How To Keep Your Employees Happy And Motivated

Guest Post by Emma Wooden

A happy, eager employee is often the factor to tip the scales in your favor when there’s another job opportunity on the horizon, or when a client is a tough one to handle – a satisfied team member will always deliver their best performance. In a less favorable situation, if your teams consist of stressed, underrated, overworked individuals, your employee retention rate is likely to plummet, and your client base might also take a blow.

In order to give your employees the right level of energy and guidance for them to feel like an asset to your company, the following strategies are there as your motivation-boosters. Create your own happiness strategy and watch your business bloom!

Foster transparency

In every sense of the word, transparency should define how you communicate with all of your employees and how they talk to you. As much as you are expected to give feedback, even when it means criticism with actionable advice for improvement, they should be able to share their opinions of your leadership skills and management approach.

Another way transparency helps motivate employees is through their valued input. If they know they can voice their concerns or excitedly share their ideas with you during a meeting or in a private conversation, you can expect your company to grow fast.

Encourage learning

If they feel as if they’re not advancing or their job with your company is a dead end, they will spend most of their days looking for a way out, instead of searching for ways to improve your company. You cannot expect them to invest their absolute best if you are not willing to do the same for them.

Organize and always keep an eye out for seminars, lectures, and conferences, so that you can send your teams to continue learning. Let your employees know that they can always take on a challenge they’re eager about, even if it’s a little too much for them, if they’re willing to learn from the process and accept help. Make sure they know that there is a clear career path for them with your company, and they should know this from the first day they come to the job interview.

Surprise them

Money may not always be the most desirable solution, but there are so many ways to give something valuable to your employees, without resorting to an impersonal bonus. Of course, if you know that this is what they need, by all means, make it count. However, for those who would appreciate a different gesture, you can surprise them with a master gift card, preferably a reloadable one, to enjoy something of their own choice.

Other options include offering them a free gym membership, a spa getaway for two for their wedding anniversary, or even a box of chocolates after a tough day at work. A little can go a long way in showing your kindness and appreciation, so make your gestures as personal as possible.

Let them know they are relevant

Massive companies tend to make their employees feel as if they were mere cogs in a constantly running machine. Even when something wonderful happens, they are rarely acknowledged for their contribution, and their names never come up in those fancy presentations to the board of directors.

Everyone, from the person who makes your coffee every morning, to the one who lands your next whale of a client, they should all feel relevant, and it’s up to you to find a way to achieve this. Whether it’s by finally including them in that company-wide “thank you” email, by calling out their names in the next meeting for a round of applause, or by giving them a hand-written card with a personal note – the choice is yours.

Build the right culture

Even with all of your efforts combined, it’s difficult to feel motivated with an occasional gesture if your office culture is based on unhealthy levels of competition and stress. Invite and encourage your employees to work together, ask for support and guidance, and share their own knowledge. Sometimes a single person can change the outcome of a project simply by giving or getting the right bit of advice.

That should also mean that making mistakes are a natural part of the learning process, so your employees shouldn’t live in constant fear. Let them take on new assignments, and even if they do fail, reward their effort rather than the result alone – they will be much more eager to take on the next task despite their recent setback.  

In conclusion

Imagine what a business would look like if employees were not happy and demotivated. This leads to good employees leaving and would you really want the ones who do stay – serving your customers? It pays to bring out the best in your employees.