How to Motivate Employees

No matter what your management style is I’m sure that you’ve spent many hours thinking about how to motivate employees. This is an issue that concerns managers, event planners and HR personnel. It’s also an issue that is manageable and fixable as long as you’re looking in the right place.

Employee motivation does not have a quick fix solution, to get it right you need to finally figure out what you employees really want and then the road to success is smooth and short. I’ll show you exactly how to do it and then give you some practical advise on how to motivate employees.

The Psychology Behind Employee Motivation:
There are lots of theories on motivation and on how to motivate employees, but they are all based on “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” Yes, yes, think back to your psychology, sociology or business class. In short Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory states that we all have different needs, they can be divided into consecutive levels and need to be satisfied accordingly. In order for employees to be happy and do their job efficiently employers need to address these needs and make sure that they are fulfilled.

How to Motivate Employees in Practice
An interesting fact: improving things that people don’t like about their jobs (corporate bureaucracy, an annoying manager, a certain repetitive task) does NOT increase employee motivation. On the other hand here are things that DO increase employee motivation:

A Great Work Environment: most people prefer waking up in the morning to an amazing, challenging and interesting day rather than a boring six figure paycheck. What kind of work environment do you provide? If Google’s music room is not something that will sit right with your Board of Directors, maybe a better coffee machine and weekly team challenges can add to a great work environment. Take some time to read these do’s and don’ts of how to motivate employees.

Create A Challenge: People like to be challenged because it makes them feel as if they are part of something great. Part of providing a challenge is allowing failure, employees need to feel that they have room to grow and if they are given shoes that are too big to fill, they won’t be penalized for trying. This sort of behavior encourages growth, dedication and yields higher results. It’s also important to remember that greater challenge is usually the best reward for top performers; who usually get bored quickly with routine and repetitive tasks. Let your employees be the CEO of something for the day, let them make the tough decisions and reap the reward of success.

Reward and Support: Everyone needs to feel appreciated, it’s important to let employees know that they have done something right. Recognizing achievement should first be done in private- via email or through  a short face to face meeting and should also be recognized publicly, at a team meeting or lunch. Employees also need to know that you are there for them, however be careful not to cross into the “friend zone,” at the end of the day remember you are the manager. As a manager you are responsible for creating an environment that allows employees to be independent, challenged and work towards a greater goal. Building better teams will definitely help you motivate your employees here’s how.

What Motivates Employees?
People are different and want to be treated as individuals. That means that even if holding a festive BBQ with the winner of TopShef or an all expenses paid night on the town is something you dream of hosting, it might not be fun for all of your employees. When trying to motivate people it’s important to understand what motivates each person and more importantly how do they motivate themselves?!
Use a survey to determine what your employees are interested in and what their needs and wants are. Then plan an event or a number of events that can reward and motivate employees based on these needs. Use these corporate event management tips to help you out.

What If There’s a “Problem Worker”?
If there’s a problem with an employee that lacks motivation and is beginning to do more harm than good don’t regard this person as a “bad apple” there usually is a good reason behind why the employee is performing poorly and this behavior may manifest itself with other employees. It could be a result of miscommunication or a role that has not been clearly defined. To correct this behavior meet with the employee privately and identify the problem. Show him/her what your expectations are and make sure that they understand what is expected of them. Also make tools for improvement available and set deadlines and goals to improve behavior. Don’t forget the basic needs we discussed above, employees will perform better if they see the direct connection of how their and your actions fulfill their immediate needs.

Next time you are thinking about how to motivate employees consider these 5 events corporate event managers can learn from. Finding ways to motivate employees isn’t easy but if you remember that everyone wants to be valued, respected and treated as unique individuals employee motivation becomes a fun game that can be well played using management tools such as events, rewards and challenges.