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Different things motivate different folks. Some people are motivated to enhance their appearance while others are motivated by prestige or sexual conquest. Others are motivated by money. When it comes to work, many people are not motivated to do much of anything except show up and collect a paycheck. It is our job as managers to create an environment in which employees are inspired to do a better job and forge.

A recent Gallop Poll stated that about 20% of people queried described themselves as “actively disengaged” at work. Most of these people also said that they were not given the proper tools to do their job or that they were not given clear directions for completing the task. From this Poll, we see statistics that are astounding. These employees who are being described as “actively disengaged” are costing employers more than 300 billion dollars a year! This same Poll showed that these people are more likely to go hooky or to be late and are also described as less enthusiastic to their jobs.

A frequent mistake that employers make is levying too many regulations for employees to follow. This is highly de-motivating for the employee! They feel that they are not empowered to creatively carry out tasks for fear of breaking a rule.

Having employees feel that they are not trusted is another critical mistake that management makes. Creating rules and polices that question an employee’s trustworthiness is common practice in major businesses. An example includes allowing a certain number of days off when a family member dies. This assumes that if there were no limit on the number of days, the employee would take advantage of their time off.

The following are tips to create a work environment that fosters motivation.

Guidelines for an Enjoyable Work Environment

? Minimize rules and policies to the essential. Rules are there to protect your business and create structure; if a rule does not serve that purpose, then you will need to consider retiring that particular policy.

? After the rules are established, it is essential that all employees know what is expected of them. Ensure apt promulgation of all regulations.

? Establish a code of conduct. Implement a collaborative effort which involves all or most of the employees that work with you. A vision and mission statement keeps the ship sailing towards a common goal.

? Follow the rules- no exceptions. If management fails to practice what it preaches, can it expect its employees to keep within the bounds?

? Management should address inappropriate behaviors immediately before they become habits. Use counseling or a progressive discipline approach rather than a “you’re in trouble” approach.

? Clearly broadcast work place guidelines for professional behavior.

? Seek employee feedback on rules and policies. Request for ideas to enhance these policies for greater employee empowerment. Sometimes staff have great ideas; after all, they do the job everyday!

? Ensure that these novel ideas of consistency in enforcing policy don’t come as a cold shock to rank and file. If you have been letting employees “get away” with things in the past, you should meet with them and explain that the new policies are there for everyone’s mutual benefit.

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As a manager strides into the office among the staff, he has the power to positively shift the outlook of the employee for the entire day.

Words, gestures, even the expression on your face spell the difference in how an employee perceives your opinion of them. These unconscious actions tell the employee what they mean to you and how valuable they are to you as a manager and to the organization.

Letting the employee feel needed and appreciated is a key factor to maintaining maximum employee morale and motivation. If your employees feel that they play a key role in the company by the work they provide, then they are much more likely to say that they like their job and to strive to better themselves at that job. For many, feeling valued is just as important as high pay, and promotions.

Let’s build zest with these tactics:

1.Let them feel your presence. Coming to work and announcing your arrival is a great way to motivate employees and get them upbeat on the first hour of the day. Striding through the doors and simply saying good morning with a smile on your face can make all the difference in the world.

2. Verbal Acknowledgement. This kind of commendation doesn’t have to be over dramatic or exaggerated, most times showing respect for your employees by saying simple things like please and thank you are easy and effective ways to motivate your employees.Praise like “you did a great job” when the employee deserves it is sure fire way that verbal praise can work to motivate employees.

3. Lay clear expectations. Communicating deadlines, milestones, and job objectives are essential to completing company mandates efficiently. Sometimes these things are reported very well but they may change. These changes may not be discussed in detail and therefore causes employees to feel that they are either not important enough to be told why the changes are taking place, or that the manager has made a mistake. Neither of these thoughts will lead to a motivated employee. One way to prevent this is to always get some kind of feedback from the employee about the job so that you are certain that he knows what is expected. If there is a change in a project, inform the employee why. Keep them part of the solution to the problem.

4. Provide employees regular feedback. Let the employee know when he is doing a commendable job. On the flip side, let the employee know when you are not pleased with the outcome and state your reasons. This is a great opportunity to let the employee know how they can do better next time. Ask the employee if there is anything that you as a manager can do to help with the change. Solicit feedback from the employee. Talk it over and enjoy a real discussion. This will make the employee feel like you are not offend about the job, but that you are genuinely concerned and willing to help rectify the problem.

