It’s often said that no one can motivate people unless they motivate themselves. Though, self-motivation is important, but it cannot be possible if the external factors are out of control. External motivation depends on team manager and top management of the company. Building an atmosphere that boosts people and energies motivation is essential for an effective teamwork and commitment.
So, how will you inspire your team and make a vitalizing work environment? Here are few ways for you.
1. Make sure everybody’s work is meaningful
This is not just about areas of duty — it’s also about company’s vision, mission and goals. It’s important that everyone on the team knows the tactical goals and their personal role in the movement towards them. Clear workflow is what is helpful here: it gives an idea of the big picture and how individuals fit into it. Besides, meaningful work is the best type of job security the employer can give to an employee: is the job is important, it is unlikely to be cut.
2. Pay your people what they are worth
When you set your employees’ salaries, be sure that their pay is consistent with what other companies in your industry and geographic area are paying. Remember: 26 percent of engaged employees say that they would leave their current job for just a 5 percent increase in pay.
Don’t lose great people because you’re underpaying them.
3. Maintain a healthy and nice work environment
Work environment and company’s culture is one of the most important motivating (or demotivating) factors. Nobody likes envy, gossip, and conflicts, but sometimes it’s not really easy to prevent them. In this stage, a team leaders duty is to learn to recognise and eliminate work environment issues, find ways to solve conflicts if they happen, and build trust within their team. What’s also important here is avoiding micromanagement, as it undermines trust and impairs employees’ ability to make their own decisions. No one likes a boss who is constantly looking over her shoulder and second-guessing her every decision. In fact, 38 percent of employees in one survey reported that they would rather take on unpleasant activities than sit next to a micromanaging boss. Provide your people with clear goals, and then let them figure out the best way to achieve them. Remember, creating a nice work environment don’t a big amount of money to spend, it’s all depends on your mentality.
4. Provide growth opportunities & Self Development
Professional growth and development of new skills is a solid motivational factor. Make sure that all your employees see an outlook within company and team — and can make use of it. Know what team members expect: qualification improvement, career progression, or new skills — and give them growth opportunities when possible. Team members will be more valuable to organization, and to themselves, when they have opportunities to learn new skills. Provide them training, what they need badly to advance in their careers and to become knowledgeable about the latest technologies and industry news.
5. Listen to your team
Every team member has their own reasons to choose the work they’re doing (besides money, of course): flexible schedule, bonuses, opportunity to travel (or not to travel), etc. Among possible reasons, learning and professional growth are also worth mentioning. Knowing what the employees expect and giving them opportunities is crucial for their motivation to work.
6. Recognise and appreciate
Make sure that good work of team members is noticed and appreciated. Motivate individuals rather than teams in general by recognising their achievements and accomplishments. This will inspire the employees to do more and eventually increase standards within the team. A survey result shows that; 39 percent of employees don’t feel that their input is appreciated. Encourage the members of your team to fully participate by inviting their input and suggestions on how to do things better. Ask questions, listen to their answers, and, whenever possible, implement their solutions.
7. Encourage happiness
Happy employees are enthusiastic and positive members of the team, and their attitude is infectious. Keep an eye on whether or not your people are happy with their work, their employer, and you. If they’re not, you can count on this unhappiness to spread.
8. Communicate with team and avoid useless meetings
There’s no need to mention how lack of communication impairs work process. So communicate with your colleagues, make sure they stay informed about everything related to their work, and provide them with feedback about their work results. Organise efficient communication flows, and adopt special tools that meet your team’s needs. But don’t sit for useless meetings throughout the week. Meetings can be an incredible waste of time — the average professional wastes 3.8 hours in unproductive meetings each and every week. Create an agenda for your meetings and distribute it in advance. Invite only the people who really need to attend, start the meeting on time, and then end it as quickly as you possibly can.
9. Rewarding
Incentives are key point for employees’ engagement. Develop a reward system that will help you detect and incentivise high-performers and proactive employees.
10. Implement flexibility
Flexibility is not only about flexible schedules; however, they are a great way to get maximum value of a team’s working hours. It’s about having less strict rules to follow, treating employees like adults, and not focusing on unimportant small details. Concentrate on what is really important, and protect your team from unnecessary and inefficient bureaucracy.
11. Set clear goals
In one study it is found that, 63 percent of employees reported that they wasted time at work because they weren’t aware of what work was a priority, and what wasn’t. A leader’s responsibility is to work with the members of the team to set clear goals. And once you do that, make sure everyone knows exactly what those goals are, what their relative priority is, and what the team’s role is in reaching them.
There are more ways to create an energizing work environment where it’s easier for employees to stay motivated and engaged. But remember, do only those things which really work on your team and suitable. Otherwise, the whole process will be faded. That’s why implementing motivational procedures and approaches is essential for teams’ productivity and performance development.
Originally published at medium.com