Regardless of whether you are a new startup business, or you’ve been established for a while, one of the core factors to maintaining a successful business is to have a happy and productive workforce. As the needs of a business change and evolve over time, so do the needs of your employees.
Workers are far more likely to be productive if they know that you have their best interests at heart and that you are approachable and are willing to address any issues that may present themselves during the course of their work for your firm.
Here are some good ways to help motivate your staff and keep them being productive.
Make your employees feel like they own the place
If the men and women that work for your business feel that the work they do has a direct effect on what your company produces or sells, then they are more inclined to ensure that they do a good job.
Some people may think that this translates to being under pressure, but let’s face it; everyone needs a little pressure in their lives to motivate them into doing something!
One thing that many successful companies do is to get new employees to spend some time with all of the different departments within it. They can see exactly what other people do in the different departments, and they will have a better idea of where they fit in within your organisation.
Don’t shield the truth from them
A lot of business commit the cardinal sin of keeping any bad news from them until it’s too late. If your firm is in trouble, then you should let your employees know rather than taking the cowardly way out and making them all redundant first thing on a Monday morning!
On the flip side of that coin, you should also keep them up-to-date with any exciting new developments that are in the pipeline, such as new products, services or even company mergers or acquisitions. It shows them that you value their opinion, and aren’t just hiring them purely for labour purposes!
Be their boss, not their mate
Many managers feel the best way to integrate themselves within a team is to act as their friend rather than their boss. Employees need guidance and direction in their work; if you don’t fulfil those two requirements, they are unlikely to want to be productive or motivated to do any work.
Whereas if they have clear goals that they need to achieve by certain deadlines, they are more likely to be useful in your business.
Hire a motivational speaker
Sometimes your senior management may feel like they have hit a brick wall when it comes to ideas on how to freshen up their brand and make the business more attractive to its customers.
In such cases, having a motivational speaker such as the “first lady of football” Karren Brady attend one of your business events or functions can help to motivate your managers and ultimately give your business that competitive edge.