5. Generate consequences. Make sure to not only tell the employee when you are satisfied with the work, but also provide recognition for marvelous work. A personally written thank you card is an effective and inexpensive way to do this. When an employee fails to meet company expectations, it is demotivating to other workers, after all, they may think, “If he isn’t doing it why should I?” That is why it is so important to broadcast consequences for those who do not perform as expected. Be consistent with consequences among the staff.

Employees will love working with you and you will enjoy working with them as you take a few minutes out of your day to butter their emotions. Spend time with employees during and after work. Demonstrate that you care and value them as important members of the company.

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Today’s fast-moving business environment demands that the effective manager be both a well-organized administrator and highly adept in understanding people’s basic needs and behaviour in the workplace. Gaining commitment, nurturing talent, and ensuring employee motivation and productivity require open communication and trust between managers and staff.

1. Understand their behaviour

People at work naturally tend to adopt instinctive modes of behaviour that are self-protective rather than open and collaborative. This explains why emotion is a strong force in the workplace and why management often reacts violently to criticisms and usually seeks to control rather than take risks. So, in order to eliminate this kind of perspective and to increase employee motivation, it is best that you influence behaviour rather than to change personalities. Insisting what you expect from your employees will only worsen the situation.

2. Be sure that people’s lower-level needs are met.

People have various kinds of needs. Examples of lower-level needs are salary, job security, and working conditions. In order to increase employee motivation, you have to meet these basic needs. Consequently, failures with basic needs nearly always explain dissatisfaction among staff. Satisfaction, on the other hand, springs from meeting higher-level needs, such as responsibility progress, and personal growth. When satisfaction is met, chances are employee motivation is at hand.

3. Encourage pride

People need to feel that their contribution is valued and unique. If you are a manager, seek to exploit this pride in others, and be proud of your own ability to handle staff with positive results. This, in turn, will encourage employee motivation among your people.

4. Listen carefully

In many areas of a manager’s job, from meetings and appraisals to telephone calls, listening plays a key role. Listening encourages employee motivation and, therefore, benefits both you and your staff. So make an effort to understand people’s attitudes by careful listening and questioning and by giving them the opportunity to express themselves.

5. Build confidence

Most people suffer from insecurity at some time. The many kinds of anxiety that affect people in organizations can feed such insecurity, and insecurity impedes employee motivation. Your antidote, therefore, is to build confidence by giving recognition, high-level tasks, and full information. In doing so, you only not refurbish employee motivation but boost productivity as well.

6. Encourage contact

Many managers like to hide away behind closed office doors, keeping contact to a minimum. That makes it easy for an administrator, but hard to be a leader. It is far better to keep your office door open and to encourage people to visit you when the door is open. Go out of your way to chat to staff on an informal basis. Keep in mind that building rapport with your staff will effectively increase employee motivation.

7. Use the strategic thinking of all employees.

It is very important to inform people about strategic plans and their own part in achieving the strategies. Take trouble to improve their understanding and to win their approval, as this will have a highly positive influence on performance and increasing employee motivation as well.

8. Develop trust

The quality and style of leadership are major factors in gaining employee motivation and trust. Clear decision making should be coupled with a collaborative, collegiate approach. This entails taking people into your confidence and explicitly and openly valuing their contributions. By simply giving your staff the opportunity to show that you can trust them is enough to increase employee motivation among them.

9. Delegate decisions

Pushing the power of decision-making downward reduces pressure on senior management. It motivates people on the lower levels because it gives them a vote of confidence. Also, because the decision is taken nearer to the point of action, it is more likely to be correct. Consequently, by encouraging them to choose their own working methods, make decisions, and giving them responsibility for meeting the agreed goal will encourage employee motivation among your staff.

10. Appraising to motivate

When choosing methods of assessing your staff’s performance, always make sure that the end result has a positive effect on employee motivation and increases people’s sense of self-worth. Realistic targets, positive feedback, and listening are key factors.

If you follow these simple steps in increasing employee motivation, rest assured you will have a good working relationship with your staff at the same time boost you company’s productivity. Just bear in mind that people are employed to get good results for the company. Their rates of success are intrinsically linked to how they are directed, reviewed, rewarded, trusted, and motivated by the management.