In India, in the past year alone, Rs 45,000 crore was lost to employee turnover, as per a report by Deloitte. Companies need to step up their game on how to motivate employees to retain top talent. But in an environment that involves constant stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction, is not an easy feat.
Motivating employees in the workplace is crucial to unlocking their full potential and inspiring them to perform at their best. Company success is highly dependent on keeping employees motivated and engaged, according to more than 80% of employees.
So, how to motivate employees in an organization without it feeling fake or forced? Here are 5 unique ways to self-motivate your employees so they come to work every day feeling driven and inspired.
Importance Of Motivating Employees In The Workplace
Picture an employee with low motivation at work. They while away a lot of time on their phones, evade tasks, and work at a slower pace. More prominently, their focus is scattered, and they lack enthusiasm.
Remote working or not, the lack of motivation not only wastes resources but also affects other employees. This holds the company back from producing work to the highest standard or meeting important targets.
On the other hand, an employee with higher levels of motivation exudes enthusiasm, drive, and pride. They complete tasks swiftly, take initiative, and strive to do an excellent job for both themselves and the company.
Regardless of whether your company is at its peak or on the rise, employee motivation is critical. Once it dwindles, revenue and output will follow.
How To Motivate Employees In The Workplace?
If you’re here, you’re looking to increase employee motivation and inspire them. These five simple approaches will answer ‘how to improve employee morale and motivation’ and yield significant results. It works for both in-office and remote employees.
1. Take advantage of the motivational power of recognition
There’s plenty of research that suggests recognition is one of the most effective ways to increase employee motivation and motivates them to work harder.
All individuals desire recognition for a job well done. If an employee has dedicated substantial effort to a project or gone out of their way to help a coworker, don't hesitate to commend them. The value of recognition extends beyond the act itself; it's a principle. When employees feel their efforts are valued, they are more likely to remain motivated and work harder.
Acknowledging employees’ accomplishments resorts in higher levels of work satisfaction. Conversely, if they feel that their hard work and personal sacrifices have gone unnoticed, it's unlikely they will go out of their way for the company again.
Whether working from home or not, to maintain a motivated workforce, it's crucial to express gratitude for employee contributions. You can do this by acknowledging their efforts in a meeting or recognizing them in a staff email. This also helps encourage some friendly competition, bringing out employees' productive nature.
Action steps:
- Write a handwritten letter about your experience working with them or for doing a good job
- In an internal newsletter or open meeting, highlight the top 3-5 reasons that led to their great work and success
- Instead of a generic gift card, personalize their reward or experience based on their interests. For instance, if they enjoy movies, organize a family-friendly movie night
- Create an employee spotlight document or poster that showcases their favorite things. Ask them to provide details about their favorite food, book, movie, inspirational quote, hobby, bucket list item, vacation memory, and family photo.
- Allow the employee of the month to do a social media or blog takeover. Enable them to create exciting content for your social channels based on their unique expertise and interests (while ensuring that it aligns with the brand voice and values)
2. Promote intrinsic motivation
The above-mentioned strategies are extrinsic in nature, stimulated by external factors. It’s a common practice in many workplaces to drive motivation.
The traditional approaches to employee motivation rely on the idea of "carrots and sticks" - using rewards (carrots) to reinforce good behavior and punishments (sticks) to discourage bad behavior.
While this isn’t discouraged, we also encourage focusing on intrinsic motivation. Employees in some of the most innovative and successful companies are powered by self-motivation. They strive to produce their best work because they are genuinely invested in the outcome.
Both forms of motivation can (and should) exist together in most scenarios.
To boost employees' intrinsic motivation, you must first identify who they are and determine what they want.
