“You don’t build a business, people build the business, and then people build the business.” – Zig Ziglar
HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES?
YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE NOT AS MOTIVATED AS YOU ARE…
You believe in your company wholeheartedly. An internal fire burns within you. You go to bed and wake up with thoughts about what you want to create, how you will do it, and why you want to achieve it. The idea of something better, a more innovative approach, motivates you to seek information, and you are completely dedicated to your business. Every day, you take care of your own motivation, demanding a lot from yourself because, at the end of the day, you want to be proud of your work, satisfied, and fulfilled. Therefore, you work significantly more than others. The phrase that constantly runs through your mind is that you must be a good example to your employees, and they will follow you. However, there are times when this doesn’t happen, and you start wondering why your employees are not as motivated in their work as you are. Out of non-understanding, occasional anger, disappointment, and even some internal frustration may erupt from you, as you expected much more from your employees at that moment, and those expectations were not met.
Employee motivation is crucial for increasing productivity in your company. You can be highly motivated, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your employees will be too. Therefore, you need to start thinking outside the box, find solutions to boost your employees’ motivation, and discover creative ways for them to enjoy coming to work, progress personally and professionally, and spontaneously contribute ideas on how to achieve significantly higher results compared to previous years of business.
So, the main question is how to prepare employees to increase motivation in the workplace, understand why employees work at all, and find a way for them to view their work as something fulfilling, both internally and externally?
WHAT IS EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION?
Employee motivation is one of the key factors for the successful operation of a company. Keep in mind that you cannot build a business alone, considering the constant growth and development of your company; you build it together with people, your employees, and then build the business together with them. That’s why employee motivation is so important. One consequence when commitment and employee satisfaction begin to decline is an increase in staff turnover, which weakens the growth of your company.
How motivated your employees are at work depends on external and internal factors or, simply put, on the individual’s needs (external/internal). For example, someone may not care much about having a kitchen in the company, but for someone else, it means the “world” to be able to make coffee when they arrive at the office in the morning. How motivated your employees are at work can be measured by how many work tasks/projects they successfully complete. Your responsibility as a leader is to pay attention to your employees, find out what motivates them at work, and ignite additional enthusiasm for their work.
At that point, they will feel less of an obligation, “I have to,” and instead, they will willingly contribute their energy to achieving the company’s set goals…
WHY IS MOTIVATION SO IMPORTANT?
Summarizing why employee motivation is so crucial, we can say that it is essential for achieving business goals because more motivated employees are more productive, reliable, responsible for their work and other team members. All of this leads to better quarterly, semi-annual, and annual results.
The more motivated employees are, the less they will want to leave their jobs, the more committed they will be to their work, the more information they will find on their own, and they will happily talk to others about the company where they work, taking it as “theirs.” Their efficiency will increase significantly.
DO EMPLOYEES WORK FOR PAY?
Employees do not perform their work solely because they receive a salary on a specific day of the month in exchange for their work. With the received salary, employees can afford life/survival, but that is not a strong enough reason for them to stay at a certain job if they are dissatisfied and unmotivated in the long run. Thinking about work has changed significantly from the past to today. In the past, the mentality of “I work to earn something” prevailed. Today, the prevailing mentality is more like “I want to invest my time wisely and thoughtfully, somewhere where I will be appreciated, and my potentials will be seen.” Work should be a way of expression, a way of life through which a person can fully express themselves and contribute to the successful operation of the company with their actions. Employees are no longer satisfied with just having regular monthly income in the form of a salary. They pay attention to the environment they are entering, the relationships in the team, whether there are relaxed gatherings, what the rewards are in case of success, and we must not forget about the system of advancement or personal and career growth.
AS A LEADER, ENSURE THAT EMPLOYEES FIND INTERNAL MOTIVATION
Your employees are motivated by a combination of external and internal factors such as emotional, intellectual, social… If, as a leader, you provide your employees with only a variety of external motivators (motivators that come from the outside, such as money, praise, fame, salary, diploma, certificate, award for “best employee”…), over time, you will need to constantly increase these external motivators.
It is crucial to create a sense of business purpose within the company. Establish common values that you live or want to live and direct your energy towards them. Redirect your focus from meeting the needs of all employees to fulfilling something that exceeds the limitations of individual desires. Think about what you stand for and the purpose of your company.
HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES??
General guidelines for employee motivation include:
1. SALARIES AND REWARDS: Regular monthly salaries and the possibility of various financial rewards affect employee motivation. However, this form of motivating employees is slowly leaving the first place. As leaders, focus on more creative solutions for motivating employees. As mentioned earlier, external motivators (including salaries, financial rewards) need to be constantly increased.
