So, what demotivates your employees?
- Lack of transparency and communication from the people they work with and their superiors.
- Having a working environment that is unhealthy or unsuitable for work (this is often misunderstood, as professionalism is a key thing in any organization).
- Insecure and not feeling trusted with the micromanagement.
- Workload getting too much to handle, and not being able to manage/balance both personal and professional life.
- Not feeling appreciated for the work that is done.
- There is no feeling of accomplishment and progress in their career in terms of growth.
- The sense boredom
- There is a lack of confidence in the management and the decisions taken for them or for the organization.
When working with teams and people around us there is always a set of people who are self-driven and get the urge to wake up the next day for work. Although this is not prevalent in everyone's case there are few things that could demotivate employees to work and also have a feeling of being left out. Motivation is a big aspect of every employee in the team or organization and the only way one can instill that is by working towards bringing the whole team as one, the feeling of togetherness, and creating a bond between the people you work with. There is no perfect formula to motivate the employees, but here are a few ways in which you can try:
- TRUST: Be a consistent leader, do not have highs and lows, and suddenly expect your peers to understand you. Everyone respects leaders they can trust; gain the trust of your employees. It is for sure trust is not gained in a day. But the employees need to feel mentally secure and know that they have a manager who has their backs. It definitely will take time, consistent communication, and transparency. Managers will always have to be open and transparent to them.
- REWARDS: Recognize and reward the employees for their inputs and hard work, we all go through bad phases. Having a method of rewarding them at simple steps also matters. Have simple appreciation emails, gifts, team dinners. take them for team building activities and so on (something that is social but will allow everyone to interact).
- FLEXIBILITY: Get to their level of understanding, break down the work, and let them know you are flexible in making adjustments favorable to them. Have a clear vision and plan set out for them which can involve a fall back plan too. Giving them options they can choose from as well as a sense of responsibility with the work they do.
- MILESTONES: Your employees need to know and understand what they are working towards. It will be easier for them to plan and manage their effort towards the overall goal that is of the team or them as an individual. There is a sense of confusion when there are no set goals or milestones. Setting goals allow you to measure and also track progress and completion of tasks.
- INTEREST: Show them a sense of interest in their life and overall wellbeing and career progress. Your team will feel more confident in approaching you knowing that their efforts are not going to go unnoticed. Schedule regular one to one meetings with your team; which allows both sides to be aware of the issues and where you stand, eventually will help in building a good bond with the manager as well.
- QUESTIONS: Ask them questions ask them the right questions at the right time and do not avoid any issues faced, clear out their doubts. Allow the employee to also ask questions and understand his/her mindset. Just asking someone what the problem is and if there is anything that you can do to help is a gesture that will always be appreciated and solve a few issues.
- REWIND: Take them back to times that they were motivated and doing great work, work them through the progress that they have has over the years. As a manager it is not the week to speak about your progress and failures, share some hurdles, and show them how you overcame those hurdles. Make them feel good about the work that is done, and making sure they realize that they have the potential if there is the drive.
There is never a perfect remedy, but there is always a strategy that you as a manager can plan for your team. Always understand that there are hard-working employees and there are smart working employees; find out whom you are dealing with and understand how you can add value to them.
There are 2 main types of motivation:
- Intrinsic Motivation?is a type of motivation in which an individual is motivated by internal desires.
- Extrinsic Motivation is a type of motivation in which an individual is being motivated by external desires.
Each and every person is triggered differently, so you need to understand why and how they are in that particular job and what are they working for. Some might like the learning, some might just want a 9 to 5 job, it all depends on personal desires. Have an understanding of how they are motivated internally or externally. Then, make a clear effort to help them out, and once they understand that there is no going back. Believe in your employees, trust them, and build them.
