If you are a business owner or manager and have people who work for your business you have probably asked yourself more than once, “How can I motivate my employees when they are at work?” I have the opportunity to speak to small business owners often and I have found that this is one of the top questions they ask me.
All business owners would love to have employees that are naturally self-motivated and want to do a fantastic job. There is one thing business owners must remember and that is employees feel and see things a bit differently than the owner of the business. Entrepreneurs are self-motivated by creating something from nothing, which is intrinsic motivation or internal motivation. The employee, sees and feel things quite the opposite, they are usually motivated more by external stimuli or extrinsic motivation, such as a raise, job security, benefits, etc. These things are usually short-lived and therefore make it an ongoing venture for the business owner or manager to keep finding more ways to motivate their staff (which can be a tiresome task).
Multiple studies on employee engagement and motivation show that employees are motivated when they are recognized for doing a job well done and being told they are valued by the business owner. Now how hard can that be to do?
Business owners and managers should always be watching and listening to their employees so they can catch them doing good and praise them for it. There is also something to be said about the bonus motivational boosters that can be used to inspire employees, like gift certificates, getting off an hour early, free lunch, or a staff outing.
One of the best employee motivators is having a great workplace environment to be in each day. Others are being valued, the freedom to be creative within their work boundaries, and educational growth to better their position in the company. If you are unsure of what might motivate your employees, just ask them, I am sure they will have plenty of ideas to offer you. With motivated employees your workplace will continue to re-ignite excitement and passion for what they do each day when they arrive at work.
And an extra bonus is your employees will want to come to work each day because they know they are valued and appreciated.
“Your number one customers are your people. Look after employees first and then customers last.” – Ian Hutchinson, author of People Glue
If you want more information on creating great employees click the link below for my free ebooklet “On becoming a great employee”
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