In moments like these when the work increases and you need the whole team to give their all, it is when you remember how important it is that people are motivated. Maintaining the motivation and commitment of a team is a fundamental and integral part of strong leadership.
Also, if you don't regularly assess satisfaction and motivation rates, you risk a skyrocketing turnover.
Research has shown that, due to social contagion, when a coworker quits, it can spread and affect the resignation behavior of other employees, increasing the likelihood that others will do the same. Does it ring a bell?
Here are some statistics on employee motivation:
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54% of employees say they feel unmotivated in their current job.
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62% of the employees who feel unmotivated believe that the main measure to fuel their motivation would be a salary increase.
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37% of demotivated employees want greater recognition.
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27% of employees say that a professional promotion would improve their motivation.
Try these 10 ways to keep your team members motivated and find out how it will also improve satisfaction and engagement:
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Generate an atmosphere of certainty.
The human brain is not built for the amount of uncertainty we face at work and in our personal lives, according to social psychologists Heidi Grant and Tal Goldhamer. With the constant changes in the work environment, uncertainty produces a state of threat in the brain, which often leads to decreased motivation, cooperation and well-being. And of course, the consequence of all this is that the rotation increases.
How can we compensate for uncertainty? With clear, transparent messages, taking a strategic direction that everyone is informed about... Information must always flow!
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Connect individual purposes with the purpose of the organization.
When we manage to give a purpose, each employee improves their way of everything, understanding how the work of each person fits better. What are they passionate about? What worries them? When a team sees the connection between what they value most and what their organization values most, the commitment to their roles and work increases.
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Show empathy.
Having empathy does not mean saying "I understand you" and moving on to something else. Empathizing with our team is acknowledging the workload, expressing how difficult a certain project is and the sacrifices that certain tasks imply . Convey solidarity, offer your help and show that you are a true team player. Of course, you don't have to forget to mention the positive aspects.
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Set goals (smart).
You can only motivate your team if they know what they are working on. Make sure all employees know your visions and goals. Divide the work into small short-term goals. Thus, you will be able to establish meaningful and measurable arcs that will maintain focus towards the final objective and they will generate a sense of responsibility.
As these are measurable objectives, you can evaluate them to give them a feeling of breathing space and to make sure that you are both on the right path. Keep in mind the deadlines you set, did you know that if you define a time limit to perform a task the team will work at a different pace before and after the midpoint?
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Allow autonomy.
As soon as each member is clear about the objectives, allow each person on the team to decide how, when and where they do their work. Each person knows how to maximize their productivity. In a recent study, 59% of employees indicated that flexibility is more important to them than salary or other benefits.
When people feel in control, they are more motivated and experience greater well-being. However, the lack of autonomy can reduce the ability to concentrate and collaborate.
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Protect your team.
When there is an overload of work, it is essential that, as a leader, you know how to prioritize the tasks of your team. Protect them from unrealistic requests and reject low-value or low-priority requests. In addition, it is also essential that each person on the team has the criteria to make decisions regarding which requests are or are not important.
This has a lot to do with autonomy and trust, support your team members in facing tasks that they cannot realistically accomplish. You will help them mitigate their burnout and maintain their motivation and commitment.
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Give them permission to say "No."
It is very difficult to say "no", especially if we are not leaders. Teach your team to say no and, if necessary, support them or take the initiative to say "no" to people which are interested. It is also important that they know and may question certain aspects: is this request viable? Are the deadlines realistic? Can they be met?
Count on them being able to say no to you too. In that case, listen to their reasons and start a conversation about what can and cannot be done, about deadlines and how you can help.
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Generate connection.
It's no surprise: knowing that others support us and that there is a common effort motivates everyone. Boost a spirit of collaboration and camaraderie so that everyone helps each other. Team spirit can lead to lasting friendships that extend outside of work. Work friendships increase both productivity and engagement.
You can boost that connection among your team in many ways: starting each meeting with something personal, celebrating a team member's birthday, planning fun events, and creating online and offline activities where everyone can connect on a more personal level. Jennifer Moss in her book The Burnout Epidemic says that “personal connection isn't just good for engagement and happiness at work; it is what makes us human.”
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Give positive feedback.
Feeling fulfilled with our work is one of the key factors of job satisfaction. Sometimes we forget to give positive feedback, but recognizing and celebrating achievements inspire us to continue to do them well. For this reason, it is very important that the praise be Specific: Instead of saying “good job,” explain why it was a good job and how it helped the organization. This will be the only way for a person to know how to do it again on future occasions.
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Offer rewards.
Reward your team for their work, be it monetary, with an internal promotion, with greater benefits... Rewards and incentives are key to motivation, especially midway through a project and we also implement them halfway through the process. This is how sustained engagement is created.
If you only offer a reward when the deadline arrives, you will be incentivizing the completion of work. On the other hand, if there is a short reward halfway through, you will achieve a better quality of work and maintain motivation.
These tips will only work if you are approachable and available to be counted on. Do you dare to measure the motivation of your team?
I want to try the Demo!