and inclusion, corporate social responsibility, philanthropies, environment, and trustworthy computing. At Microsoft, these serve as their guiding principles and they create goals and systems around these values. The first step at any company is to identify their core values and articulate them. After identifying and articulate them, companies must “Live” them, every action a company takes should be funneled through their core values and they should be easily seen and demonstrated at every stage and place in the company.
In addition, to improving work culture the environment also plays an important factor. For example, are employees allowed to have personal items at their desks, in the office an appealing place to work. Understanding the effect a workspace has on employee’s moods will help improve motivation, however, this is a minor point of consideration. Even a fantastic looking and feeling workspace, will not make up for poor work culture.
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Develop recognition Programs and offer Perks
In another previous article “Benefits, Perks, and Employee Satisfaction” we discussed the differences between benefits and perks and their effect on employee satisfaction. The conclusion for the article was having great benefits and perks are only the building blocks to help ensure employee satisfaction. There are several factors that affect overall satisfaction. The number one factor for employee satisfaction is an appreciation of an employee’s work. To foster employee satisfaction, companies need to be committed to improving communication styles and showing appreciation for the efforts of their employees.
Offering perks, help supplement benefits and help increase general employee satisfaction, by taking care of the physical and psychological needs of employees. However, perks alone will not automatically create employee satisfaction or motivation, rather perks and benefits are the foundation to build employee satisfaction. It is the scaffolding to build and demonstrate that employers care for the health and lives of their employees, combining this with great organizational cultures and communication will lead to an increase in employee satisfaction and motivation.
Recognition programs can also help with motivation and retention, by helping identify employees that might be suited for a lateral move as well as a promotion. Rewards and recognition do not have to be tied to performance, but they can be tied to everyday work or interactions with other employees and departments. Recognizing positive interactions such as when employees offer extra help outside of their own position or work role, helps promote a positive work culture and demonstrates a company is invested in more than just an employee’s “work”, but their whole authentic self. Offering thanks or “like” when they have interactions outside normal work functions, show appreciation, and helps develop trust and communication among managers and employees. These types of interactions also can help identify whether employees are suited or interested in making lateral moves when the promotion is not an option.
Build Trust
Companies that build trust with their employees can help mitigate some causes of low motivation. In “Building Trust Within Organizations” we discussed how companies can build trust. In that article, we discussed that a change in management style from being managers to becoming coaches will help develop relationships and promote trust. And that, making this step will improve team cohesion and help develop employees at all levels. Primarily due to coaches being facilitators, and that they are a good resource for employees. Coaches regularly interact and show recognition of their teams. Coaches need to be able to actively listen to their teams’ feedback and provide advice for both their team members’ training and development. Coaches have open and honest communication with team members, that promotes trust, motivation, and productivity.
Coaches and team captains rely on having well-trained team members, each with their unique abilities and personal goals. Captain’s and coaches provide a crucial role; they help maintain team morale and motivate members. Much like sport team captains, captains and coaches lead by example and work together with their teams to achieve collective goals. Team captains, help maintain excellence in their teams by providing feedback and guided training. Team members develop skill through interaction with other team members, to the point these skills almost become a reflex. Great coaches and captains develop teams to know how to respond to unexpected situations, based on their training. The captain’s main role is to ensure their teams can think on their own and are able to react autonomously when necessary.
How beepNow helps with Improving Employee Motivation
beepNow can help with providing tools to help manage and develop teams. beepHR offers real-time communication between teams, instant feedback, task tracking, and other performance management tools built on blockchain technology and a sophisticated AI. beepnow is committed to helping companies digitally transform, by improving data collection, communication, employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and more. beepnow software comes with built-in communication tools and a system to implement OKRs. With beepHR you also have a powerful AI-driven cloud-based performance management software in addition to being an HR core software, that improves data collection. Please contact us for more information.
