It’s a cavalier entrepreneur who underestimates the importance of his or her employees. Not only do they carry out the vital operations that help your business to function, their knowledge, expertise and dedication can help your business to grow and prosper and take itself to the next level. When you’re a small-to-medium sized enterprise sharing a market place with the multinational corporate giants, they can give you the leading edge!
Any member of staff, however well qualified and knowledgeable is only of value to you when properly motivated. While it’s a given that employees should bring their A game to work, you as the business owner need to provide the infrastructure for them to be at their best and have the motivation to deliver for you consistently.
When your employees are lacking in motivation, it can lead to poor performance that can seriously damage your productivity and ultimately your bottom line. Every business should be in a constant state of self-evaluation and the motivation of your employees should never be far from your focus.
If your employees are lackluster in their performance, consistently absent or tardy or appear sluggish and disinterested, it’s up to you to determine and address the cause.
Motivation Through Satisfaction
Small business owners have a duty to their employees that extends beyond ensuring that they have the tools they need to do their job or make sure that they get paid on time. The business’ finances should never be an impediment to meeting your employees’ basic needs though if it is then you should visit our Loan section to look at options for securing a working capital loan. These short term loans can be useful in a range of scenarios where cash flow and liquidity are poor.
Employee satisfaction is one of the surest paths to motivation, and the good news is that it’s relatively easy to engender. Taking the time to congratulate employees on a job well done, helping them to achieve a work / life balance and giving them help and support when they need it are three great ways to start.
Training & Development
If employees feel that they’re stagnating in their role, they’re unlikely to be well motivated. Regular training events and opportunities for promotion or even lateral progression make a huge contribution to an employee’s sense of reward. Some employers fear the development of their employees and worry that it will lead to a lack of talent retention. The truth, however, is that well trained and developed employees tend to show loyalty to the people who have developed them. Talented employees only become a flight risk if you allow them to stagnate.
Responsibility & Empowerment
Employees will fall into default modes if left to repetitive and robot tasks, but empowering them through giving them opportunities to take charge of a team or granting them individual responsibilities will give them a sense of ownership of their role. You’d be amazed at the different sides of employees you’ll see when you grant workers leadership and autonomy. And, hey, if you see something that leads you to believe that you can delegate some of your myriad responsibilities to them that can rarely be a bad thing!
I hope you enjoyed this article about keeping your employees motivated and productive.
Interested in more articles about employee management?
Read My Posts:
- 5 Tips To Make You A Better Boss
- Why Self-Taught Leaders Are Often Best
Published by Michael J Schiemer
Owner of Bootstrap Business
Money - Marketing - Motivation
Digital Marketing | SEO | Social Media
Mike Schiemer Builds Better Business
Share This On Social Media:
