There’s nothing more heartwarming to any team leader than having a highly motivated and even more excited team. In an office environment, such a team can smoothly help the company meet its yearly objectives, earn more sales, outwit its competitors, and even expand further.
As a CEO, manager, or just a supervisor, you perfectly know that the team behind you is the lifeline of your organization. And just like you would oil the cogwheel of a machine, the only way to make your ‘gang’ a bit more efficient and work on time will be to motivate them. Keep your employees pumped up and they’ll be more productive, your company will thrive and you will eventually achieve lasting success!
Want to dramatically increase the energy of your employees and get them to work on time?
Of course, you do!
But to achieve this, you’ll not have to hire a professional motivator or urge them to attend seminars. You don’t even need to revamp your office with new furniture or buy expensive gadgets that promise productivity and working on time.
Well, it’s easier than you think.
Create a Cool, Enabling Environment
Maybe your employee’s productivity levels are below par because they sit in a tiring and boring environment. It’s possible they get worn-out sitting there, glaring at the screen hours on end and don’t really feel motivated to work on time anymore.
Have you wondered whether the workplace is lively and exciting enough to jazz them to work?
Get a work environment that keeps them on track and still feels relaxing and enjoyable to stay in. It shouldn’t be glitzy like McGarryBowen’s ‘Never-a-dull-moment’ type, Symphony’s massages and margarita machines-filled offices or Facebook and Google’s super-exciting offices. Instead, make it alluring with an area where employees can temporarily get away from the hustle and bustle and socialize and de-stress a bit.
By having a balanced working environment, you will create a productive, energized and more engaged workforce. And they will enjoy working right in there, knowing that by completing work excellently and on time, there will be a few moments to get breezy and re-energize.
Reward Timeliness; Recognize a Job Well Done
There’s a huge gap of difference between rewards and remuneration. The secret to success in employee motivation starts with recognition programs, which unfortunately is often overlooked. You ask any ordinary HR or employee welfare manager and the likeliest response is that employee rewards programs are bogus.
Don’t be like them and be like, “Why should I reward people for doing a job that’s expected of them yet that’s what they are paid for?”
You see, a heartfelt recognition of employees who stand out and do what’s expected from them excellently and on time will not only motivate others to strive for the same but also creates a strong employer-employee bond of friendship.
Recognition will also accomplish the basic needs of any employee. The best part of it is that it can either be formal or informal. Yes, you can do it as a little, formalized fete or better yet, send the standout employee a thoughtful email or a handwritten note of gratitude.
More about rewarding excellence:
- Let the entire company vote for whoever exhibited the best work ethic, grit, and determination. Voting should be discrete, confidential and perhaps online on the one-employee-one-vote basis.
- You could use the opportunity to reinforce the company’s essential values as well. Rewards, however, can be anything that is reasonable enough to inspire others to aspire for the same. Gift cards, shopping vouchers, trophies, and other deluxe awards are acceptable.
Listen To Their Concerns
Laziness and the inability to get things done quickly and on time could be as a result of frustrations and burnouts. The best cure to this isn’t really about ruling with an iron fist!
Sometimes, all it takes to inspire terrific results is an ear to listen. Be gentle and genuine and let the affected employees air out their grievances so that you offer the right solutions. Like a concerned parent, listening to her teenage daughter, your employee will open up and freely explain the struggles at the workplace, hoping to get a lasting solution.
If the employees are those who can’t dare speak up directly to you, try using brief questionnaires instead. Ask them key questions, including those that pertain their roles, how happy they are and what needs to be improved. You will then use the findings to provide better solutions so that the employees start working on time.
Equip the Team with the Right Time Tracking Tools
In this day and age, a modern office like yours shouldn’t be lacking performance-enhancing gadgets, especially those that streamline employee output and or accentuate productivity. Merely having comfy seats, sleek equipment, and those other gadgets isn’t enough to get them jazzed up!
Invest in smart time tracking apps so that you monitor their hours, productivity and activity rates. This is, by far, the best way of enhancing efficiency when you have a large team of employees. Tracker apps go well with collaboration tools because you will have simplified everyone’s role and created a bit of team chemistry. To make this set a complete combo, be sure to invest in the right communication apps.
The best thing with all these is that they fit in any office size – large or startups. So, you really don’t have an excuse to not buying them.
Be A Team Leader – Help Out!
Being a manager or a senior staff member, managing by walking around is okay. But managing by helping out is far much better.
Adopt a hands-on approach and pitch in so that you show your employee the faster way of getting stuff done. You will not only help accomplish the task, but also interact in a more natural and friendlier way than barking out orders in your high office!
However, watch out lest you be Mr. Know-it-all. The best way is to ask if you can help out and then show the employee a better way of doing the job.
‘Don’t Tolerate Laziness’ In a Creative Way!
Tell your employees the level of productivity you expect and why you loath lethargy. Speak about what you value and appreciate and how it’s achieved. The best way to pass the message across is to creatively write and hang the company’s corporate values on specific areas of the office.
In Virgin Train’s London offices, they use this trick, albeit in a rather badass way like “Screw Average. Create Amazing.” And so, you can do the same without using mild, forgettable terms.