If you’ve ever employed a team of people to help you grow your business, you’ll know it is possibly one of the most rewarding investments you can make during your entrepreneurial journey.
If you treat your team right, the productivity of your business can skyrocket. The Virgin Group founder Richard Branson once said: “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of your clients.”
Employee engagement is reported to be extremely low, according to a study published by research company Gallup. The report found that 85% of employees worldwide are disengaged — meaning they do not care about their workplace at all and that they’re completing the bare minimum in terms of productivity.
Keeping your employees motivated can be extremely challenging at times — especially when you’re overwhelmed with other areas of your business.
In this article, we’re going to go through a few ways you can keep your employees motivated, not only to build a loyal, hard-working team but to skyrocket your business’s success.
Building A Rapport
Sometimes, workplaces — both locally and international (if you have a remote team) — can seem pretty robotic. Communication is always formal, and too often, it’s strictly business.
These robotic ways of working will definitely leave your employees feeling disengaged and under-appreciated.
The best way to combat this is to build a rapport with every one of your employees actively.
When a new team member starts, take the time to learn a bit about them — what they do besides their work? Do they have a family? Play for a sports team? It’s essential to take an active interest in what other people do. This will help them to feel as though they’re valued as a person — not just an employee.
Bonus Tip: Take time each week to reach out to team members to see what they’re doing after work this week or what they did at the weekend. Also, share what you did — this will help them to feel more connected.
Recognize Achievements
Take some time during your week to look through the work your employees are producing for you.
Try to find something awesome that each employee had done for your company. Once you find something, point it out! Send a quick message to them confirming that you think their work is excellent and that you really appreciate the effort they went to.
Recognizing achievement goes a really long way, especially if you want your employees to stay working with you!
Show Appreciation For Your Employees’ Time
People’s time is precious. This is especially the case if people are working for you and your business.
Your employees may appreciate being paid, but also recognizing the fact that they’re sacrificing their precious time to help you and your business grow is crucial.
Whenever you pay your employees, be sure to confirm the payment has been transferred and include a note that sincerely thanks them for their time, patience, and hard work.
Bottom Line
Running a team, either at your office or remotely, can be extremely tough. However, if done correctly, you’ll be able to build a reliable team of loyal employees who will work in collaboration with you to skyrocket your business’s success.
The tips we’ve outlined above are just scratching the surface in terms of things you can do to improve your employee retention and improve your team’s overall productivity.
However, the points mentioned above are the core management skills you must implement if you want to get the most out of your employees and keep them happy!
To find out more strategies to help grow your business, check out some of the latest posts on our blog.
Written by Lewis James