After a well-deserved break, it’s often difficult for employees to get back into the swing of things, so these are some top tips for keeping your employees motivated in the New Year:
Get teams involved with the planning and strategy process
If employees are included from the beginning – whether that be for planning or strategy, you’ll naturally get them more motivated when they get to have their say and voice their support and/or concerns from the start. This way, when the time comes for the employees to action those plans, they’ll already be invested in what they need to do, rather than being dictated what to do.
Start the year as a team
Businesses that excel are the ones who work the best as an entire team. So a great way to do this, is to kick the year off with an All Hands meeting, where the whole company gets together to discuss the roadmap for the coming months as well as the targets they need to hit. Whether you run it on a conference call, a video or web conference like iMeet, or just in your office, this is an effective way to make sure everyone in aligned on their priorities and what is expected of them. Not to mention that this will give them a gentle reminder on what they need to do first!
Make being more flexible your New Year’s Resolution
Flexibility has a direct correlation to staff motivation and company culture. Since we’ve started encouraging a more flexible workplace, we’ve found that employees take less sick days and are more motivated to work when they can determine where and when they are most productive. Staff work in different ways, and there are too many obstacles like strikes and delays throughout the year that we can’t prevent, so by encouraging flexible working, we’ve seen that our employees have become more agile when they have more options than just the office to work from. Employees appreciate having their own autonomy, so by giving them the choice to work where and when they work best, they also become more motivated and have a better work ethic as a result.
Experiment with new incentives
Incentives are a great way to mix things up and get employees motivated in the New Year. By introducing new ways to recognise the top performers, staff will be able to challenge themselves to reach their full potential and be rewarded for it. But worthwhile rewards are key. If the incentives are worth winning, your employees will be motivated to perform, particularly if it’s an attainable target. Sometimes money isn’t all staff want, and sometimes it is. In our company, we give £500 for the employee of the half and the rookie of the year, but we also have early finish Fridays for sales when they hit specific KPI’s. Motivating them with incentives will also help them stick around and reduce your staff turnover. Incentives can help prevent your teams from becoming complacent with their jobs so it’s a good opportunity to experiment with new incentives and see what works and what doesn’t!
Listen to your employees
With all the work that is going on in your business, it’s easy to lose touch of how your employees are getting on in the company. And often, you only find out what the issues are when employees hand in their notice or explain it to you in their exit interview. So before it gets to that point, it’s important to listen to your employees and encourage them to voice their concerns or frustrations because what you’ll often find is that the issues are preventable and the likeliness is, the issue is shared by multiple employees. By doing so, you’ll be able to address any issues before it becomes an inherent problem, and if staff satisfaction is being catered do, then their motivation levels generally tend to also be catered to.Employees no longer put up with poor company culture, so being proactive about keeping your staff motivated from the start is crucial for the longevity and success of your business. So if you’re looking to get your staff motivated in the New Year, make sure you keep them involved and find out what motivates them – because if you choose the right incentives and address any issues, they’ll in turn help you hit the businesses targets and continue your success!Jason Downes, Managing Director at PowWowNow.
