In the modern world of work, having an engaged and highly motivated workforce is one of the most crucial factors in the success of any business. Highly motivated employees will be prepared to “go the extra mile” in their tasks and complete work to an exceptionally high standard. An engaged workforce will also be seeking to improve their working practices and will happily provide additional capacity to colleagues who are struggling with their workloads. It can be seen, therefore, that a highly motivated workforce should be a key business goal for any organization. Put simply, an engaged workforce will directly impact on the success of a firm. This article explains three key ways in which leaders and managers can boost the motivation of their staff for the benefit of the organization.
Listen to Your Staff
This first point may seem obvious, but it is surprising how often it doesn’t happen in many organizations. If your company does not regularly take the time to listen to the views, opinions and ideas of your workforce it will slowly be creating a toxic culture where service improvements are lost, and stagnation sets in. It is a fact that employees at all levels within the organization can be experts in their field and may be able to identify more efficient or beneficial working practices. If you do not listen to them the company is losing out on avenues for improvement. Staff should be listened to on a regular basis and there are several business tools that can take their feedback and ideas and channel them into meaningful corporate insights that drive change. Companies such as inpulse.com provide staff survey software that can give a business a clear picture of the views and ideas of its employees and use this information to produce action plans for improvement.
Offer flexible working practices
Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic brought with it a multitude of problems and restrictions, it did open up the reality of remote working for millions of employees. The practice of working remotely is beneficial for an enormous number of employees, as it allows them to save travel time and costs whilst also helping to improve their work–life balance. Recent statistics suggest that 98% of employees would like to work remotely at least some of the time. Evidence suggests that offering a remote or hybrid model of working does not impact on efficiencies in terms of completing tasks as the flexibility of working from home is a key motivational aspect.
Offer in-house progression
A firm that can demonstrate in-house progression opportunities to its staff (instead of relying on external recruitment drives for senior positions) is one that is likely to retain highly motivated staff. Employees who want career progression and opportunities for personal development will demonstrate their suitability for more senior roles by “going above and beyond” in their daily tasks and may request extra responsibilities. Conversely, if an organization tends to advertise top jobs externally it is creating the impression that there are limited internal routes for advancement in the company. This can lead to employees feeling that they are stuck in their role without the chance of promotion, which in turn leads to lower levels of engagement. In summary, it is always worth keeping the following quote in mind when looking at ways to boost employee motivation: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships” (Michael Jordan).
