5 Effective Ways to Inspire & Motivate Your Employees

It is easy to assemble a dream team. However, it is not as easy to keep it.
Most managers these days face a conundrum when their previously happy, enthusiastic, and inspired employees are not so anymore. When your employees lose their luster, is there any way to get it back?

Here are five things that have worked:

Give Credit Where Credit’s Due

A lot of managers come with the attitude that they don’t need to recognize or thank their employees because they are only doing a job that they are being paid for.

Unsurprisingly, this attitude is one of the biggest let down for employees. But being recognized, appreciated, and feeling that they provide value to the company is what forges a connection between employees and their managers.

The beauty of recognition and appreciation is that it is virtually free. Sometimes, all a manager needs to do is send a thoughtful email or handwritten note letting a person know how valuable he/she is to the company, or announcing their accomplishments to the team.

Provide Incentives

Going a step further, there is no reason not to reward a job well done with a prize. Doing this will help the employee become motivated for a repeat performance. It will also inspire other team members to give their utmost to be the next in line to get said prize.

Incentivizing does not just mean monetary compensation. It can just be positive reinforcements like giving your employees a free lunch, an early time out, gift cards, movie tickets, or dinner reservations. Not only does this kick in the reward centers in our brain, but it also inspires some healthy competition which has been proven to improve performance.

Create a Lively Workplace

Nobody wants to spend over eight hours at a dull and dreary office; such a place is enough to kill anyone’s mood and sap their energy. Your mood also affects your creativity, performance, concentration, and sense of well-being.

Studies show that offices with noisy air conditioners and low ceilings have the most stressed employees than offices that are open and filled with natural lighting. Modern offices are places where employees actually want to spend time. These offices are starting to resemble homes, and their kitchen and gyms are becoming centers of activity. Some great ideas to brighten up your office include adding bean bags, eclectic furniture, and plants to your workplace. Break-away spaces, where employees can just hang out and relax, are also becoming very popular.

Give Some Time Off

What is the point of devising a complicated vacation and holiday plan if your employees are not being given the opportunity to take them? A lot of managers do not give their employees sufficient time off from work, even during the holiday seasons or when their kids are on vacation from school. What these employers don’t know is that a few days off from the office’s hectic schedule can do wonders for an employee’s performance. If they knew this, they would certainly give their team ample opportunities to take a well-deserved vacation.

Give Employees Autonomy

“I really love my boss breathing down my neck and micro-managing all aspects of my job,” said no employee ever! Human beings like autonomy; it makes them feel that they are in control and gives them ownership of their work.

Granting your employees some measure of autonomy, letting them work at their own pace within the deadline or letting them contribute to the goals and plans of the company can increase engagement, motivation, and productivity. It also makes employees know that their boss trusts them to do the right thing.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all strategy when it comes to inspiring your employees, all of the ideas mentioned above have been proven to work well in office environments. In fact, there are plenty more ideas that you can explore to make your employees happy. After all, satisfied and inspired employees are the secret to any workplace’s success.

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