Making stellar hires is just half the job – you also need to make sure that they have reason to stick around with your organization. While good salaries and fringe benefits are, of course, important, a recent study revealed that they are often not the leading motivators. Instead, motivation by peers (13%), feeling recognized (20%), and encouraging bosses (15%) are higher up the list of employee motivators.
In this blog, Paul Haarman discusses some of the most effective ways to keep your staff motivated.
Ways to Motivate Employees:
Making the Workplace Pleasanter:
Employees spend a third of their day in the workplace, and the last thing that they want is to endure – rather than enjoy – their time there. Hence, it is vital that your workplace is aesthetically-pleasing, functional, fun, and well-lit. The very first step is to make sure that everything is organized, and that you are using up-to-date methods, processes, and equipment.
Another essential aspect of a pleasant workplace is cleanliness. Sprucing up the workplace need not cost you a fortune – a few interesting pieces of furniture from the charity store or lining up the walls with local artists, can go a long way in making the workplace more enjoyable for employees.
Providing Clear and Transparent Communication:
Clear communication is pivotal for positive outcomes. When employees know and understand what is expected of them, they are likelier to feel motivated to work towards and achieve those targets.
Paul Haarman believes that a company intranet is one of the best ways to optimize communication. The intranet can be used to share everything that an employee might require to do their jobs effectively, including:
- Technical data
- Project briefs and schedules
- Employee handbooks
- Marketing materials
- Internal news
- Product information
Expressing Gratitude:
We often tend to underestimate the power of a simple ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’. However, these expressions can go a long way in making someone feel acknowledged and valued.
Alongside verbal gestures, you can also use extrinsic rewards (such as free travel, vouchers, or extra vacation days) to show your appreciation to your employees.
This is another area where Paul Haarman thinks the intranet can prove to be handy – you can set up a rewards page, where employees can track their accumulated points and the potential rewards that a particular range of points is associated with.
Offering Flexible Schedules:
Technology has revolutionized business and work, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. More employees than ever before are enjoying flexible work schedules, and it is important that your company does not fall behind the curve in this regard.
Whether it is through flexi-time or work-from-home, having multiple scheduling options is crucial to becoming and staying a competitive employer in 2022 and beyond.
Final Word:
To sum up, employees who are motivated are 87% less likely to quit and are 20% more productive on average. We hope that the above tips by Paul Haarman will help you attract and retain the top talent, and make sure that they are giving their motivated best for your business.