It's that time again. When I look around the office, I see mostly bored faces and unmotivated scrolling. Many colleagues are looking at their smartphones instead of their emails and there is no document, table or report on the screens. That means: Over there, a colleague is writing an article. Although, you're wrong: That's the Spiegel Online website.
After lunch comes the soup coma. Even the Huffington Post has reported on why this happens (because the body is busy digesting) and what you can do about it (eat smaller meals with a high whole grain content).
Motivating employees - employee engagement
So this is to be expected at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, but if your employees always look like this, you should take action. But how can you increase engagement?
Ideas for motivating employees
Taking measures to motivate employees may sound complicated, expensive or trite, but it doesn't have to be. Of course, employee engagement software can help , but first let's look at a few simple methods.
If you google "How do I motivate my employees," you'll find lots of endless lists that are repeated over and over again. That's clear, actually, because "Invite your employees to lunch" and "Thank them regularly" may not be creative, but they're solid. So that you don't get glassy eyes while reading this and just scroll through listlessly, I'm not going to create a super-long list. I've gone through websites, e-books and blogs for HR and talent management and have summarized the best tips and tricks here in eight basic categories.
The order is random, which is intentional: which approach works best depends a lot on the culture of each company. I've also made a few suggestions for implementation for each, trying to take into account different budgets, plans and personalities.
These 8 tips will help you overcome the office slump.
1. Let your employees know why exactly their work is important
"Why am I actually doing this?" It's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in the minutiae of daily tasks. Bring it back for your employees.
Motivating Employees Gear
Why this works:
It's hard to be passionate about something you've lost sight of its importance. If your people feel like powerless little cogs in a machine that they don't really know what drives it, it's hard for them to get satisfaction from their work.
In companies with effective employee recognition programs, 90% of employees feel like they can make a difference within the company. You can increase that sense of satisfaction by showing why the work they do is important.
Salespeople keep the day-to-day business running and are the "face" of the company. Social media managers keep your brand fresh and in the conversation. Let them know what they're doing for the bigger picture (even if their job title might already suggest it).
3 ideas for motivating employees:
When onboarding new employees, make sure they know the importance of their roles and how they are integrated into the company processes outside of their own team. Introduce new colleagues to people from different teams and highlight the relationships between them. A flow chart can help to make these connections between individual teams clear.
If your company can afford the luxury of high transparency, you can also show your employees in performance reviews what share of sales they contribute. This will make people who have a strong affinity for numbers particularly aware of their own value. If necessary, discuss with your superiors which figures you are actually allowed to release (or where you can find them).
Emphasize the importance of working across departments. Point out situations where one team would not have been able to achieve its goals without another to make the connections clear. A full 81% of employees are happier when they can use their skills to the full at work. Showing them the importance of their own work to others is a good way to emphasize this.
2. Give regular feedback
According to a survey by OfficeVibe , 63% of employees feel unappreciated at work and 69% believe they would work harder with more feedback, so regular feedback is a powerful motivator.
Motivating Employees Feedback
Why this works:
I've said it many times before and I'll stick to it: quarterly performance reviews are not the best way to give feedback to your employees . Ongoing assessment is much better because it allows both sides to intervene immediately if a course correction is needed. This can easily save over 200 hours of work .
I'm not saying you should completely throw out your current performance appraisal system. There are also great ways to give feedback outside of performance reviews. And of course, you don't have to praise your people to the skies. Just let them know if they need to change something. It's much easier to make small adjustments than to get the entire behavior back on track if it has strayed too far off course over time.
3 ideas for motivating employees:
1. Send your employees an email and thank them for great work. This can also be small things, such as a well-run meeting. The main thing is that you do it promptly. These emails can be short, as long as they are meant seriously. Here is a short template, for example:
Hello [name of employee],
I heard you did really well on [project name]. Apparently your [ability of the person concerned] led to [achieved success: time saved, goal achieved, etc.]. Thank you for your efforts!
[Greetings, signature]
Encourage your team leaders to look at their team's projects and see where small things could be done better. It's important that the criticism expressed doesn't sound like a nitpicking attempt to point out mistakes, but rather as a suggestion for improvement, as a way for employees to make their lives easier. There is a rule of thumb that says that you should always combine negative feedback with positive. That doesn't always work, but careful and genuinely friendly choice of words more than makes up for it.
Set up a system to evaluate performance and provide feedback on an ongoing basis. Of course, changing your system completely is a big deal, or at least it can be. Especially if it involves purchasing new software. Even just getting the process started can be a challenge. But according to the Harvard Business Review , such a change can pay off: If you take the time and implement it carefully, a new system leads to improved agility and responsiveness. Gamification is one way to make the dry feedback process more fun.
