Happy workers are productive workers!

There’s no denying it – the happier your employees are the more productive they are. But how do you get your employees to work hard in order to help your business grow?

Luckily, there are some simple steps that you can take to motivate your staff that don’t require a great deal of effort or resources.

Opening Communication Channels

The importance of open communication with employees is often overlooked. Having conversations with your team is critical if you want to maintain their performance and keep them motivated. Communicate with your staff frequently and speak with them face to face rather just via email. This way you get to know your staff and they feel valued and appreciated.

Lead by example

How can you expect your employees to work hard, or behave the way you want them to, if you don’t lead by example? Great leaders get stuck in and do their part to ensure the company succeeds. If you show that you are excited about your work or are happy to ‘get your hands dirty’ with them it might just be the boost that they need to encourage them to do their best.

Encourage questions and suggestions

Give people a forum to share their ideas – you never know what pieces of gold you might find! A lot of staff will have ideas about how the workplace can be improved but may not feel comfortable sharing them unless asked.  You can then implement the good ideas; they might be ones that improve the way you do business or help increase sales, or help improve general wellbeing in the workplace.  

Reward great work

It’s important to give a job well done the credit it deserves. A simple “thank you” can go a long way in making an employee feel appreciated. Have a think about what you do when your staff performs well- Do you send them an email thanking them or to you acknowledge them in front of other staff?

And of course, offering incentives as a reward for great work always works well as a motivation booster — plus they don’t have to be expensive. You can offer simple incentives like movie tickets or gift vouchers or maybe an extra paid day off! As they say it’s often the thought that counts.

Share the excitement

When something great happens let your employees know about it. Celebrating achievements and milestones together, even small ones, brings the team together and can make everyone feel a part of the success.

Improving motivation can play a big role in keeping your best employees satisfied. If you fail to consistently motivate your employees it could lead to low morale and a much higher staff turnover for your business.

Barry Lehrer

Having run my own small business for over twenty years, I understand one of the biggest challenges is protecting your business from potentially damaging personnel or HR issues. That’s why I developed Diffuze.