10 ways to motivate your team
As we all know, even in a normally interesting job there are periods when the work becomes quite repetitive and boring. The morale of the whole team can be also adversely affected when your company is being taken over or there is the prospect of downsizing.
To help build up team moral we’ve listed ten tried and tested ways to keep your team motivated.
1. Public praise
We all like praise for a job well done and taking the time to give sincere and genuine thanks to a staff member in front of their peers will boost their self-esteem.
2. A beer brings cheer
A drink after work is the traditional way to bond your team. However, there are alternatives: such as an ‘away day' paint balling or bowling. However, if you must drink, don't get totally drunk in front of your team - it looks unprofessional.
3. Training for all
Training is a great means of stimulation and simultaneously shows that you are prepared to invest in their development. Encourage the recipient of any training to share their new insights with the rest of the team.
4. Pizza power
Taking your team out for a lunch is a great way to lift morale and assess their morale. To give staff something to look forward to it should be planned at least a week in advance.
5. Additional responsibility
Recognise when a member of your team desires and deserves additional responsibility. Smart people often crave opportunities for development, correctly calculating that the additional skills they learn make them more marketable.
6. Prestige title
It costs nothing to improve someone's title but may mean a great deal to him or her personally and the way that they are perceived in the workplace.
7. Demonstrate integrity every day
Nothing destroys team morale and cohesiveness more quickly than a boss who no one trusts, particularly one who plays team members off against each other. You must be prepared to demonstrate integrity and stand up for your staff at times.
8. Be flexible and gracious
Sometimes staff members may have to take time off unexpectedly. Try to be gracious and accommodating about such requests. In return, staff will often work exceedingly hard to make up for lost effort. Indeed, when happy they will be more productive.
9. Clear goals and leadership
People need clear goals for the short and medium term at work. Do your best to provide those objectives and steer them towards meeting them.
10. Friday is fun, fun, fun
Work does not have to feel like work all the time and every hard working team needs a little downtime. Once a month, on a Friday afternoon is often a great time to do something different that keeps people motivated for the following month. Team prizes that combine humour with public recognition will go down well. For example, one prize might be delivered like this: "For dealing with the most abusive customer of the week we have this bespoke set of ear plugs".
