Doug Walton 3m 751
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
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It is a well known fact that happy, healthy people are more productive in their jobs than people who are unhappy and unhealthy. Employers have tried many things to try and improve the happiness of their staff and motivate them so they are more productive. This guide sets out five simple things you can try if you are looking to motivate your staff and raise performance levels.
Get To Know Your Staff
Getting to know your staff on a more personal level is a great way to build stronger professional relationships. This method of motivation is based on the principal that if you know your staff outside of work then you will understand them better when they are at work. This way your employees will feel appreciated and understood, not left feeling like they are just a cog in the system. As a result this will lead your staff to be more relaxed around the management team and make them confident in suggesting new ideas and looking for opportunities to be innovative.
Communicate With Employees
Make sure that you have open channels for communication with your staff, and so they can communicate with you. By having effective methods of two-way communication the company will open itself up to a range of benefits.
First of all it will be easier to make employees aware of any changes that may affect them in their working life, something which people appreciate greatly.
Secondly, if there is an opportunity to make their voices heard employees will take it, and thus feel more appreciated as individuals if they know the company value their opinions.
Have a No Blame Attitude
Pointing the finger at someone can be the easiest route to take if something goes wrong or targets are not met. However, this can make your staff feel isolated and in some cases disliked by other employees.
If you take the time to step back and analyse why something went wrong you are more likely to pick up on a part of the process that caused the fault in the first place, thus giving you the opportunity to change and improve that part of the process.
If you have a no blame policy and a team of employees don’t achieve the result you were expecting then they will be brought together more as a team, making sure that they get it right next time. If you highlight one person’s mistakes then you run the risk of causing factions within the group and damaging the productivity of your staff.
Basic Maintenance
By having high standards when it comes to office maintenance can be one of the most effective ways to make your employees happier and therefore harder working. By listening to what your staff have to say around the office you will be able to pick up their most common complaints. Whether it is the fact that they have a wonky desk or the kettle doesn’t work properly, more often than not it will be things that can be easily and cheaply fixed.
When these things are put right your employees will notice and make them realise that you do care about the little things that can have so much effect on people’s day to day working lives.
Have Plants In The Office
Having plants in the office can have a range of positive effects on your employees. To start with by adding a splash of greenery to the everyday office the look of the whole place will be transformed, making staff generally happier. Plants also have the benefit of creating more oxygen, and more oxygen in people’s systems mean they will be more awake, creative and enthusiastic about their work.
However, knowing what plants to have in certain sized offices can be difficult to get right. This guide to office plants is simple to follow and provides you with a range of plants that are ideal for different offices.
The amalgamation of these five suggestions will ensure that you have happy, healthy and more productive employees working in your office. You will soon find that a little motivation can go a long way.
Can you think of any other effective ways to motivate employees? Share in the comments.
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Doug Walton is a keen blogger with interests in sport, books, films, music and has written book reviews. He is looking to expand his blogging into other interesting areas and search out new horizons.
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