How to boost employee motivation
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Finding it difficult to maintain motivation in the workplace with the backdrop of the credit crunch? Must read tips on motivation, self motivation and motivation techniques.
It is not so hard to maintain employee motivation when your company is growing, your customers are loyal and your employees are being regularly promoted. Self motivation plummets when job insecurity becomes the norm and there is a general attitude of, "you've got nothing to complain about, you're lucky to have a job." Which motivation techniques will work during these uncertain times?
7 Motivation techniques for challenging times
1. Acknowledge employees' emotions
Above all staff need to feel supported, listened to and that their emotions are acknowledged. During change we experience emotions of shock, denial, anger and depression before we reach a level of acceptance. It is important to remember that individuals will experience these emotions at different times and to different degrees.
2. Discourage "binge moaning"
I coined the term "binge moaning" for unproductive and never-ending complaining about a work situation. Like any kind of bingeing, for example food or alcohol, you get momentary gratification and then very quickly feel worse than before you started. It is important for employees to get feelings and issues off their chests and this can be facilitated and in this environment ideas can be shared to take responsibility and move forward.
3. Continue to recognise successes
When there are no new business deals or promotions to celebrate we can forget one of the most powerful and sought-after motivational techniques - recognition. During challenging times it is important to recognise employees' successes, even if it is just "doing business as normal".
4. Strong leadership
When the future seems uncertain employees look to their leaders for reassurance and direction. This means that managers must remain upbeat without being insensitive and communicate their own motivation.
One of the most motivational styles of leadership is being facilitative; this means cutting back on telling and increasing time spent listening. It also means taking suggestions on how employee motivation can be boosted.
5. Reinforce organisational or team vision
During hard times we can lose sight of the reason why we are working and building a business - the company or team vision. When sports teams are bottom of their leagues they don't forget about their ultimate goal to win, they use it to raise motivation.
6. Communicate and communicate well
Employees are less likely to waste time gossiping amongst themselves if they are being regularly communicated to from above. During one redundancy process I went through our manager held weekly communications meeting and even when there was nothing new to report, he would say this during the meeting. This created trust and loyalty with management which meant we were more willing to do what we were asked to do.
During times of change be sure to increase the amount of time spent communicating face-to-face, this shows that you have time for and value employees. Feeling valued is a key motivator. Avoid communicating bad news by email.
7. Self-motivation
The dream employee is someone who can motivate themselves. Not everyone is naturally inclined to self-motivation but it can be encouraged and taught. During times of change, you can take employees through a process to take responsibility for their own future. Stephen Covey's Circles of Influence taken from his seminal book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a powerful tool which can be used in a group or individually. There are three circles of influence:
This is the circle which we have least influence over and can include factors such as the weather and global economic shifts.
We can't directly change what happens in this circle but we can have some influence over it, for example, we may not be able to prevent job losses in our companies but we could strengthen the business case for our individual role or department.
If we increase energy spent focusing on this circle, we will decrease time spent in the other two circles. Spending more time in this circle brings us more control and leads to higher motivation. In periods of uncertainty one major change we can make is to our attitude, having a more positive attitude will boost ourselves and others.
So to boost employee motivation during these changing times, we need to listen and communicate more, encourage employees to take responsibility and show recognition for employees' commitment for turning up to work every day.