1. Improving the overall work environment and understanding employee behavior are crucial to boosting motivation.
2. Promoting ownership, providing growth opportunities, and investing in skill development are essential for employee engagement.
3. Regular feedback, acknowledgment of efforts, and involving employees in decision-making enhance motivation and commitment.
4. Understanding and including employee needs in celebrations of success fosters a sense of belonging and drives business growth.
Every organization needs highly motivated and hard-working employees capable of taking the organization to new heights of success. Here are ten effective ways to improve the motivation levels of employees:
A research conducted by Gallup showed that having a poorly motivated workforce costs US companies up to $550 billion annually.
Moreover, low motivation also results in 61% more employee burnout at the workplace, which directly impacts workforce efficiency and business productivity.
1. Improve the Overall Work Environment
2. Work towards Understanding Employee Behavior
3. Promote a Sense of Ownership
4. Provide Appropriate Growth Opportunities
5. Invest in Employee Skill Development and Training
6. Provide Regular and Honest Feedback
7. Acknowledge and Appreciate Employee Efforts
8. Seek Employee Involvement in Decision-making
9. Understand Employee Needs and Expectations
10. Make them part of every Celebration of Success
Employees feel happy and satisfied working in a functional, aesthetically pleasing, and fun environment.
To ensure this, organizations should keep the workspaces neat, clean, well-maintained, and well-lit.
They should replace outdated office equipment and integrate technology into everyday operations.
Investing in quality artwork and ergonomically designed furniture can also improve the workspace.
It is standard for employees to display preferred behavior patterns at work to please their superiors.
However, this can lead to frustration over time and hamper employees’ efficiency.
It is therefore important for organizations to promote an open and collaborative environment where employees can show their actual behavior.
Hence, it can improve the motivation levels of employees considerably.
Promoting a sense of ownership can prevent employees from developing a tunnel vision about their duties and timelines.
Hence, it motivates them to treat organizational goals as their own. This helps enhance employee productivity naturally.
Therefore, to ensure this, organizations must educate each employee about their critical role in enhancing organizational growth.
Also, all employees should be provided with appropriate growth opportunities for their specific skills and competency levels.
Hence, it assures employees that the organization truly cares for them, motivating them to give their best efforts to business growth.
Helping employees acquire new skills can improve their overall performance and efficiencies, as well as motivate them.
It assures employees that the organization is interested in their professional growth. It is also preparing them for greater responsibilities in the future.
Hence, they can use the new knowledge and skills from the training programs to contribute to the business.
Letting employees know how well they have performed is essential to keep them motivated to improve their performance.
Organizations should publicly provide positive feedback, while any negative feedback should be offered in person and subtly.
So, it is better to focus on the positive aspects of the employee’s work and discuss the areas of development as opportunities.
Additionally, employee rewards and recognition are one of the most effective ways to keep the members of the workforce motivated.
Hence, appreciating their contributions and achievements can inspire them to repeat the good work until it becomes an everyday habit.
This can also motivate their peers, creating a genuinely appreciative and positive work culture.
Almost every decision made by the management of an organization tends to impact the employees directly or indirectly.
Therefore, allowing employees to have a say in decision-making can go a long way in enhancing their motivation levels.
Hence, seeking their opinions and suggestions about specific decisions will make them more engaged and committed.
Even the best motivation strategies may fail if organizations do not understand their employees’ needs and expectations.
Hence, understanding individual motivation factors can help organizations to keep them inspired and engaged effectively.
Most organizations find it surprising how the things they consider trivial and unimportant can profoundly impact employees’ motivation levels.
Sharing success with employees is another effective way in which organizations can keep their employees motivated.
It helps build a deep sense of belonging among employees, even if they have not directly contributed to that project or work.
Implementing these strategies can help organizations improve the motivation levels of employees ensure that employees consider themselves to be valuable assets, and work towards driving business growth and profitability.
Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurship experience. In the past, Sagar has worked in leadership roles with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn
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