The economic pressures of 2009 have lead to demotivated staff across corporate Australia, leading to increased dissatisfaction and decreased productivity. Many business managers today are not aware of the effects that motivation can and does have on their business, and it is therefore important they learn and understand the factors that determine positive motivation in the workplace.
The size of your business is irrelevant: whether you are trying to get the best out of 50 of your staff or just one, everyone needs some form of motivation. Motivation is something that is approached differently by different businesses and the responsibility of its integration lies with all immediate supervisors of staff.
However, it is the leaders of these organisations who must initiate motivation as a strategy to attain corporate goals.
If you know how to motivate employees, your company's overall status and profits will improve as a result. Employees are the lifeblood of the company. It's therefore vital to use effective employee motivation techniques so they can stay happy and inspired with their work. This, in turn, will also make them more productive.
The following motivation techniques can help you arouse employee enthusiasm:
Take care of the little things to motivate others. Doing the little things well will show that you respect your employees. Making sure you are on time for meetings, saying 'good morning' and 'thank you', and returning phone calls and emails in a timely manner goes a long way to showing your employees that you care.
Be an active listener to motivate others. Pure listening is when you are listening to your employee and not multitasking, answering telephone calls, or eating your lunch. To be a pure listener you must be an active listener. Good managers do more than pay attention. They genuinely care about people and never talk down to them. They ask their employees about their goals and dreams, their past achievement, their concerns and challenges. They listen with their hearts and minds. They respect the employee's thoughts and opinions. They realise that the employees sometimes have the best answer for achieving more.
Create high standards to motivate others. High performance organisations set high standards for their people. Employees want to know what is expected of them, how their performance is measured, and what rewards they can expect when they exceed the standard. Make sure each employee understands how the standards are measured so that they know how to reach the goal. As each goal is reached, set new ones.
Focus your employees on the end result, the overall team goal. Once you successfully communicate this your team will band together to defeat any obstacles that get in the way.
Walk your talk to motivate others. If you expect your employees to arrive early, then you arrive early. If you expect your employees to keep their promises, you keep your promises. If you want your employees to keep to high standards, you keep to high standards. Your employees are watching you even when you don't think they are watching you. So set the tone. Once you walk through the doors of your organisation, make sure you are positive and upbeat if you expect your employees to be positive and upbeat.
Reward outstanding achievement to motivate others. Find ways to recognise your achievers in a public way. The more you reward employees for excellent achievement, the more you receive more of the same behavior.
Final thought:
Employees go to work to succeed, not to fail. It's a leader's job to understand employees' strengths and weaknesses so that they can put them in the best position to succeed.
Apply these motivation techniques, remove all barriers to success and you will motivate others to achieve your business goals during the most challenging of times.
About the author
Simon Boulton is director of accounting and finance recruitment practice Aequalis Consulting. He has more than 12 years of finance recruitment experience in London and Sydney, where he has launched multiple divisions for international companies. At Aequalis Consulting, he provides tailored strategies for companies in various industries to attract and retain the most talented professionals in the market. Visit www.aequalisconsulting.com.au