Tuesday, July 28, 2009

How Do You Keep Your Employees Motivated?

Well motivated employees lead to high business productivity, minimal staff turnover and greater profitability for your business. However, how do you keep your employees motivated?

Motivating your employees is not just about paying a competitive salary or offering perks and bonuses. To ensure your employees are well motivated you need to consider all aspects of your business.

Here are some hints and tips to help you:

1. Make your employees feel valued. Thank them, give them praise, recognise them for their contribution to the business, encourage them to feel that their work makes a difference to the business and give feedback constructively.

2. Communicate with your employees in an open and honest way, including regular staff meetings in groups and on a one-to-one basis and staff updates on how the business is performing and management decisions that have been made.

3. Review performance on a regular basis through staff appraisals and individual update meetings, ensuring individual objectives are realistic and align with the overall business objectives. Ensure your approach is consistent and fair between employees.

4. Consult with your employees before making decisions that will affect them and encourage your employees to make suggestions for improvements in the business. Ensure you listen to your employees and acknowledge their opinions.

5. Develop trust and teamwork among your employees and encourage them to ask for help when problems arise.

6. Give your employees a reasonable amount of autonomy and control and try and ensure each employee has a variety of interesting and satisfying work.

7. Support your employees through times of change in the business, in achieving work/life balance and managing stress.

8. Provide employees with development and career opportunities, through training, work placements and encouragement.

9. Create an atmosphere where employees enjoy working alongside their colleagues, where there is time for humour and fun and take the time to be interested in their life outside work. Provide a good working environment, together with the right training and equipment to do the job.

10. Pay your employees a competitive salary and appropriate bonuses and perks.

By Liz Makin

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