Getting the most out of your employees is easier said than done. While your bottom line is about figures, facts, graphs and equations, getting to a healthy profit margin does rely heavily on healthy employee motivation. Sometimes businesses seem to forget that people are, in actual fact, nothing like excel spreadsheets. They have personalities, goal, aspirations and are subject to all sorts of other factors that impact their daily lives and how they perform in the workplace.
It is never a simple sum that equates to the reason why a person gets out of bed in the morning.
That being said, there are some common identifiers that can make an employee significantly more satisfied and switched on in the workplace.
So, what are 7 ways to maintain healthy employee motivation?
1. Make sure pay packets are healthy
It’s a no-brainer, but making sure you employees are paid on time (so that they can make their weekly bill payments and other obligations) really is the most important thing when it comes to ensuring your staff are satisfied. But, sometimes there can be hiccups.
That’s why the right payroll software is so important. This ensures peace of mind with an easy setup that allows you to pay your employees quickly, while allowing you to be compliant with things like super and tax as an automatic process. These elements really take the guesswork out of paying your employees and it means that you’ll get it 100 percent right, every time.
2. Create a healthy workspace
Are your employees having too many sick days? This article from The Telegraph just goes to show that their work environment could very well be too blame. Bad lighting, temperamental heating/air conditioning and poor air quality are the biggest culprits for poor health in the workplace. Invest in effective, health-friendly office equipment. Consider a vertical garden, or at the very least some indoor plants (peace lilies make for fantastic air purifiers). How about ways to improve health in general? As a start, a filtered water fountain and a fruit basket or two wouldn’t go astray.
3. Work on a healthy company culture
A company culture is a living, breathing thing. Sadly, it’s too common an occurrence to walk into an office and see lifeless eyes staring at computer screens, with nothing to break up the monotony of the 9 til 5 workday except a few short breaks in a lunchroom that could put Fort Knox to shame.
Don’t be one of these workplaces. Think social. Breathe life into your business through the spirit of collaboration, friendship and an attitude that says ‘we’ve got this’. Develop morale through the strategic use group activities, club memberships, competitions and other social events. You may want to consider team Pilates, if this article from The Morning Herald is anything to go by.
4. Allow for a healthy level of advancement
While money is the reason why people work, it’s often the case that this isn’t the only primary motivator when it comes to your employees, as this article by Forbes Magazine explains. Your staff members want to know that they have an ability to progress and that their efforts are valued. More than this, it’s a fundamental characteristic that, we (as humans) aspire to something more.
We need to able to feed our minds on a consistent basis.
We also need to feel as though we are, in fact, achieving something meaningful in order to keep us going. Invest in your staff by giving them the training and mentorship that they need in order to keep them feeling engaged and stimulated by their work. Ultimately, this is to keep them from walking out the door.
5. Afford a healthy amount of employee input
Remember that each and everyone of your employees is, of course, a unique individual.
Here, Forbes Magazine gets it right once again. As unique facets that comprise the entity that is your business, your people are made up of many different factors, particularly in terms of what gets them most motivated. Build accountability and a level of autonomy in your workforce. Allow staff the scope to make their mark as an individual within your company landscape.
Of course, it works best in the first instance to employ those who have a vision and values that are closely aligned with the mission statement of your company. With that said, remember that nothing creative and progressive is built by a spirit of complacency and conformity. Don’t squash big ideas, allow them to thrive and transform within the melting pot that is a flourishing team environment.
6. A flexible work environment is a healthy one
Don’t underestimate the importance of a work/life balance in motivating your staff.
As this article by The Guardian states, it comes down to the the support people may need in terms of their obligations and responsibilities. An increased ability to looking after children, more time to spend with family, and the scope to be able to study, are just some of the things that flexi-time arrangements can allow people to achieve.
This is with considerably less stress than they would otherwise experience in a rigid work environment.
If your employees are less worried about fitting all the competing demands of their daily lives into a predetermined structure, this means more quality time and energy can spent on the necessary tasks of the workplace. This means increased productivity overall.
7. Give a healthy amount of praise and appreciation
Have you ever stopped to think about whether your employees do, in fact, feel valued?
Showing your appreciation can give a much-needed boost to morale and could just turn things around for you in the long-game. There are so many ways to say ‘cheers for the good work’, as expanded upon in this article from Business News Daily. The best way to show appreciation is to be genuine and to give your people something they will actually enjoy.
So many workplaces slap a cake from a grocery store on the lunch room table.
Do better than this. Find out what Steve from accounting actually enjoys. Maybe it’s a restaurant voucher, an entertainment coupon or even a round or two of laser tag? In this way, a ‘thank-you’ goes a hell of a long way.
Are your employees a healthy, motivated bunch?
Feeling like employee motivation isn’t quite as healthy as it could be?
That’s a good indicator that you are at least aware of the direction you should take. Never rest of your laurels when it comes to the health of your people. This has a direct link to the health of your business.
Pay attention to the above pointers as they could make all the difference for the heartbeat of your company, keeping it from flatlining in the future. This comes down to the motivation levels of your staff. Your people are the vital centre point to a healthy and profitable business.
