As an employer, there is little more valuable to you than motivated employees. When you have people who want to work hard and are passionate about the success of a company you have a much better chance of succeeding. This isn’t just about people working for their wage, it is about people caring about what happens to a company and having employees that strive to do more than just what is expected of them!
Of course motivated employees don’t just come out of thin air, instead you need to give them a reason to work hard for you and show them that you are a company that is worth working hard for. A big part of this is starting from the very beginning and thinking about employee motivation right from the start of the hiring process.
So, what should you be doing to ensure employee motivation?
Be Honest – Honestly is always the best policy so make sure you map out exactly what is expected from employees right from the start. It is important for people to understand their role and what they will be expected to do. If you suddenly start to give them new responsibilities after they have started a job then they might feel tricked into working harder than they agreed and this will do nothing to encourage them to work hard.
What Else Can Offer Them? – Although wages are important to everyone, it is worth discussing what else you can offer an employee. If you are able to show them a number of benefits then they could be tempted to work harder.
Progression – Speak to them about the chances of progression that will be available to them in the future. It can also be worth having a chat about the skills that will be needed for someone to progress to a new position, so that they understand what new skills they will need to learn and how stretching in their current position could help with this.
Challenge – During the interview process you should speak about the challenges that the job role could bring up and how they might deal with these. By speaking about the challenges they might face you get the chance to see how they might deal with any problems and whether they’re motivated enough to deal with problems that might arise.
Get Current Employees Involved – Taking on new people to work in a company can be an exciting time. Speak to your current employees about your hiring process and what new employees you intend to take on. This can help to create a buzz on the work-floor and can help to encourage everyone to work that little bit harder.
Of course, the importance of employee motivation is not something that is short lived. You also should be considered the happiness of your employees on a long term basis, as this is a much better way to make sure that they stay motivated and are happy to work hard for you and your company.
