A motivated employee is more engaged, and an engaged employee is more productive.
Gallup calculations on the U.S. workplace indicate 34 percent of workers are engaged
(a survey high), 13 percent are 鈥渁ctively disengaged鈥� (a new low 鈥� in a good way),
and that engagement is a key driver of positive business outcomes. Ready to engage?
Explore our 5 proven employee motivation strategies.
Engagement, Motivation, and Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation
To fully appreciate the , you must understand in respect to business. Motivation is the desire to get something done; engagement is the process of getting something done.
comes from within (pride, satisfaction), and extrinsic motivation derives from an external source (bonuses, praise).
Now we鈥檙e ready to talk 5 proven motivation strategies.
5. Hire Intrinsically Motivated People
Cue the human resources department. It鈥檚 up to your screeners to assess job applicants鈥� motivation. You鈥檙e looking for a responsible person who can focus on a task and stick with it, someone who has skills and finds pleasure in using them, a person with commitment and energy.
You can supply extrinsic motivation, from competitive wages and benefits to kudos
and citations, but you鈥檒l get more wins in the motivation game if you start with team
members who have a propensity for intrinsic motivation.
4. Have Clear Mission and Vision Statements that Shape Goals
Your business needs clear statements of mission and vision. There鈥檚 a difference. Consider the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Its stated mission is 鈥渢o create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.鈥� Its stated vision is 鈥渢o grant the wish of every child diagnosed with a critical illness.鈥�
It鈥檚 about setting goals, distant and immediate, tangible and abstract, on organizational and personal levels. Business2Community.com notes that employee performance goals help with:
- Professional development. This is especially true when the goals advance skill sets and build confidence.
- Measurability. The degree to which a goal is achieved, with an eye on timeliness and efficacy, is an excellent metric.
- Employee well-being. Knowing what needs to be done and when avoids confusion and frustration and improves outcomes 鈥� and moods.
- Decision-making. Goals bring choices and timelines into focus, enhancing the assessment and execution of decisions.
- Meeting deadlines. Clear goals produce clear deadlines, triggering better time management and often delivering results sooner.
3. Make Good Communication a Priority
a lot, be it boss to subordinate, employee to supervisor, or peer to peer. In fact, communication skills are a make-or-break factor in almost every aspect of every endeavor:
- In building a team
- In setting goals
- In defining strategies
- In building relationships that advance goals
- In raising and sustaining morale
- In recognizing and satisfying customer needs
- In recognizing problems and solutions
- In overcoming difficult moments arising from personal and group issues
The problems associated with a failure to give or take feedback regularly and properly are myriad. Business News Daily lists :
Defaulting to email. Inboxes stay full because too many people turn to the keyboard instead of grabbing a phone or some facetime.
Inside news breaking on the outside. If something external is going to hit home, be it a market swing or a takeover, leadership has a responsibility to inform employees before they are awash in rumors and misinformation.
Information silos. This is when necessary information stays locked up in the department or person of origin. In a word, the solution is collaboration.
Remote employee isolation. Distant teams, branches, team members need to be kept in the loop.
2. Promote Adaptability Among Employees and Embrace Flexibility
The workplace and play space have something in common: constant change. So, whether you鈥檙e leading an aerospace design squad or a softball team, two keys to regularly winning are adaptability and flexibility.
Here are your workers should strive to achieve:
- Seek ways to do multiple tasks while taming the clock.
- Stay cool when the heat is on.
- Push the envelope on creativity and job descriptions.
- Be willing to learn new skills, including some that require seminars and formal training.
- Try to handle change gracefully, even when it鈥檚 disruptive.
This is a two-way street. Employee adaptability that advances organizational goals should be met with that improves employees鈥� lives:
- Part-time jobs can meet some workforce needs while accommodating employees who need to limit hours.
- It鈥檚 the digital age. Do you have employees who can and want to telecommute?
- Flexible work hours. Does it really matter when they do the job?
1. Reward Achievements and Show Appreciation
The online publication recommends having a reward system for employees that addresses compensation, benefits, :
- Compensation runs the gamut from hourly wages and salaries to commissions and bonuses.
- Benefits can include life and health insurance; pensions, profit sharing, and retirement plans; vacations, holidays, and sick days.
- Recognition can come in the form of positive feedback, awards, company swag 鈥� any of the many forms of pats on the back for a specific job well done.
- Appreciation can be a , free food, time off, company events, or similar goodies.
The best leaders are great motivators who recognize obstacles such as generation gaps. They also know that lessons in leadership can be found in magical places and in more traditional settings such as brick-and-mortar classrooms and online.
See what the Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education is offering, from test preparation to our Hospitality Leadership Program.