2. WORKING CONDITIONS: Neatly furnished workspaces and equipment significantly affect employee motivation because their well-being is much better in an organized environment. Positive thinking is also promoted by walls covered with various positive thoughts, as well as creative masterpieces such as graphics, various images, and funny team photos. Nowadays, employees increasingly want a "homey atmosphere" in their workspaces, so you may find a couch, a swing, a kitchen with a bar, tables, bar stools, meditative rooms, and rooms for exercise.
3. OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND ADVANCEMENT: Employees are more motivated when they know where their career path in the company can lead them. Because they see the possibility of progress and growth, they feel greater motivation than if this opportunity did not exist at all.
4. GOOD RELATIONSHIPS: Good relationships in the team significantly affect employee satisfaction. Consider that if there are bad relationships in the workplace, they also begin to deteriorate at home. Prolonged dissatisfaction at work first manifests itself in the form of “complaining,” increasingly frequent conflicts, various accusations, and this dissatisfaction is transferred to the employees’ private lives.
5. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE CARE OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SUMMER: Gain the title of a “family-friendly company.”
6. RELAXED ATMOSPHERE: Better relationships in the team are achieved through team building, picnics, organized trips (skiing, sailing, rafting), joint meals, sports days/various competitions, calm morning stretching (meditation, yoga, pilates), massages at the workplace.
7. HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE: Daily fresh fruits and vegetables (healthy breakfasts on a certain day of the week, meat-free day); the possibility of a flexible schedule, “power nap,” meditative rooms for calming down, time for short walks, trampoline, organized weekly exercises, discounted tickets for Fitness, joint lunches made from local/organic ingredients.
8. EDUCATION: Depending on the field in the company (sales/marketing) or more general (working with people, communication, personal branding, social networks).
Companies must constantly encourage employee motivation and find new ways to improve conditions to ensure high efficiency and employee satisfaction. One of the more common practices, which is increasingly talked about, is sincere conversation with employees and incorporating their desires into the company culture. By talking to employees, companies find out what truly motivates them and get to know them better. Their feeling is also better because they feel like individuals who have the opportunity to be involved or express their opinions at work.
With more communication between employees and superiors, there is consequently a better atmosphere among them because through conversation and genuine contact, both sides feel a sense of connection, getting to know each other. A collegial atmosphere begins to prevail over a strictly formal one.
What additional benefits can there be for employees?
- Snack in the company
- Work from home/hybrid work
- Education
- Team building programs
- Massages at the workplace
- Kindergarten for employees,
- incentive travels,
- Missing_How to observe an employee’s efforts:
- Set measurable goals and achievements
- Annual/monthly meetings
- Monitoring work processes
SOCIAL EVENTS AND TEAM BUILDINGS
One of the more common and most effective forms of motivating employees is team buildings.
Why is this one of the best methods of motivating employees? The reason lies in the fact that activities are intended only for employees, and by organizing a team building, you show your employees that you care about them and want them to feel good.
To make the experience of employees at a team building memorable, take good care of it. With certain activities, you can build satisfaction, stronger mutual connections, happiness, trust, better teamwork, and improved communication. Consequently, with positive employees and their satisfaction, there is a better atmosphere in the company, and employees are more successful.
If we consider the principle of inclusion, the most important thing is to think about what everyone will truly enjoy. This is a challenging decision because the purpose of team building is to ensure that everyone is truly satisfied with the activities. The fact is that spending time with colleagues will be different, even if the activities do not end during working hours. This time must be worth it, as it would generally be spent with family, a partner, or somewhere alone.
From the very beginning of organizing a team-building program, think about what your employees like, what they like to eat and drink, and what they have repeatedly highlighted as really enjoyable and talked about for quite some time. If you listen to your employees, finding this information will not be so difficult for you. HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES?
The greatest benefits of team building are:
- Improves interpersonal communication.
- The company, the environment in which employees spend more than 8 hours a day, begins to be perceived as a community where they genuinely live the values you communicate outwardly.
- Creativity, motivation, and focus on solutions (and not problems) automatically increase.
- Clarity about why they do something increases.
- Trust in their team strengthens.
- They get to know each other better because they are outside of offices or working remotely.
- They have greater motivation for work, which significantly reduces sick leave, and there is less “complaining.”
- It becomes clear who has what skills.
- Empowerment is strengthened through assistance and collaboration Better relationships and trust.
Team building activities should take place in a neutral environment, outside of workspaces. Since the main meaning of team building is that employees are outside the office, they will automatically relax more and will not feel like they have come to do their job. This is a time dedicated solely to socializing, having fun, and strengthening interpersonal bonds.
More and more companies are realizing how important team-building activities are, and they have started to include them in their annual plans and strategies. Involvement among employees will be even stronger if you plan only part of the team-building activities together with them, prepare 2-3 proposals, and give them the opportunity to vote. The best choice then wins.
Let work stay in the office, and take the time to spend a different kind of time with the team, so you can spend a wonderful day together and get to know each other better.
CEO
ETC Adriatic
Matjaž Jug
matjaz.jug@etc-adriatic.com