As the year lulls into this time between the rush of EOFY and the well earned break over the holidays, it may feel as though your work day drags on. Finding that extra boost of motivation to keep yourself going can be tricky, now imagine having to be that source of drive and encouragement for a whole team. If you are looking for some sure-fire ways to keep your team motivated and working hard all year around, read on.
Stop micromanaging and promote self-management
It may seem like an odd point to make, but you have to trust your team to do their jobs! Micromanaging is one of the most common complaints from employees and fosters a culture of mistrust and poor productivity. Promoting self-management within your team allows them to fall into their own routine and perform at their best. Part of this is having a clear understanding of how you can provide support to your team without doing their job for them, and recognising what motivates them to self-start.
Develop future leaders from within
One day we all hope to retire and someone will have to step-up into our role. With this in mind it is important to encourage personal growth within your employees and develop them into the future leaders of the company. This means giving employees goals and incentives that encourage them to expand their skills and test their knowledge, which is not only good for the company but good for their personal development.
Create healthy competition within a team environment
Whether we like to admit it or not there is a competitive nature in all of us. Giving people a cause for competition can often push them to work harder than when working independently. This could be a simple workplace initiative that tracks employees progress and achievements throughout the year, or a week long team based competition. Fostering a culture of friendly competition within a team environment can not only boost productivity but build better relationships within the workplace.
No success is to small to celebrate
Despite many people’s perceptions, appreciation is often a greater reward than money. Whilst monetary bonuses are commonplace, good old-fashioned appreciation is rarely shown in the workplace, meaning that employees value it more. Be sure to celebrate each small success as it represents the company taking one step closer to their goals. Whether the action is little or large, appreciation initiatives keep employees morale high as they feel a sense of continual achievement, rather than looking too far ahead to a seemingly unreachable long-term goal.
Work towards shared goals
Whilst a little competition is always fun, it is important that at the root of your employees motivation is a shared goal. A collective vision for the company ensure that everyone knows that the end goal is and can work towards it together. This is also an important part of recruitment, as for a team to work as one, the personal goals of each member must be inline with the overall goals and vision for the company.