The end of the year often comes with a lull and fatigue that hampers the productivity of employees across the globe. Perhaps, it is a result of reflectiveness on goals achieved or stalled. Most times, it is due to financial stress compounded by the demands of the festive season and in today's case, the mounting global inflation. In Nigeria alone, price hikes have reached a new high with the inflation rate at 21.09% as of October 2022. The effect of this, in simple terms, is that food items are nearly four times their initial price when the year began. The declining economy is no match for the African employee earning the same amount every month, and with Christmas fast approaching, everyone could use some extra motivation to be more productive at work.
We put together a few tips for employers to help their people continue creating value that will be beneficial to everyone involved, no matter what time of the year it is.
- Keep your expectations clear. Always ensure that your people are clear on their respective duties at the workplace. And with every goal set, there must be a metric for measuring progress. This way, you inspire confidence and proactiveness towards creating a more productive work environment.
- Give consistent and constructive feedback. Nothing makes a person feel more engaged than hearing feedback that helps them improve. It is important to create a culture where feedback is as regular as it is constructive. You want to keep a positive energy while encouraging your people to show up as their best selves.
- Identify individual strengths and invest in them. Everyone has a skill or set of skills that are unique to them. Pay close attention to the areas where each employee shines best, give feedback on it, and help them harness it. This can be better achieved by encouraging more one-on-one sessions with Team Leads.
- Have empathy. Emotional Intelligence should be high on the priority list, especially in view of the times we live in. Be empathetic to your employees and their mental health challenges, where necessary. Encourage an environment where people's emotional needs are not dismissed and support is provided, in any capacity possible.
- Give them incentives. Employees need access to incentives that make earning more fun and life even better. This forms the core of what we are building at Salad. It is essential that these incentives are beneficial to your employees, such that they will find the need for them in their everyday lives. These include: earned wage access, bill payments, health insurance, gifts to show appreciation or recognition, and so on.
- Build a collaborative work environment. You have probably heard the saying: Teamwork makes the dream work. Inspire in your people an environment where collaboration is encouraged.
- Encourage autonomy and creativity. Your employees will be more driven when there is freedom for their ideas to be expressed and they can see the impact of their creativity. Leave room for job ownership and accountability, as it brings more value to the work environment.