Action steps:
- Take the time to understand each employee's career goals. Ask if their current job aligns with their aspirations. If not, ask what the company can do to support their career path
- During one-on-one meetings, ask employees about their favorite and least favorite recent assignments, as well as the type of work they enjoy the most
- After each project assignment, follow up with a brief check-in to discuss what went well and what the employee enjoyed or didn't enjoy about the task
- Conduct quarterly employee surveys that include questions related to engagement and motivation
- A personality test helps you learn about employees' unique characteristics and interests. Use this information to assign projects that align with their characteristics whenever possible
3. Tailor motivation to meet employees’ individual needs
How to boost employee motivation, both extrinsic and intrinsic? The answer is personalization. Personalization is crucial in employee motivation as there is no one-size-fits-all methodology.
It's important to understand that individuals are motivated by various factors. And so, to motivate employees as a manager, it's important to learn how to motivate employees on a personal level.
For a personalized approach, managers can motivate employees by asking about their goals, ideas, and preferred forms of rewards. Some employees may prioritize development opportunities to learn about topics they're passionate about, while others may prefer projects that excite them and align with their interests.
Engaging with your employees on a personal level builds stronger relationships and helps tailor your recognition efforts for maximum impact.
Action steps:
- Create a Google Form survey and email it to your employees. An idea for the subject line is “Share your favorites with us!” Here, ask them about their personal preferences, such as:
- Who is your biggest inspiration?
- What is your favorite season and why?
- What is your favorite type of music and band?
- What is your favorite cuisine?
Some deeper questions that will help look into their motivators are:
- What is the best advice you can give to a new joiner?
- What lessons have you learned in your role?
- What is the greatest challenge you’ve overcome in your role?
- What is your proudest accomplishment?
- What motivates you to come to work every day?
4. Give them room to grow
The American Psychological Society conducted a study revealing that only 50% of surveyed employees feel valued in their job and a mere two-thirds are motivated to perform their best work. There were a few commonalities among those who feel undervalued:
- Less non-monetary rewards in the workplace
- Not enough monetary compensation
- Fewer opportunities for flexible work
- Fewer opportunities to be involved in decision making
- Less potential for advancement and growth
People strive to feel that their work is significant and makes a difference. Providing growth opportunities demonstrates your investment in their career success. It signals that their work is trusted and respected.
By offering growth opportunities, you encourage employees to view their work as more than just a side job and potentially see it as a long-term career. Thus, they stay with your company for a longer period.
Action steps:
- Boost employees' career growth by financially supporting them with new certifications
- Encourage employee feedback by always ending meetings and emails with an opportunity for them to voice their opinions
- Inspire employees by hosting a guest speaker who can offer valuable insights and advice
- Invest in employee development by offering free attendance at relevant conferences or events
- Show top performers that they are valued by providing job advancement opportunities within the company
5. Use similar companies as a model for your motivation strategy
Comparably’s report considered 70,000 companies in the USA to identify the ones where workers are most satisfied with aspects related to their company goals, benefits, pay, and work environment. In 2021, the no. 1 company with the happiest employees was Adobe.
Some employee feedback points were highlighted, including:
- The CEO regularly stops in to say hello
- The leadership team is always available to talk to
- 85% of employees are happy with their work-life balance
- There are unlimited paid vacation and sick days
- The average employee has 4+ meetings per day
- They have a “comfortably fast” work pace
- They get positive feedback every week
Certainly, what works for Adobe may not be ideal for you. To develop an effective employee motivation strategy for your company, seek out successful businesses that can serve as inspiration.
Action step:
- To amend your motivation strategy, conduct a T-Chart analysis. Select three large companies in your industry that you admire for their employee satisfaction and workplace culture. Explore key areas like employee reviews, the pace of work, work environment, frequency of meetings, etc.
Here’s Your Simple Answer To How To Improve Employee Morale And Motivation
Along with the above pointers, there’s another motivation that human resources should know - employee health benefits.
Besides serving as a tool of motivation, health benefits improve productivity by 2x! It shows employees that you value them, care for them, and are invested in giving them the best. This will shine through in their work, which will ultimately drive the company to success.
So if you’re looking for ways to engage and motivate your employees, reach out to team Loop. Our experts will help tailor make a health benefits plan for you that your HR managers and teams love.
