- September 30, 2017
- HR Services, Interesting Articles, Latest News
Motivation – the key to company success
One of the most important questions every business owner should ask is, “What else can I do to make my employees feel better?”
According to Dale Carnegie, there is only one way to get someone to do something, and that’s to make him want to do something.
Unfortunately, there are still managers who perceive their employees only as a means to achieve the company’s goals, and not as persons with their own interests and desires. This approach is wrong and extremely demotivating in the long run.
We live in an age of digitalization and automation, but the human factor cannot and should not be ignored. People manage all the company’s resources – finance, technology, information. They creative the products, plan and organize the work processes and the development of the business depends on them. That’s why they need to feel happy and motivated in the workplace.
In recent years, interest in motivation techniques is growing, as they are among the main prerequisites for rapid and long-term organizational success. The second reason for the interest in motivation is that it is different for each person. For some, good financial conditions and additional benefits are most important. For others – the opportunity for personal and professional development, and for others is the working environment, relationships with colleagues and to feel valued.
A good employer must be able to determine the motivational profile of its employees. For example: how they see their development in the company, what are their individual requirements for pay, working hours and environment.
This is achieved through open communication, building a stimulating work envirenment and listening to the team’s ideas. Ethics and trust in interpersonal relationships are key to the success of a business.
An extremely strong motivator is the desire of employees to feel important and that their work matters.
Many candidates share during interviews that their greatest desire is to feel that the work they do is valued and meaningful. Managers need to look at employees as business partners. They need to listen to their opinions and give them a vote of confidence by giving them more complex tasks.
Investment in employees
The profession is a world of values. It gives us prestige, livelihood, social environment, self-esteem, etc. Maintaining this value through various forms of training, additional qualification, career development are strong motivators. They can be effectively used to retain employees in the company.
Each profession has its subtleties, to master which requires specific knowledge and skills. Investing in trainings is a profitable strategy. As it simultaneously raises the qualification of the employees and helps to build the public image of the company as a good employer. Learning and applying the latest trends and products has a positive effect on the company’s results. The trainings also help to overcome the so-called boreout syndrome. It is characterized by monotony and boredom in the workplace and is a major cause of demotivation. The process of acquiring new professional skills brings variety to the work and generates new ideas.
Money as an incentive
My practice shows that in a large percentage of cases, especially when it comes to employees in senior management positions, remuneration is not the leading motivator. Factors such as opportunities for personal development and upgrading of skills, work environment and team, as well as the specifics of the role are much more important. In lower positions, there is the opposite trend – motivation is much more tied to pay levels.
Nowadays, in order to motivate their employees, more and more employers rely on additional social benefits. The best option is for the company to have a complex bonus package that varies according to the individual needs of the employee.
The role of the environment
People need good working conditions in order to be productive. Both the purely living conditions in the office and the relations in the team are important. Intrigue and interpersonal conflicts must be resolved in a timely manner. You can build friendly relationships, which are stimulated by various games, team building and encouraging communication outside the office.
Why is the topic of motivation is so important for business?
Satisfied employees are motivated to deal with professional challenges by doing their best, which means happy and loyal customers. Companies use combinations of different techniques to motivate people. There is an increasing emphasis on the “human” in the relations in the office and on the investment in the development of the employees – key factors for the retention of the employees and the successful development of the companies.
Author: Milena Gyosheva, Key Accounts Project Manager