Looking to Motivate Your Employees? Here’s How to Instil Some Energy into Your Workplace!

Do you feel that your workplace is lacking some positive energy and has experienced a decrease in motivation? Have you noticed that this has negatively affected your workplace culture, staff retention and overall business success?

Well do not worry, employee motivation can be a problem for all, so you’re not alone…. and there are many techniques you can bring into the office to turn this around swiftly.

The cause of a drop may not be fully apparent and could be anything from an employee’s personal on goings to external factors in the workplace, and that is why getting to the root of the issue is one of the first steps to take….

Employee Motivation – Identify the root to the problem

This will be the most challenging factor of the whole process yet will give you a greater understanding of why motivation levels have decreased. One of the most effective ways to determine this is to openly communicate with every member of the company. Although this will be time consuming, not only will it help boost your culture long-term (who doesn’t want an open communication flow right?), it will also assist you in the decision process when brainstorming ideas to incorporate into the workplace.

Once you have recognised the main cause, the next step will be identifying what intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors will work with your culture ….

Employee Motivation – Intrinsic motivational factors

Intrinsic factors are those that are drawn from within, both as a culture and personally.
The best way you can instil this type of employee motivation is following the ‘4 Pillars of Motivation’ framework. Click here to find out more about the benefits of this.

Purpose

Not only will this transform their outlook of a role, as stated below…. “Your vibe attracts your tribe”; Thus,  meaning that your efforts to empower will spread through your workplace and attract a more supportive and respectful atmosphere.

Now we all want some level of encouragement in the workplace and acknowledging your employees’ genuine purpose is one of the best ways to do this. It will make them feel like they are an important part of the company and that their work is valuable.

“Be an example that your employees can follow….”

Competence

A further factor that can reduce motivation significantly is the lack of career progression. Understandably, people like to have knowledge of development opportunities available to them. Therefore, one way you can boost energy is by opening doors through implementing growth strategies.

Along with having a purpose, being pushed outside of a comfort zone and handed challenging projects where you’re given the autonomy to control is exhilarating and can help to regain passion for a role.

“Great things never came from comfort zones…”

 

Relatedness

Have you lost your community feel? Collaborative workplaces where building relationships both in and outside the office are known to be more productive and have a greater success rate.

Furthermore, diminishing any micromanagement techniques and promoting an open-door policy will boost your culture, and ultimately your employer brand. For more benefits of professional relationships, click here.

A family feel is one of the key priorities employees look for in a workplace. Therefore, focusing on integrating this into your team dynamic will make your employees want to be at work, maybe even on a Monday Morning….

Autonomy

Employees nowadays want the autonomy and authority to control their own desk…. So, this could be somewhere where you’re going wrong. Switching up your management style and promoting a creative and free structure will significantly boost employee motivation in your office.

I have personally experienced this in my career and found that having the freedom to control my own schedule generates passion and determination to produce my best content!

Extrinsic motivational factors

Extrinsic factors are classified as material motivational incentives that are driven by the opportunity for rewards, such as bonuses and free trips, and are mostly not linked to the actual task in hand.

Although most people would automatically associate this with monetary value incentive, something as small as an early finish or a scheme that helps to promote a greater work life balance will boost motivation and commitment levels.

Bonuses and luxury encouragements are of course welcomed by employees, however, many elements of research, including this by Don Rheem suggests how intrinsic factors have a greater effect on daily behaviours…. And states how “Far more impactful are things that money can’t buy – things a responsive employer should be providing every day.”

 

Now I’m aware that this is a lot of common sense, but I am also aware how vision and strategies can become clouded when business gets busy! Although you may believe that you are working some of the above into your motivational strategies, chances are that you’ve lost focus on what’s important to your employees.

Therefore, I recommend putting some time aside to investigate what will reignite some energy and passion into your office! Not only will this boost business, make your employees happier and create a positive workplace…. It will also refine your employer brand and help you attract future talent.

If you’re looking for any support on this topic, feel free to contact us on [email protected] and we can point you in the right direction!