5 easy ways to motivate your staff

Having a motivated workforce is a must for all organisations, so if you think your personnel are lacking purpose and inspiration, now’s the time to take action. There are many different ways to give your employees a morale boost, and here are five of the simplest and best.  
  1. Make your office an enjoyable, stimulating place to be
  Office design is about much more than simply providing enough workstations for your personnel to use. With a few clever touches, you can create an inspiring setting that’s a pleasure to spend time in. For example, rather than having a homogenous working environment, you might benefit from creating different zones within your office. As well as a section with regular workstations, you could include a breakout area where employees can go to have discussions with colleagues. You might also want to incorporate a quiet area that personnel can use when they want to concentrate on tasks without being disturbed. Zoning your office in this way can give your staff members greater control over their working days, and in turn this can reduce their stress levels, raise their productivity and generally make them feel happier.   Traditionally, office décor has been fairly dull and nondescript. However, companies are increasingly switching onto the advantages associated with injecting some personality into these places. Introducing splashes of vibrant colour can be an effective way to elevate the look of your office, and you might also benefit from displaying some attractive artwork. It pays off to bring plenty of greenery into your working environment too. Plants look great and they can improve air quality. There’s also evidence to suggest that they raise worker output. A study by a team from the University of Exeter found that in ‘green’ offices - which feature a lot of plants - productivity could be up to 15 per cent higher than ‘lean’ offices with relatively few bits of greenery.  
  1. Offer the right incentives
  When it comes to providing incentives that will motivate your employees, the most obvious is a pay rise. However, if you’re looking to keep your costs down, there are a range of other rewards you can offer to your personnel that should help to put a smile on their faces. For example, perhaps you could give them an extra paid day off for their birthdays. You might also want to provide awards and prizes for certain achievements. This can help to focus people’s minds and it shows them that their hard work is noticed and appreciated. On a more basic level, simply remembering to praise your staff members when they do something well is important.  
  1. Provide opportunities for advancement
  If your personnel know that - as long as they put in the hard work and show enough talent - they will be able to progress in their roles, they are more likely to demonstrate commitment and drive. Conversely, if they feel they are stuck in a dead end job with no opportunities to progress, your workers are likely to lose interest. So, it’s essential that you provide your employees with fair and attainable promotion opportunities. By putting in place clear targets that your team can work towards in order to move up into more senior roles, you stand a better chance of keeping them motivated.   Effective appraisals are an integral part of this process. These feedback sessions can help employees and managers to understand one another’s expectations. It’s also vital that your workers have access to suitable training so that they can expand their skills in order to climb the career ladder.  
  1. Lead by example
  The most inspiring and best managers tend to be those who lead by example, so this is something you should always try to do in your role as a boss. If you turn up to work each day with a positive attitude and lots of energy, there’s a good likelihood that your employees will follow suit. Bear in mind that this applies to the finer details as well as your general approach. For example, if you want your personnel to turn up to work on time every day, it’s worth making an effort to get to your desk nice and early. Managers who have one set of rules for themselves and another for their employees can struggle to earn respect and trust.  
  1. Give them more of a say
  Giving your employees more of a say in how things happen within your company can also be a big morale booster. By allowing your personnel to have greater input, you can help to foster a sense of team spirit and make them feel genuinely valued and respected. There are many different ways to bring people into the fold and give them a sense that they are more connected to the decision making process. One very simple but effective tactic is to offer them a say in how your office is designed, and enabling them to personalise their workstations.   You could also ensure you have regular staff feedback and brainstorming sessions to give people a chance to express their ideas and to come up with their solutions to problems. As well as helping to make people feel involved in the running of your organisation, this can turn on a tap of new ideas that help to drive your business forward.   There’s definitely an art to keeping workers motivated and engaged, but following suggestions like these should help ensure you get the basics right. The techniques covered here aren’t difficult, and they can have a hugely positive impact on the outlook of your employees. From tweaking your office design to empowering your personnel, there are a host of ways to improve the mindsets of your staff members.