How to motivate employees as a manager and boost productivity
A recent study found the 3 most motivating factors for employees are: a good work-life balance (21%), peer motivation (20%) and an encouraging boss (15%).
Although managers know that motivation is the key to unlocking productivity, it can be difficult to find the time for it. Having a large workload and a lack of motivation limits what you are able to do at work.
Feed your employee's motivation by building on a solid foundation. Employee motivation is built on two main aspects: employee satisfaction and authentic workplace relationships. Let’s delve into these areas.
Introduction: What Makes Employees Happy?
Employee happiness is a significant factor in the success of any organisation. A happy employee is likely to be more productive, work better with others, and remain with the company for a longer period of time.
There are many factors that contribute to an employee's happiness at work. Some of these factors can be controlled by employers such as salary, benefits, and job security. Other factors that affect an employee's happiness include their relationships with co-workers and managers. This extends to how much control they have over their work environment, and whether or not they feel like they have a voice in decision-making processes at work.
Let's look into these areas in more detail.
1) Provide a sense of purpose
Managers can provide a sense of purpose to their employees by leading by example. If the manager demonstrates a sense of purpose and values, then their employees will follow suit.
Managers should also communicate their vision for the company and make sure it aligns with the company's mission statement. An opportunity for employees to share their ideas for the workplace and incorporate these ideas into everyday practice should be presented too. When an employee feels invested in the company's goals and practices they feel valued and appreciated.
2) Offer autonomy
People are happiest when they feel as if are in control of their own destinies. Avoid being a micromanager or control freak.
An overbearing attitude will actively cause people to leave your company. Give employees more freedom to take the initiative on projects. You don't need to be micromanaging every aspect of their work - let them do what they are capable of and focus on other aspects of your organisation.
Offering autonomy at work is a great way to motivate employees. With autonomous employees, you won't need to worry about micromanaging them and they will feel more satisfied with their jobs. Start by defining the goals of your company and then present the autonomy that you would offer as an incentive for meeting those goals.
Managers can offer their employees autonomy by delegating tasks and responsibilities, providing clear feedback, fostering a culture of trust and respect, and giving autonomy to figure out what motivates them.
3) Encourage learning and development
Increasing employee retention and performance is a significant goal for most organisations. Employees who are engaged with their work motivated to learn new skills, and committed to personal development are more likely to stay with the company for longer periods of time.
4) How can managers Give feedback to their employees
Feedback is the most crucial element in a healthy working relationship. Managers need to be able to provide their employees with feedback on how they are doing, what they need to change, and what skills they need to develop. In order for feedback to be effective and beneficial, it must be given in an honest and timely manner that is constructive so that it can improve the overall performance of employees.
5) Employee feedback to managers
Be open to criticism. Employees will be much happier if they can freely express their opinions. If an employee comes to you with criticism, don't become defensive or abrupt. You need to maintain your position of power in the company but you also give them leeway to speak freely.
Employee Motivation Strategies
Employee motivation is key to the success of any company. Motivated employees are more productive, they are happier, and they are less likely to leave the company.
Motivation strategies should be tailored to each individual employee. One of the most popular and effective methods is gamification. Gamification can be used in various ways:
- Providing incentives for completing tasks
There are many ways to provide incentives for completing tasks, such as paying workers higher wages, giving them more time off, or providing bonuses.
- Rewarding employees for meeting their goals
Rewarding employees for meeting their goals is a great way to motivate them to work harder. One way to do this is to remind employees about the benefits that can be gained for reaching certain goals. For example, if someone wants a raise, they could be reminded of all the other reasons why they should want a raise.
- Creating competitions between departments helps motivate employees
Competition is a great way to motivate employees. Creating competitions between departments, or from the top of the company down, creates a challenge that pushes workers to do their best, both for themselves and their team. These competitions can be about anything: who can sell the most products in a given time frame, who can generate the most leads, who has the best conversion rate on their website and more. These incentives
- Creating competitions between teams
Having competitions between teams can be a great way to encourage innovation and bring out the best in your employees. Whether it's a competition to come up with a new brand name, slogan or social media strategy, competitions have the ability to motivate people and lead to breakthrough ideas.
Understanding personality types to motivate people more effectively
By understanding what personality types your employees are, you can determine the type of work they are best suited to, and be more effective in motivating them.
There are many ways of identifying and classifying work personality types. One way to group them is as follows:
Type A
Type A personalities have a real buzz about them and are the ones who are constantly visible. Although they appear edgy and busy when you first meet them, they soon warm up and become friendlier. They can compete with other people in their drive to get everything done straight away. They are very enthusiastic to start working on a case, which results in them not liking delays and may come across as rather rushed.
How to motivate type A’s
Type A employees are usually happier and more motivated when they can work on tasks alone. They don’t need someone to constantly hold their hand. They will automatically manage themselves, once they set themselves a goal.
This is the kind of leadership and mindset you want to build in your employees. With this attitude, they will last longer, work hard and become more competitive with others.
Ideal roles for these individuals include anything in sales, business owners, and management.
Type B
These people are friendly, talkative and full of energy – but they may be easily distracted and wander off-topic. Type B’s love a vibrant and stimulating environment. They might like to take a centre stage but they have a deep-seated need to be liked by everyone around them.
Type B’s often try and make sure everyone is paying attention to what they have to say. They lack attention, but that makes them persuasive. B’s also have good social skills. Just remember to double-check their work for the finer details.
How to motivate type B’s
Research shows that Types B employees enjoy work because of its social element and thrive in jobs which involve teamwork and plenty of interaction. These people are perfect for extra activities such as committees or helping organise events. It's crucial for managers to make
Type Bs feel valued and included, so they can be of the best possible use to you. It's also important that managers make sure these workers remain focused on the task at hand. One of the most immediate and quantifiable benefits of having Type-Bs at your office is that they will spread a lot more positivity.
The ideal uses for these types include public speaking, marketing and event planning.
TYPE C
Type C personalities are quite different to Type Bs, as they are serious and analytical about their work. Data-driven machines are very analytical and rely on facts and hard evidence to carry out any kind of task or project. They're also pretty sensitive if tuned that way, but you'll always be able to count on them for consistency.
How to motivate type C’s
Activities which focus on the cold, hard facts and less on style will be best suited to Type Cs. They thrive with projects that require accuracy and attention to detail.
Type C’s don’t work as well in situations where leading and mentoring others is key; their greatest strength is to gain deep insights and do precise, data-driven tasks. As they like to drill down into the smallest of details, they may struggle to oversee larger projects. Effective criticism should be presented in a constructive manner to not make them resentful.
Computer programmers copy editors and accountants are all considered Type C jobs
Understanding how to motivate your workforce is a fundamental part of being a successful manager. These three personality types can help you to better motivate your employees by giving them tasks which they will not just perform well, but will actually enjoy too.
Conclusion and Takeaways for How to motivate employees as a manager
A s a manager, using effective motivation and recognition strategies will see a far better output for your employees. You should also be aware of the different personality types and how to work with them.
Managers who know themselves and their own strengths, weaknesses, and values will be more effective in motivating their teams.
If you enjoyed this blog post and want to read more content on this subject, see our post on the signs of a good employer.