Employee Motivation: 10 Tips to Improve Work Performance

Increase employee performance by harnessing the power of motivation

Employee motivation and productivity can be enhanced and improved by creating a work environment that maximizes the factors that affect performance. These factors are simple to understand, easy to measure, and can add enormous value to any organization that is willing to implement them. Use these 10 tips to ensure your employees are motivated and inspired to produce the best possible results.

1. Interesting work

Intrinsic motivation comes from the sheer joy and pleasure of doing a task. When you read a great book, no one has to pay for every page you read. It’s a joy to learn how the story unfolds and watch the plot unfold. The same goes for employee motivation. To maximize employee performance, find out what employees like about their jobs, and then try adding more tasks that align with their own interests and natural talents.

2. Appreciation and recognition

William James said, “Human nature’s deepest desire is to be appreciated.” No matter how much you pay someone, everyone wants to know that their efforts are seen and appreciated, especially by their manager. Don’t just send them a thank you email, that means you care enough to hit the “Enter” key. If you really want to thank someone, buy them a real “Thank You” card and describe how their behavior and performance has added value to the team and the organization. Make sure you catch the people who do things right and they will inevitably do things right more often.

3. Feel involved in the work process

Research shows that when people can participate in creating a system or process, they are much more likely to follow it than one simply imposed by an outside expert. Recognize that the people doing the work have the knowledge of how things can be done better, faster, and cheaper. If you want them to tell you, then make it easy for them to offer suggestions and reward employees who come up with ideas that add value to the bottom line.

4. Achievement

Napoleon once remarked, “It is amazing how willing men are to risk their lives for a little tin and a ribbon to wear across their chest.” Awards and prizes can serve as a great motivator to harness the power of healthy competition. It is always better to use rewards that are meaningful and inspiring. When an employee exceeds his expectations, be sure to recognize his achievement. The day someone retires, these recognitions and awards will be packaged to serve as loving reminders of a wonderful career.

5. Job security

If everyone had what it takes to be an entrepreneur then there would be no General Electric or Toyota and we would all be buying products from artisans and artisans. Fortunately, many people prefer to be part of a large organization and can be more productive when they focus on getting their work done rather than worrying about developing a business plan or marketing strategy. Telling people they’re lucky to have a job creates an atmosphere of fear and worry that lowers job performance. Instead, tell your employees that the company is lucky to have such a skilled and committed workforce and that people will take pride in their work and their company.

6. Increased responsibility

We all know that some employees lack ambition and have no desire to advance at work, but the vast majority of workers want the opportunity to take on more responsibility and add more value to the organization. Stay on top of training opportunities that will equip your employees with the skills and tools they will need to advance their careers. Always try to fill open positions with internal candidates before looking for an external candidate. This will create a culture of professional development and preserve institutional memory and organizational knowledge so that it can be transferred to rising employees as they advance in their own careers.

7. Good salaries

Robert Bosch, founder of the world’s largest supplier of auto parts, said: “I don’t pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages.” If you want motivated and highly productive employees, you need to pay them according to their ability and performance. Good employees are motivated by more than just good pay, but never let low pay be the wedge a competitor can use to steal from your best people.

8.Good working condition

If you want to get the most out of people, you need to create an environment that facilitates success. At a minimum, you must provide a safe, clean and hygienic workplace. To get the most out of employees, help them take pride in their workspace, even if it’s just a cubicle or workstation. Let people personalize their own workstations with photos or little trinkets so they feel like they have a place all their own.

9. Being part of a team

Being part of a dysfunctional team is an emotionally draining experience that results in low morale, low productivity, and high turnover. The great coach, Vince Lombardi, once commented: “Individual commitment to group effort: that’s what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” We are all social beings and we all want to be part of a healthy team where we can give and receive support, help and encouragement. Organizations can tap into this natural human desire by aligning employee efforts to achieve goals that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and its employees.

10. Help with personal problems

How many times have you heard of a bad boss who told his employees to leave their problems at the door so they can focus on their work? Unfortunately, they probably also left his motivation and productivity at the door. Smart managers know that it’s not their job to be a counselor or a therapist, but their job is to recognize when one of their employees has personal problems that affect their job performance. They must have open lines of honest communication so that employees are motivated to ask for help and then be directed to their Human Resources Department or Employee Assistance Programs.