One of the psychological strategies to boost employee productivity or employee managing is to make work meaningful.
You have to show employees why their work is helping the business, but they also need to have a passion for what they are doing. When employees understand the value of their work, they feel like they are contributing to something meaningful.
Along with employees feeling like they are doing meaningful work, you also need to ensure that you have strategies in place on how to motivate employees.
You need to figure out what motivates your team in order to increase workplace productivity. You need to assess how to motivate remote employees during COVID or how to motivate an unmotivated employee. Ultimately you need to learn how to motivate employees to increase productivity.
Here's a guide on everything you need to know about boosting workplace productivity by motivating employees.
Be an Encouraging & a Positive Leader
There are ways to motivate your employees and boost productivity that go beyond monetary incentives.
Sometimes motivating employees as a manager requires you to be encouraging. You have to tell employees how they are performing, giving them the confidence of knowing that they are doing well.
This is motivating without money, but just being a positive and encouraging leader.
If you want to learn how to motivate employees to work harder, it starts with recognition. You are recognizing their hard work and what they are achieving for the organization.
Being an encouraging leader can also help increase productivity because the employees feel their hard work is not going unnoticed. They feel like they are making a contribution to the organization.
If you're unsure of what kind of leader you should be, you can always research the various leadership styles that can help motivate your employees.
Provide Clear Direction
Another way to boost employee productivity is to provide clear direction to your employees. You want to show them what exactly they need to be doing.
While you still want to give your employees autonomy, it's important that you first give them insight into what you want to be accomplished.
When you provide clear direction, employees are less confused. They feel more confident that they are on the right path. They feel like they aren't deviating.
In addition, when you do provide a clear direction for employees, it can boost productivity because your employees know what they expect from you.
This is especially important for employees who are working remotely during COVID-19. If employees feel less comfortable working at home because there's less communication, it's more important for the manager to step in and communicate that direction.
Set an Example
Learning how to motivate employees also requires you to set the example as a manager.
When you show employees that you are consistently working and being a positive force in the company, you are creating a workplace culture. You are creating a positive work culture that shows others what to do.
If you are always taking days off or don't want to communicate with your employees, it won't motivate your employees. They will feel like you are never there for them.
Understand People Are Motivated Differently
Coming up with ways to motivate your team also requires you to understand them differently. You need to figure out what makes people tick in your workplace.
You need to figure out what motivates some of your employees to work harder and why they enjoy working at a specific company.
One of the ways you can learn more about your employees is by doing a company survey. You can ask your employees what they are looking for at work or what they are motivated by.
When you have an idea of what drives your employees, you can create a reward system that benefits them. You can send your employees gifts or have incentive programs that motivate them to be more productive.
Have Prizes
Another way to motivate your team is to have various prizes. You can even have the employees come up together to think of prizes that you give away every week or every month.
When you have prizes that don't involve cash, it makes it a fun giveaway that someone can enjoy if it's going to a movie or going out to dinner.
Prizes can be based on who you think deserves it the most or you can have employees vote on who deserves it. You can also have prizes be based on someone's work and how productive they are.
For example, if you were trying to motivate your sales team, you could have prizes for who closes the most amount of sales.
Trust Your Team
The final strategy to consider if you want to motivate your employees is to simply trust them.
Sometimes employees are not motivated by the fear of knowing their boss is always watching them. Some employees perform better when they have autonomy and they know their manager trusts them to do the work.
As a leader, when you trust your team to do good work, it gives your employees a sense of worth. They feel like you value their work, which can motivate them to do more or continue the good work they are already doing.
Now You Know How to Motivate Employees
Learning how to motivate employees can be challenging, especially if you are a new leader and have never done it before. It could also be challenging if your employees aren't motivated by a lot of things.
That's why it's important to figure out what they like to do. It's important that you understand your employees so you help them and then, in return, they can help be more productive at work.
If you want help with motivating your employees, you can reach out here and we can help coach you on how to be an executive leader.
