When you are running a company, your employees are your most important asset. Without them, the functionality of your company will suffer, so it is crucial that your employees constantly feel valued and appreciated. A key part of effectively creating the conditions that facilitate such feelings of appreciation and that drive employee motivation is to figure out what motivates them.

To achieve your desired results, you need to be regularly thinking about ways in which you can motivate and inspire your employees. Here are 8 ways you can guide your employees in the right direction and learn what inspires their efforts:

• Create opportunities for open communication – Effective communication is an imperative skill of a good leader. Promoting a culture of open communication in the workplace ensures that there is constant communication between you and your employees. This provides not only an opportunity for you to delegate tasks effectively but also for them to express their ideas and opinions. This will motivate your team by making them feel involved in the decision-making process of your company.

• Provide direction – A team cannot be motivated if they don’t know what they are working towards. You need to make sure that all of your employees are aware of the company’s vision and goals to encourage collaboration to achieve the best results. It is also important to ensure that your goals are measurable in order for your team to be able to track their progress and see their success in a tangible form.

• Provide the necessary tools – Check in with all your employees to make sure they aren’t feeling lost in the workplace. Make sure to ask if they feel they have access to the necessary tools, support, and training they need to get the most out of their position.

• Discuss professional progression – Professional progression is a great incentive for your employees. They feel like a more valuable member of the team when they are given the opportunity to learn and enhance their skills in the workplace. Providing your employees with the opportunity for growth and development is a positive morale booster and a way to motivate and inspire your team to put in the effort to achieve your company goals.

• Identify what drives productivity –  Identifying the strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes of your employees is an important factor in determining the most productive strategy for your team. Delegating according to the strengths of each individual improves efficiency, and according to likes inspires a more optimistic and positive mindset, both of which drive employee motivation to complete the assigned task. 

• Encourage teamwork – Promoting teamwork in the workplace boosts productivity as it makes each employee feel more engaged and less isolated at work, It gives them the opportunity to inspire, learn from and motivate each other and collaborate efforts to achieve the desired results.

• Create a healthy work environment – Your environment has a substantial impact on your productivity and creativity in the workplace. Motivation and engagement is more likely to come from those employees who are happy at work. Therefore, it is important to create an enjoyable workspace, keeping in mind the ambiance, light, utilization of space, and lines of communication.

• Provide positive feedback – Utilize your leadership position to create a supportive environment in the workplace. Applauding achievement is important for your employees as it is a way for them to see their efforts as a progression towards your company goals. Make sure that you express your gratitude when your team achieves results in the workplace as this will motivate them to put in the effort to succeed with future tasks.

Motivation is essential in every workplace and is something you should be constantly trying to inspire in your employees. If you do that, you are bound to achieve your desired results.

Want help to identify the workplace motivators in your company? At Permanent Progress, through our Behaviour Style and Performance Assessment, we will meet with your team to discuss their current position, provide assessment tools to understand employee challenges, help to develop a plan of action moving forward, and so much more. Let’s jump on a call to discuss how our different coaching and assessment options can benefit your company > permanentprogressllc.com/contact/