Employees who are not enthusiastic about their work can be a big
problem for managers. These employees are not only less productive, but
their lack of motivation for tasks can also affect the morale of the
rest of the team, say human resources experts.
Here are some tips for managers to keep their employees motivated at work:
Consult: “Why are owners [of businesses] always
motivated?” asked Leonard Glick, business professor at Northeastern
University, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Because it’s their company so they care about making it a success, according to Mr. Glick.
Managers should try to instill a similar sense of ownership among
employees, so that they care enough to make it a success, the professor
added.
One of the ways to do this is by explaining to employees how their
work impacts the business. When new employees join, they should be told
not only what their job is, but how it fits into what the company does.
Mr. Glick says managers don’t realize that employees are sometimes
clueless about the company’s direction, or why they are working on a
particular project.
He advises managers to take time to have periodic meetings with their
team to share any changes taking place in the company and to help them
understand the business in the bigger picture.
This in turn will help to make the company more cohesive.
Employees can have valuable perspectives on the project they are
working on or other strategy decisions, and consulting them shows staff
that their opinions matter.
Challenge: Managers should ask themselves if their
employees are “challenged enough with new things,” said Nagarajan
Balanaga, vice president of human resources at Pune-based Cummins India
Ltd., manufacturer of engine and generators.
Mr. Balanaga suggests two ways to do this.
One is to give the employee a new project in which he or she doesn’t
have experience. Giving staff responsibility for a unknown project
enables them to learn, pushes their boundaries and makes them more
engaged in the work, Mr. Balanaga said.
If a project can’t be handed over to a particular employee, Mr.
Balanaga recommends asking them to work closely with someone who has a
new or challenging project.
Don’t force employees to do new things, because not everyone may want
to, he adds. If required, let the employee choose, and give guidance as
needed, Mr. Balanaga suggests.
Reward: Employees need to know that what they do is valued.
It’s important that staff are appreciated not only when they do
extraordinary work but also for the smaller daily tasks, said P.
Vaidyanathan, India head of human resources of Alten Calsoft Labs, a
Chennai-based engineering and technology consultancy.
It always helps if the head of the department or the chief executive officer also praises employees once in a while, he says.
Of course, salary increments go a long way to motivate employees, as
do other non-monetary benefits like travel expenses and crèche
facilities.
Make the office fun: Another source of motivation, especially for younger employees, is the office environment.
Creating informal spaces where people can interact without being
conscious of hierarchy is one way to make the office more fun, say human
resource experts.
Some other ways to encourage more interaction include celebrating
festivals as an office, playing sport together after work, or holding
monthly talks on non-work related topics in lunch-hours.
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