As a company you want to attract as much talent as possible. After all, the more talent you have, the more successful your company is, right? However, research has shown that it is not always talent, but often also the motivation of employees that really counts. You can motivate your team not only with money, but also with the right expertise.
The key to motivation is a good manager
Around 75 percent of people find dealing with their boss the most stressful part of their job. As a manager, you have more impact on your team’s motivation than you might think. A strong manager with the right experience can inspire and stimulate employees, leading to greater motivation.
Hence, it is very important for a company’s managers to understand that they have a key role to play when it comes to creating a positive climate in which motivation is an asset.
If you want to develop as a manager, it is important to learn a number of things and then apply them: learn situational leadership, get to know your own work preferences, find out how best to deal with feedback, and so on.
The idea is not that you, as a manager, suddenly have to become a psychologist. But gaining some insight into how people ideally function in the professional environment can give you a head start in getting your people to collaborate optimally.
Creating a positive and motivating work environment also ensures that employees not only feel more involved in the company, but also become more productive.
Motivation and the work environment
If your team work full-time, they will be present in the workplace for an average of 1800 hours a year. In many business cultures it seems as if anyone can be productive anywhere – they can wear earplugs if need be.
Although here at Mailleux & Associates we do not focus on what can be described as “ergonomics in the workplace”, we do notice that many companies have room for improvement in this area.
If you’re at work for about eight hours a day, it’s important you should feel good while there.
So it is logical to assume that the available space, room layout, lighting conditions and noise level are all factors that help create a motivating work environment.
Flexible and efficient
The number of people working from home has increased steadily in recent years. Although employers indicate in surveys that communication with staff working from home is not quite as smooth, nevertheless it offers several advantages.
Employees are more productive, more creative and more involved in their work. Motivation also increases, because flexible hours improve the work-life balance. It allows a company to attract people with a wide range of skills, because it lowers the commuting threshold. Employees who are satisfied with their working conditions generally remain loyal to their company for longer.
Charges on labour have also made flexible compensation more popular in recent times. Today, more and more companies go beyond offering the classic benefits of, say, meal vouchers, a company car and health insurance. It is a way for a company to acknowledge that everyone is different and has different needs. Allowing staff to choose what their overall package looks like also increases their commitment.
Motivation in a strong team
A close feeling of togetherness and team spirit makes people more committed to you and your colleagues. It can increase engagement, even if an employee is neutral or even negative towards a company.
Members of a close-knit team who share the same values are more likely to transfer emotions to one another. If those feelings are negative, a vicious circle can quickly develop from which your team will find it difficult to escape. But the opposite is also true: enthusiasm, motivation, productivity and commitment can increase and strengthen very quickly.
So you need to work proactively on developing a positive attitude within your team, make sure they have enough time to relax, plan activities outside the work environment, and above all: believe in your team. These are just a few of the things you can do to boost the group’s motivation.
Establish clear agreements about how your collaboration should function, who does what exactly, and how you all cope with difficult situations (see also our previous article on team chartering).
Here at Mailleux & Associates, we have been working for some years now on tips, tricks and tools for optimising motivation in the work environment.
If you would like to know more, don’t hesitate to contact us .
