Peter Murphy asked:
In the workplace, it can be very difficult to obtain staff motivation. There are many factors that play against staff motivation. It really is the manager’s responsibility to motivate the employees. This can be very challenging at times.
There are six guidelines that a person can follow to achieve staff motivation.
1. A friendly working environment is extremely important to a positive attitude in the workplace. Socializing should be acceptable in most cases. People can work and socialize at the same time. There has to be interaction between the staff in order for them to form a bond and relationship to become a team.
Also, if coming to your job everyday is never fun, then you will have some very unmotivated workers on your hands. It must be an enjoyable place to spend 8-10 hours per day. This is crucial for staff motivation.
2. Helping the employees set goals for themselves is very important to gaining staff motivation. Everyone needs to know what his or her expectations are as well as their job description. A weekly staff meeting could be beneficial to a productive work place. It is a good idea to get their input and listen to any complaints.
3. The open door policy with management is a must. The staff must be able to come and discuss any problems or even ideas with the management, in confidentiality. They need to be able to give their feedback on issues. More importantly, the management needs the feedback.
4. Rewarding your staff with bonuses, promotions, employee of the month awards or raises will help motivate them. Even praise is encouraging to the employees. It lets them know that they are valuable to the team.
Without these rewards or praises, the staff will feel unappreciated and worthless. If they have these feelings, then they will not have any pride in their work and you will probably get low quality work.
5. Understanding that everyone works at a different pace and with a different style is a key to success, as well. There are many different personalities in one work place. It is the Managers job to listen and understand that everyone is different. To be flexible and understanding is another key to staff motivation.
6. It is so important for the Manager to leave room for error in every line of work. We are all human. There will be mistakes made. It is up to the boss to have an alternate plan in case of an error. A plan B to correct the problem.
All these ideas are a good place to start in achieving staff motivation in the workplace. Different things motivate different people. Staff motivation can be achieved by following these guidelines.