3. Set the right course right from the start
When someone starts working at a new company, he or she is highly motivated and wants to fit into the company culture. Unfortunately, new employees have the problem that they don't know the culture yet: it's not that easy to be the new guy or girl! This process can be accelerated by assigning new employees old hands to help them get to know the company and familiarize them with the customs.
Motivating Employee Newbies
Why this works:
This way, your new recruits have a fixed point of contact for their questions and can fit in more easily. At the same time, the mentors have the satisfying feeling of being able to share their knowledge - with someone who is actually interested and who will benefit from it. A real win-win situation.
3 ideas for motivating employees:
An induction program like this is a great way to get both new and long-term employees involved and to get them to know each other. There are many, many software solutions that make organizing a mentoring program like this easier . But basically all you need is a few people who want to learn and a few who are willing to teach.
Are you afraid of the narrow limits of an "official" program? Then just don't call your mentoring program that. Leave it unnamed. It may well be that fewer rules lead to more success. A " sponsoring program " is also conceivable, in which both partners are quite similar in age and experience. This way you can get by without the formal nature of a mentorship.
If that's still too regular (I'm thinking of the fluid startup culture), then just invite everyone to lunch or dinner together so that the new colleagues can get to know each other a little. Have something to nibble on and invite your older employees to introduce themselves. Once a few contacts have been made, the necessary contact points for your new employees will arise all by themselves. You've just helped to break the ice.
4. Celebrate private events
The most important things in your employees' lives often happen outside of work. Recognizing that - and taking a genuine interest in other people's personal lives too - can work wonders.
Motivating employees Congratulations
Why this works:
Employee recognition is of fundamental importance: everyone wants to be appreciated for what they achieve. This is of course also true for private achievements. If you are aware of this, you can make a little effort on special occasions and your employees will quickly feel recognized as people, not as resources.
Employees expect increased interest not only from management, but also from HR . If your company has a more open culture (as is the case with many smaller companies or startups), they may expect you to remember birthdays and the like on your own.
3 ideas for motivating employees:
Plan ahead. Ask new employees about their birthdays and file them. Add them to your work calendar and generally pay attention to potentially significant dates. This way you can prepare and won't be surprised. A quick message on Xing (which just reminded you of a coworker's birthday) is no substitute for a planned, well-thought-out little extra.
Not sure what your employees have been up to outside of work lately? Even if you don't have much to do with each other, their colleagues might know. Send a team member a quick email and ask about a date or progress. That way you won't accidentally send a congratulations card for the birth of a child who is already ten months old.
Above all, you should know your people: a surprise party is not really the right thing for a colleague who simply doesn't like being in the spotlight. Those who value and protect their privacy may see this as too much of an intrusion. Sometimes the most appropriate gift is simply no gift at all.
5. Promote your employees' projects
Recognition for good ideas always feels good and ensures honest commitment. When you see your own ideas come to life and projects are actually implemented, it is clear that the company values your own contribution. If you give employees the space to turn their ideas into real projects, you are also expressing your trust in them and showing them that you value their contribution and trust them to implement it successfully.
Why this works:
Trusting your employees encourages their commitment and determination to do a good job on the project. Promoting personal projects provides an incentive to get involved and, at the same time, brings the excellent ideas of your bright minds to fruition.
3 ideas for motivating employees:
Create a small form where project suggestions can be submitted, either to management or within the team. Google’s free form generator is ideal for this.
Boost creativity and problem-solving skills with team-building activities: a guided laos telegram data painting evening, a week-long puzzle competition or a trip to an escape room are all fun too.
A company culture that welcomes ideas is irreplaceable. Believe in personal projects, especially those that require minimal resources or time. Make it clear that anyone is welcome to start such projects. If you need to discuss this with your superiors or company management, you should of course do so before the program starts. When superiors get involved, it is a great sign of the value of the employees. In a survey on company culture, 83% of the companies surveyed said that the involvement of the executive levels is fundamental to the development of a company culture.
6. Don’t neglect the fun in team building
Company events and outings are a good way to improve the working atmosphere and thus strengthen employees' loyalty to the company.
Motivating Employees Bowling
Why this works:
Everyone has been to a team-building event that was full of laughter or even a little silly, whether it was at the bowling alley or playing games at the Christmas party: you know what I'm talking about. These evenings stay in your memory and improve relationships with colleagues - if only because you all laughed together about the silly event. Team-building doesn't have to be cool to work. It just has to improve relationships within the team.