Having a motivated team is definitely good for business. In a study on the relationship between happiness at work and productivity, researchers at the University of Warwick discovered that the happiest employees are 12% more productive; on the other hand, unhappy employees are 12% less productive. So in order to help you foster a culture of happiness and productivity, here are some awesome ideas for motivating your team.
- Make the workplace a nice place to be – most people will thrive in a pleasant environment. If you can’t do much about the working area, make sure the staff rest area is somewhere people will feel comfortable in.
- Offer opportunities for self-development – provide as many opportunities as you can for staff to learn new skills, and make sure they have all the knowledge, training and support they need to do their jobs effectively.
- Empower everyone – people like being in control, so make sure they feel empowered in their jobs and feel they ‘own’ them. Encourage them to suggest new ideas and support their implementation wherever possible.
- Foster collaboration within the team – encourage an atmosphere where everyone feels they can add their opinion and make suggestions. Ask them lots of questions and listen to their answers.
- Set clear and attainable goals – when people know what’s required of them, they’ll understand what their priorities are and know what to do in order to reach their goals. People who aren’t set clear objectives are likely to waste time trying to work things out for themselves.
- Encourage, don’t punish – mistakes are part of being human. If someone makes an honest mistake, don’t punish them – discuss things instead to see where things went wrong and encourage them to move forward. Always acknowledge everyone’s achievements and give credit where credit’s due – recognising people’s strengths will help bring out the best in them, and may even bring out skills they’re not aware of themselves.
- Stand back – nobody wants to be micromanaged so, wherever possible, let people do things their own way. All you’re doing when you’re micromanaging is demonstrating to your staff that you don’t trust them, which is hugely demotivating.
- Have fun – encourage fun office activities to keep the energy levels up. Celebrate birthdays and milestones, and organise staff outings to help everyone bond and feel part of the team.
If you’re looking for a motivated team, contact us to discuss all your staffing needs.
