Your employees are your best resource. They’re the ones that carry the company and your success on their backs. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure that they work in a good, nurturing environment that encourages growth. You also need to ensure that your employees are motivated to work well. Maintaining the right motivation isn’t as easy as it sounds. However, if you employ the right strategies, you’ll be able to keep your employees motivated. Here’s what you can do:
Be an Involved Leader
In the past, company leaders liked to maintain a certain distance between them and their employees. They wanted to preserve the distinction of hierarchy and rank within their organization. That no longer works well. Today, the culture and expectations have changed. In most cases, employee and employer are on an equal footing and recognize that they’re interdependent on each other.
When you recognize this fact, you’ll be able let go of notions of hierarchy and only enforce authority when it’s required. How would this help motivate the employees? you might ask. The answer is simple. You’ll connect better with your employees if you communicate well and are approachable. This would allow you to motivate your employees easily.
Responsibility and Ownership
Think back on the time before you started your business or were working for someone else. Did you ever perform with the same dedication then as you do now, while working for your own company. The sense of ownership and responsibility towards the job often changes the way you perform on it.
If you give your employees complete ownership of a particular task, allow them to work on it from start to finish, they’re more attached to the results and will work better to gain better results. You don’t need to give employees real ownership of the business, but rather show them that the company’s success is the collective responsibility of all the employees. This would help you get the best results.
Growth and Development
One way to ensure that employees are always motivated is to offer them the opportunity to grow and develop. Give your employees frequent challenges that would stimulate the mind. You might also want to give your employees the chance to pick and choose projects that interest them every once in a while. That would keep them engaged with work and ensure that they’re challenged.
You should also provide regular training, mentorship, and career planning seminars to your employees. This would, again, keep their minds stimulated and engaged. They’ll also notice that you’re investing in their growth and career. That would encourage them to perform better.
Team Building
If your company culture promotes better interaction between teammates, it would lead to better productivity. Positive relationships between employee and employee, and between employers and employee is an excellent motivating factor. The team members can encourage each other and that would help motivate employees to work harder.
Keeping your employees motivated is a constant process. You need to continuously provide an environment where employees thrive and are intellectually stimulated.
