Motivating your people – where to start?

What REALLY motivates your employees? We all know that it isn’t just the carrot or the stick. Taylorism has had its day and the modern workforce is savvier than ever before. And it has never been so important to have your employees acting as ambassadors for your brand.

In today’s hyper-connected world it is no longer just our customers who talk about their experiences interacting with our brands on social media, but now employees also have a voice. Websites such as Glassdoor offer plenty of very frank opinions about what it is like to work for companies both large and small. So those experiences need not just be positive – they need to be GOOD. And this is not just about limiting damage to the brand – it is also because we want to attract as well as retain the best talent. One of the knottiest problems facing modern managers is how, once they have built their ideal team, to motivate and inspire them. You could almost liken employee engagement to the Holy Grail, and motivation is a huge part of the concept. How your staff feel about coming to work, about their environment, the tasks they are required to perform every day, how they are remunerated for their work, and especially about their managers and co-workers all contribute to how motivated they feel, and every employer wants to get the mix ‘just right’. So what motivates people at work? Fair pay? A pleasant working environment, certainly. Being thanked, perhaps, and recognised for their input. Good collaborative relationships within teams is also important.

Don’t forget that people want to feel a real sense of purpose – this is increasingly important to younger generations. And on the back of this, empowering your employees within the company and giving them the space to stretch, grow and make a difference. Even with all these admirable goals in mind, however, many employers forget that a one-size fits all approach doesn’t work well with motivation, and implement blanket procedures, only to feel disappointed at their lack of success, and unsure about what to do or where to go next. The true key to motivating your people and building cohesive teams is to find out what they think as individuals. This may take longer, but is always really worthwhile. You could start by carrying out some surveys within teams to get a slice showing you what your people think is working, what they believe doesn’t work, and, perhaps most important of all, their suggestions for improvement. Truly inspiring ideas for positive change can be just a questionnaire away and Cafe Therapy can help you with building the perfect set of questions for your purposes. Once you have collected and analysed your data, you can think about implementing changes that will really make a difference. The final important stage in the procedure is collecting more feedback to gauge the success of the measures you put in place and gather the insight you need into what worked and what could have been done better, and you’re now in a good position to repeat the procedure at regular intervals to keep abreast of any sea changes in the air!