5 Ways to Improve Employee Motivation | Aparna Sharma | Senior HR Professional & Certified Corporate Director I Editor’s Collection
I will never forget an interesting example that my head hunter friend shared with me a few years ago. While taking a brief from a potential client, she looked at him in the eye and said something that really took him & later me by surprise. Actually, Rahul, more than anything, it’s crucial that you find me a Scorpio.”
I thought she was joking with him but she was being completely serious.
She then added, “We need a bit more bite around here. It’s hard to motivate a team of obsessive Virgos while I’m such a dynamic Piscean”! This incident has been on my mind since then & I have been reflecting on my own experiences.
While heading HR for different organisations, hiring the right people who gel well with the culture & have the right mindset across levels was the number one goal for the HR team as it is the first step towards building an effective organisation.
Creating an effective team environment is vital for any business to succeed. There’s really no opportunity for personality clashes, and there’s no way that a business will achieve its targets if, for whatever manager, but will encourage your employees to be the best versions of themselves at the workplace.
Reward and recognition whether it be through financial incentives, training and development or potential promotion and career advancement, are all important considerations as you create (and maintain) an effective team environment.
Should you find yourself in a position where you are bringing new people into your business, it is important that you take into consideration the personality and characteristic differences that may already exist within your team, or else you may inadvertently create a situation ripe for conflict. And whilst workplace conflict is both common and inevitable, unnecessary tension inside any business can be incredibly demotivating!
While many of us assume, money is the biggest driver for success, scientific studies show that financial rewards can restrict creative thinking & halt performance. In fact, emotions have a strong hold over an individual’s desire to achieve, you can successfully inspire each of your employees by identifying and understanding their different personality types.
Anyways, take a look at 5 simple ways to motivate employees irrespective of their personality type.
1. Let Them Know You Trust Them
If you let them know you trust and depend on them, they will fill those shoes sooner than you think. A vote of confidence can go a long way. Let them know you trust them to do the best job possible and they will rarely disappoint you
2. Give Your Employees Purpose
Employees need to have a sense of purpose when they come to work everyday. When they understand the vision better, they are automatically driven to execute more strongly. In addition, by understanding their purpose and the purpose of the business, an employee is better able to understand how they fit into the big picture.
3. Radiate Positivity
Make sure you’re always pumping energy through the office. Be really enthusiastic and get your staff to feed off that positive energy. Be the leader who works hard, but plays hard too. Be in the moment and high-energy all the time!
4. Be Transparent
Be very open with employees about what’s happening at the highest level so there are no surprises and everyone has a chance to ask questions and give feedback. Can you have a collaborative approach so that employees are included in big decisions and committed to the direction the company takes. This will help to sustain motivation and increase company loyalty and pride.
5. Learn What Makes Each Employee Tick
Ask what they do and don’t like working on, share the big picture company goals, and respond to their questions. Discern their goals and then invest in their professional growth. During one-on-one check-ins, listen to their ideas, because they’re the best at what they do. Respect their personal schedules and non-work time, and don’t ever pit their goals/timelines against each other.