Employee motivation is a very important key to organizational growth. Without motivation, there will be neither productivity nor development within an organization. It is therefore crucial that we understand what employee motivation actually is. We need to know first what motivates people and how it works.
To begin with, employee motivation is actually an internal and intrinsic drive to take the required action and effort towards specific work-related tasks. Motivated employees are those who are willing to make a contribution in the fulfillment of company goals. Their level of commitment is based on various factors including their feeling of worth, recognition, appreciation, and so on. Employees who feel valued and are respected are also more likely to perform to their optimum levels and achieve company goals.
In large companies, employee motivation usually takes place in work environments where workers feel motivated to participate in their tasks. Large companies have well-defined policies that help employees feel valued and to pursue their goals for the benefit of the company. However, smaller organizations often lack such structures and may not have employee motivation mechanisms at all. Small business owners, therefore, can greatly increase employee motivation by creating an environment where all individuals – from the president down to the junior staff member – know their importance and are held accountable for their performance.
The way you make this happen is quite simple. First, make it clear to your employees that their actions matter. Create goals that are achievable and easily achievable. Set up targets that reflect the level of each individual so that they are motivated to rise to the occasion. Recognize employees when they go above and beyond expectations, and give them rewards when appropriate.
Rewards can either be monetary or non-monetary in nature. Monetary incentives can be in the form of cash bonuses, promotions, or other forms of external compensation. Non-monetary rewards, however, can also be in the form of peer recognition, creative stimulation, recognition in a variety of informal ways, or simply being made aware of their importance by you, the boss. Here are some common types of rewards that employee motivation can be improved by receiving:
Employee motivation improves when there are factors that encourage employees to feel that they are valuable to your organization. You can give these employees recognition awards for their efforts, whether these are on a personalized level (by recognizing their specific efforts) or on a more systemic level (for example, by rewarding performance or completion of specific assignments). Rewards should be given regularly to employee motivation, as failure to show up can seriously undermine the morale of your workforce.
There are employee motivation techniques that work best when combined with other efforts. For instance, if a specific goal for the organization is to reduce customer complaints, then it will be more effective to implement customer service improvement programs or trainings that teach employees how to better deal with customers. This is because a problem that seems like it’s getting worse can be quickly addressed with a targeted approach, and there are usually fewer employees who feel like they aren’t getting their needs met if other employees are actively learning how to resolve the problem.
A key factor in employee motivation is understanding what motivates employees in the first place. The most common mistake is to look at employee motivation from a superficial standpoint – what kind of actions do your employees take, and how are they feeling about them? Often times, answers to these questions are far away from the root of the problem, and what’s really going on beneath them. There are several popular books that have been written that delve into this psychological aspect of employee motivation, including “The Self-Disclosure Process” by Philip Zimbardo. The most important thing to remember when trying to motivate employees is that their feelings about you are just as important as your actions and understanding this will allow you to take steps to address their fears more effectively.
