How to Motivate Employees: Useful Tips for Managers

A few years ago, the interviewee Work Trend Index more than 30,000 workers in 31 countries and found that 40% of respondents are thinking about leaving their jobs. This is a worrying statistic when you consider the astronomical sums of money companies spend on staff turnover.

Motivating employees is therefore not only your moral obligation as a manager, but could also mean a turning point for your company.

What is employee motivation?

Employee motivation is simply the motivation that your employees have in relation to their work. It is the force that drives them to perform at their best every day, which makes them surpass themselves. A high level of employee motivation also reduces fluctuation, as they're less likely to burn out or feel the need to look elsewhere.

Benefits of motivated employees

One of the biggest benefits of motivated employees is that they are less likely to leave the company. Considering the costs of hiring and training new employees, this is a huge cost saving for companies of all sizes. But there are other benefits that result from motivating employees:

• Increased productivity: The more motivated an employee is, the harder he/she will work and thus the Keep productivity high.
• Higher profit: The more focused employees work, the higher their output, which has a positive effect on profit.
• Good culture: Motivating employees promotes a positive work culture, which attracts new employees and maintains a positive atmosphere among the existing workforce.
• Better development: Motivated employees are usually more willing to continue their education and development, and the better they get, the more your company benefits.
• Fewer absences: Dissatisfied and unmotivated employees usually take more days off, which can be very costly for a company.
• Improved customer interactions: The benefits of employee motivation don't just extend to your productivity and bottom line. They can also have an impact on customer interactions and lead to happier, friendlier, and more professional dealings with them.

How to motivate employees

Now that we know the benefits, let's look at how managers can motivate their employees:

Set clear goals and set a corporate vision

Open goals won't motivate your workforce. They need something they can work towards, something that has a clear start and end point. Before you ask yourself how you can motivate your workforce, ask yourself where that motivation should lead. Your goals should be achievable while leaving room for further growth.
You also need a corporate vision. Where do you want to go, where do you want to get there, how do you want to achieve that? Before your employees share your vision and work towards it, they need to know what that vision actually is.

Show your appreciation

We all need a little reassurance from time to time. Imagine going to the office early every day, working at full speed, achieving all of your goals and then getting nothing but a new task list from your employer. This is enough to demotivate even the most positive and strong-willed employee.
Don't be that kind of supervisor. Always show off your esteemwhen your employees do a good job and achieve their goals. It can be as simple as a serious thank you, a gift for the most hard-working employees, a company event, or even just a few grateful emails.

Give your workforce time to relax and unwind

Burnout among employees has become a major issue in recent years. We live in very stressful times. Workers are expected to work harder and longer than ever before, but at the same time they have less and less patience to do so. And who can blame them? A person can only endure a certain amount.
So don't treat your employees like machines. Give them time to relax and unwind, even if they insist they don't need a break. Organize company outings. Give them a few days off. Encourage them to take a vacation. They may miss out on a few days of work, but they'll come back stronger, better, and more motivated than ever before.
Mobile working and hybrid working models help your employees recover without having to take a complete break.

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Fostering a happy workplace

Workers need more motivation than a salary and a grateful manager. They need a happy place to work, one that they look forward to every day. When he is boring and stressful, they are reluctant to go to work. That doesn't mean you have to adopt the stereotypical approach of a tech start-up and fill your office space with bean bags, ping pong tables, pinball machines, and personal coffee bars. It simply has to be inviting.
Try to look at it from the employee's perspective. Would you like to go to the office every day if you didn't have the management or leadership position that you hold?
This doesn't just apply to physical offices. Digital workplaces should also be inviting. It should be easy for employees to communicate and work on projects together. They should have the tools they need to work efficiently and effectively, and when they run into a problem, they should be able to solve it quickly.

Get involved with your employees

Always make time for your employees. Talk to them, ask them what they want, and make sure their needs are met. That's why it's important to build a good relationship with them and let them know they can reach out to you if they have a problem.

Ask them the same questions over and over as the situation may change. Just because they insist that everything is okay today doesn't mean that it will still be the case in a few weeks or even months.

If they have a problem with the way they're being run or the way the company works, address it. Do what you can to resolve the issue. Otherwise, they will assume that their words will not be heeded.

Encouraging teamwork

Most employees work better as a team. That is also better for the company. They share ideas, communicate problems, and combine their skills and creativity to work towards a common goal. It is just as important that working as a team involves an element of responsibility. No one wants to be the one who works the least and achieves the least. They don't want to let the team down, and when they see that their teammates are doing great things, they try even harder to do the same.

Teams work just as well in digital space as they do in physical space, and that's where intranets and collaboration software come in.

Train your employees in the things they want to learn

When an employee learns something and improves, it benefits your company and your bottom line. But their self-esteem and motivation are also increasing. If you can train them in the things they want to learn, so much the better.

Just make sure you use your time wisely. Don't force them to attend countless trainings and conferences based on pointless information they either don't need or already know. Don't send an IT professional to a course that covers Excel basics, and don't patronize an experienced employee by training them in the basics together with new employees.

Incentivize your employees

Incentivize your employees through perks, rewards, and recognition:

• Programs for employee of the month
• Workplace rewards programs
• Financial incentives
• Employee vacations
• Extra vacation days

It doesn't matter what you choose as long as you set a clear goal for your employees. Start small and make sure the incentives align with your short and long-term goals, but also leave room for growth. For example, if you start with a big financial incentive, you might feel compelled to maintain or improve it as you grow the business, and that would be financially unsustainable.

For starters, any incentive is sufficient. If you feel that the incentive needs to be bigger and you can justify it, you can also increase it later.

Improve employee motivation with Flexopus

Hybrid work models are a good way to motivate employees. Letting them spend a few days at home gives them the time they need to mind their business, relax, and enjoy time at home while doing their work at the same time. However, since you have fewer workplaces than employees in hybrid working models, it can quickly become hectic to get hold of a free desk on face-to-face days in the office.

Here comes the desk sharing software Flexopus into the game. With Flexopus, employees can easily use their mobile phones, laptops or Microsoft Teams Out one workstation, one meeting room or a parking book. Through the with the German Design Award Excellent usability of the app motivates employees to go to the office more often and easily reserve a workplace.

Get in touch today to get a Schedule a demo And see what Flexopus can do for you.

Summary: How to improve employee motivation

We've looked at numerous ways you can motivate your employees, from interacting with them more frequently to creating teams and offering incentives. But you can also simply ask your employees what motivates them and then give them what they need. Everyone is different, and the driving force of one employee will not be the same as that of another. But it is a good starting point.