It can be hard to keep your team motivated day after day.
Motivation isn’t just an intrinsic drive, nor is it the application of an external force at specific times. Motivation is something that exists in our environments. An environment that is not motivational promotes stagnation, procrastination, and poor morale.
On the other hand, creating a motivational environment leads to team members being excited about what they do, fired up to work towards shared and individual goals, and who are eager to do their best for their own personal success and the organization’s overall success.
Developing a solid set of strategies for motivating your team will not only increase your bottom line but will increase team member satisfaction and retention.
Taking the time to figure out how best to prepare and motivate your team is one of the best investments you can make in your organization.
1. Conduct Frequent Team Check-Ins
One of the simplest, yet most powerful, things you can do is conduct frequent check-ins with your team. While part of these check-ins should be asking about progress, leads, and other essential parts of their job, the goal is to check in with your people as people.
You need to get inside your people.
Ask them what they need, what ideas they have for maximizing opportunities, what’s working, and what can be improved. Let your people know that these check-ins are a time to discuss ideas, voice concerns, and generally get the team and management on the same page.
They are not punitive or a type of evaluation – they are done so that you are all working together. You can use these check-ins as a time to voice your confidence in your team and pump them up, which is key to motivation.
2. Train Your Team
Team members who are not properly trained cannot be expected to succeed.
Invest time and resources in training them in your organization’s best practices. Training should not end with the onboarding process. Offer frequent training, whether internal or external, on new practices, new technology, and new skills that can help your team members maximize their skills and succeed.
Create an environment in which people are given continuous opportunities to grow and develop; one in which people are motivated.
3. Do your research
Emulating the best practices of industry leaders is another way to motivate your team.
Look to organizations that have successful, engaged teams. What are they doing? How do they motivate their teams? How do they reward them?
Spending time reading about these organizations and even asking management within them, can help you hone in on a handful of best practices to implement in your organization.
Some best practices might include:
- Frequent communication
- Personalized rewards
- Recognition of successes
- Incentives for individuals
- Incentives for groups
- Continuous training and development
One Size Does Not Fit All!
Not all people are motivated by the same things, nor are all teams motivated by the same things.
Get to know them, as a team and as individual team members. Talk to them about what motivates them, what their goals are, and what excites them.
A best practice many organizations use when motivating employees is to tailor the motivation or reward to the individual. That way you can tap into what stimulates them rather than offering a motivation that doesn’t inspire or excite them.
