With talk of austerity and efficiency dominating the headlines, motivating employees is more important than ever. Many companies are coming through the downturn by making redundancies but this will inevitably mean a bigger workload for the survivors as they pick up the work of their former colleagues. Motivating those that may well face more work for the same, or even less, pay can be tough but it’s more important than ever to keep motivation high to keep the company in a strong position going forward.
According to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index in 2009, 71% of UK employees feel unmotivated and disengaged, so how can managers create a positive working atmosphere and help their companies prosper in the downturn?
Negativity spreads like wildfire and a disillusioned employee can soon spread their negative vibes throughout the office. Many managers can find the balance between challenging and supporting their employees quite tricky and the key to combating negativity is finding the right line between pushing your staff and providing a supportive atmosphere in which they can work.
The Corporate Gifts Company have put together this guide to help make sure your staff stay motivated.
Give Clear And Realistic Goals
By giving employees meaningful and realistically challenging goals you will ensure that they have a sense of purpose, as well as providing a focus for their work. Preparation is everything and if the company or department has an end goal in mind, realistically challenging targets for individual employees will ensure that not only will they feel closely involved with the project, it will also give everyone involved a clear focus and assurances of their role within the project.
Money Helps..
59% of men and 57% of women admit that more money would make them more engaged and committed at work and it does appear to be the obvious solution to low motivation. If companies can afford it, bonuses for achieved set targets can enforce the goals set for employees, as well as giving them something to aim for, driving motivation.
.But It Isn’t Everything
Most business owners won’t need telling, times are tight and money isn’t flowing like it used to. If businesses can afford to pay bonuses they can be an effective way of pushing a team towards an end goal and they will benefit motivation. But if companies are feeling the pinch, there are alternatives that will have an equal effect on employee motivation.
36% of men and 35% of women said that more interesting work would have the same effect as a bigger pay packet, and 33% of men and 42% of women said that recognition for their good work would make them more motivated at work. Items such as corporate gifts can have a positive effect when rewarding hard work and recognising achievement. Corporate gifts can be either unexpected or used as part of an incentive scheme, helping to motivate staff and show that their efforts are not being taken for granted.
Quite simply, saying thank you and showing gratitude for hard work can go a long way towards creating a more motivated workforce. Incentives don’t have to be financial and corporate gifts can be used to provide an effective way of showing staff that their efforts are being noticed by management.
Alan writes articles on issues surrounding the corporate gifts industry for The Corporate Gifts Company.