Creating a Highly Motivated Work Force: Four Methods to Consider

The term “synergy” gets thrown around a lot at meetings (which often is accompanied by groans) but although it’s a term employees are tired of hearing, it’s still a goal to achieve to create an effective work force that easily communicates and completes important tasks.

When a team is motivated they are likely to get more done, plain-and-simple. The employees feel a collective investment and pride in the work they do, which greatly improves the customer experience & satisfaction.

Motivating a team, though, can pose a few challenges, as it’s not always easy to get everyone on the same page (as you might have already known).

There are many ways to approach your team in hopes of motivating them; this post will share a few of the neatest methods to do just that.

Method #1: Work on building stronger relationships within the team

You should place a great deal of effort in developing better relationships for all those at work so that there aren’t barriers to communication and compassion. It starts by implementing an open policy for communication, which allows everyone to voice and share their opinions and ideas. The relationship further builds when the team players are able to share their personal experiences, which creates empathy between the parties, thus allowing them to find a common goal.

The task is to build a team that feels like a real friendship in which others come in and get excited to work with others rather than feeling they are merely a cog in the machine; if you can break down those communication barriers then you’re going to create a team that feels a passion for the work at hand.

Method #2: Give them “free play” time during the week

Did you know items like Post-It notes and Lasik were the result of companies giving their employees “free play” type time while they were in the office? This is when a company allows their employees a percentage of their day (or week) to devote to ideas they want to work on. Chance results in the creation of many new products and services but it also gives them a pet project to hold onto while completing the everyday work during the week.

Essentially – allow employees (and teams) to work on their passion projects (while on the dime) so they feel like they’re doing more than their normal routine.

Method #3: Implement an employee reward system

A neat technological approach that is becoming a great way to motivate employees is through systems, such as ones developed by InteliSpend, that implement employee reward programs and policies.

A few examples of what’s possible through these systems include:

·  Monitoring performance and delivering recognition through means like prepaid cards

·  Implementing wellness incentives for those proactive about their physical & mental health

·  Personalization of service anniversaries that aid in employee retention and satisfaction

·  Rewards for safety and cleanliness

The programs/services have many different avenues for inspiring employees from incentivizing additional training to adding elements of gamification to their work. In all, it creates a fun and motivating work place that not only increases happiness in employees but boosts to customer satisfaction and business profits through better work.

Method #4: Set highly-demanding, highly-rewarding goals

An employee doesn’t always gain job satisfaction through monetary means (as in that they do not always feel accomplished if they are given a raise or even a promotion). A lot of times it’s a simple act of recognizing their great work, regularly, so they feel pride in what they have accomplished.

Employees stuck repeating remedial tasks day in and day out will be hard pressed to find motivation when presented with new challenges. A way to light their fire it would be worthwhile to assign them highly-demanding projects while giving them a lot of the control. Accompany the project with an incredible reward and they will certainly feel up to the challenge because they are working on something big and self-satisfying.

Conclusion

A combination of these options along with developing greater leadership skills will become vehicle for creating your highly motivated work force. Once you have found the methods & strategies that work for your team it’s just a matter of building and sustaining the momentum. When employees are happy the customers are happy. What’s not to lose by pumping excitement into the work force?