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How to keep your employees happy and motivated

By Olivia Eleanor Timothy

31 Oct 2014

There are many personality types in every organisation; however the two main personality types in most organisations are motivated and demotivated employees.

Olivia Eleanor Timothy

Employee motivation is the combination of fulfilling the employees' needs and expectations from their work and their environment. Your role as a leader or manager is to keep your employees fuelled so that they can perform at an optimal level.

This can often be very challenging so here are a few effective tips to keep your employees motivated and inspired in their roles:

Recognise your employees' potential: Keep track of when your employees show potential - especially when you ask them to assist on a new project or task;

Encourage new ideas your employees may have: Creativity is important. Allow your employees to explore new ideas. Even if the work environment is restrictive, allow your employees to be given the opportunity to explore these ideas. Get feedback from other senior leaders in the organisation as to whether the idea is feasible.

If not worth implementing, provide your employee with the relevant feedback. The employee will then at least know and appreciate that the organisation gave the idea some thought. Even if the idea is not implemented immediately, it could be taken into account for the following year's budget;

Mentor your employees: Mentoring can take place formally or informally through regular interaction and communication with your employees. Mentoring needs to take place regularly and not just before an annual performance review. Listen to your employees and find out more about their current and future development. Give them unbiased insight and make relevant recommendations;

Empower your employees with necessary resources: Provide them with internal or external training, online resources, workshops, wellness training programmes, psychological support programmes, etc. You need to create an environment conducive to giving your employees a sense of support at all times;

Management recognition for outstanding performance: If your employee has done something positive for your department and/or your organisation, give senior management feedback. Your employee may get an internal email or a comment in passing from one of the senior leaders in the organisation and this will make him feel valued by you and your organisation;

Consider what is important to your employee: Personal development, company culture, or his vision for your organisation. Sometimes an employee needs to understand the importance of his role within the organisation. For example, a receptionist may feel his role is just to greet clients, get them something to drink and send them to a boardroom. However, this is a very significant role. Your clients' first impression of your business is when they meet your receptionist and your employee thus needs to be professional and friendly. Your employee working in this role is a 'brand ambassador' for the organisation. No matter what role each employee plays in your organisation, every employee needs to understand the importance of his role at the workplace. When this happens, employees function with a greater sense of purpose and drive;

Highlight success stories with your team members: This helps with pushing the employees in your team to work towards making the team successful within the business. Identify future projects that your employees can possibly get involved in. This will excite and encourage your employees about their future in your organisation;

Incentive compensation: Performance bonuses, extra leave days, holidays, and company prizes are motivating factors for employees. For example, a company like Google offers time off and some extra spending money to its employees who are new parents, to help them welcome their new bundle of joy. Google also offers its employees, and their families, free travel insurance even when they are on personal holidays. Thoughtful incentives like these go a long way in keeping your employees motivated;

Work-life balance: You want your employees to work hard and be productive, but they also require some time out. A good way of showing recognition is to give your employees an extra day off when they are going on holiday or if it is their child's birthday. When the employees return to the workplace they are refreshed, rejuvenated and ultimately more motivated to work harder.

The most valuable asset in your organisation is your employees. Actioning the steps above conveys to them the message that they are valued and appreciated as integral to the organisation and also as people. The bottom line is this: motivated and valued employees are more likely to perform with a bolstered level of excellence. Keep your employees motivated - they are the 'building block'" of a successful organisation.