Managers, look around your office. Just a measly one in four of your staff feel engaged in the workplace, as recent surveys have revealed. What is there to be done? Lots! The key to happy, motivated employees comes down to careful attention from management in several vital areas. You may think you’re too busy to worry about the happiness of your employees, but it’s worth your time and effort, as research has also demonstrated how significantly staff engagement can impact your bottom line. Here are the keys to happy motivated employees.
Attend to the money. Survival and safety are basic human needs, and in the workplace this often comes down to the paycheck. People feel more safe to fully engage when their basic needs are not in question. So, create an incentive programme so that staff benefit financially when the company increases revenue. People are motivated by achievable goals, and even more so when there is an extra bonus it in for them. This approach also creates a sense of partnership rather than the boss vs. employee dynamic. Be sure to establish measurable and achievable metrics so staff know what they are working towards. Also, give regular raises and bonuses for exemplary effort to reinforce positive behaviour and demonstrate your appreciation of their hard work.
Attend to communication. One of the fastest ways to demoralise your employees is to keep them out of the loop or pop surprises on them. Your employees want to know what may be coming down the road because they want to be able to prepare. This is a human instinct. Bring staff into the fold and enable them to be aware of the company’s earnings and current/future projects, as well as any other struggles. Transparency and openness breed trust and connection. Talk early and often when changes are looming. And listen to your employees four times as much.
Attend to inefficient environments. One workplace study found that workers are interrupted from work nearly 87 times in an average day and that it takes about 23 minutes to get back on task after each interruption. That is a lot of wasted time! Create organisational standards such as allowing people to switch off email or check it only twice per day, having fewer or shorter meetings, and structuring the culture around dedicated chunks of time to focus heartily on tasks. Staff feel happier when they are able to leave work with a sense of completion and accomplishment on a regular basis.
Attend to their future. Most employees want to be working towards something and have a sense that they can grow and achieve higher positions or increased pay. Set up a development plan with each staff member during their first month on the job. Revisit this plan quarterly and modify or adjust as needed. Identify their strength areas and match them with roles or projects that will allow them to shine. Seek out ways to provide staff training and development opportunities. Send a clear message that you are willing and excited to invest time and money in them. Suggest new opportunities for increased responsibility and regularly ask what your staff most enjoy doing and want to do more of.
Attend to them. This is the most basic and also sometimes the most difficult in hectic, deadline and bottom-line driven environments. Yet, if you take time to engage with your staff on a personal level, learning about their kids, their parents, or their hobbies and values, it will increase their sense of connection to you as a person and therefore to the job. An employee’s relationship with their direct supervisor is the single most important factor in their level of engagement. It’s worth your time.
While employee engagement worldwide is statistically at a low, it does not have to be. The key to happy, motivated employees is careful attention to the areas that matter most: money, communication, environment, future, and the whole person. Let’s get started!
