According to recent research, only 33% of all workers in the United States are engaged at work. Unfortunately, the cost of disengagement is substantial for firms. Each year, between $960 billion and $1.2 trillion is projected to be squandered owing to lost productivity.
You’re probably well aware of the negative consequences of disengaged employees. But, do you know how to motivate employees so they feel invested and can meet and surpass expectations?
Effective communication is one of the most effective strategies for managers to enhance their direct subordinates’ motivation. These tips will help you motivate employees to keep them engaged and focused on the organization’s common strategic goals.
1. Recognition Motivates Employees
It doesn’t take much to motivate your employees when you give a positive message. Employee morale can be greatly boosted by something as basic as complimenting your team members for their hard work. Positive feedback makes your staff feel appreciated in their roles.
The psychology behind it is undeniable. When people believe they are respected, they are more motivated to keep achieving their best. According to research, they are also less likely to leave their current employer within the next year.
2. Autonomy Motivate Employees
According to research, workers with more workplace independence also report higher levels of job-related happiness. Increased flexibility in where work is performed, task completion sequence, work tempo, and schedule all contributed to greater employee satisfaction.
Start gently if you’re unsure how to incorporate autonomy into your organization’s procedures. You don’t have to go from one extreme to the other in a single day. However, there are some simple tactics you may adopt to give your staff more control over their job.
For instance, to reward meeting individual or corporate goals, allow employees additional freedom over their schedules and where they work. Alternatively, you may change your management style. Shift to focusing on crucial milestones, while allowing your employees the freedom to complete the tasks necessary to get there.
3. Involve Your Employees in Goal-setting
Recent research indicates that employees are wanting greater clarity about what to do and why. In fact, it was the top answer of 20% of all respondents in the study. This includes nearly a third of disengaged workers.
This data demonstrates why goal-setting is an important process that should involve your employees. They need to be a part of the process at every step. In other words, goal setting is not just for management.
Therefore, make employees aware of the company’s objectives. If you do, it is easier for them to see how their actions might influence progress toward those objectives. This alignment, according to the report, can have a good impact on employee engagement and motivation.
Never assume that employees understand and can align with the organization’s needs. Instead, involve them at every step and enlist their aid and support.
4. Encourage Courteous Interactions
In many interactions, particularly those between managers and their staff, respect is a powerful motivator. Employees rated “the ability to express respect” as the most essential leadership trait. This is according to a poll of 20,000 working professionals.
Additionally, those who said they felt respect from their leaders were 55 percent more motivated than those who did not. Unfortunately for many firms, 54 percent of respondents stated they don’t feel valued by their leaders on a regular basis. It’s evident, then, that valuing your staff isn’t simply good manners but also smart business sense.
Therefore, make sure you do your share to support a courteous and respectful dialogue. It doesn’t matter if you’re meeting with your employees one-on-one, giving them feedback, sending an email, or settling a problem. Respect and kindness are always in season.
5. Rethink Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are one of the most frequent procedures in use by businesses and management to assess employee performance. About 91 percent of organizations implement some type of formal evaluation.
In principle, these evaluations allow management to assess how well an employee is meeting expectations. In addition, it allows them to see if they are working toward their goals and contributing to the company’s performance. All of this is geared toward a desire to motivate employees and increase engagement.
Unfortunately, reality frequently contradicts the theory. According to research, only 14 percent of employees strongly feel that the performance reports they get motivate them to improve.
Perhaps you’re wondering if your performance evaluations are having the best impact. If that’s the case, there are actions you can do to improve the process.
To make employee feedback more actionable, you may move to six-month or quarterly reviews instead of annual reviews. Additionally, you might accept more personalized scoring. If you can account for distinct employee demands and responsibilities it can help motivate employees to perform better.
Final Thoughts
When your employees are invested in their work, they will be more productive. It’s important that managers find ways to keep them engaged and focused on the organization’s strategic goals. Implementing some of these methods will help them feel valued and motivate employees to not only meet but surpass expectations.
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