Do you think that holding an off-site will motivate your employees to excel? Has the yoga camp helped shoot up employee satisfaction levels in your firm? There are many more activities undertaken by organizations in India and around the world with the objective of increasing employee motivation. However, I feel that it is a misnomer to call these motivational. Employees love it. It is a break from the routine. And that is where the buck stops.
It’s time to Wake Up! The routine ways or the old world form of energizing and motivating the team are a passé. They do not add much to the lives of your employees and your organization. More so, when the larger economic environment is challenging and the employees need that extra dose of motivation.
The CEO has to realize that people and growth were never independent of each other and that furthering business agendas cannot be done in a silo. Only when the CEO looks at employee motivation, which is a key priority for every leader, from a business perspective that the organization achieves the success it had aimed for. They have to alter their approach towards communication and people management and drive it rather than let HR drive it solo. Motivation has to be integrated with the company’s objectives. People are your real asset. Their motivation levels have a direct impact on your business performance.
In a tough business scenario, a CEO has to look at his tool kit and see what he can do more. Can he roll up his sleeves and get himself involved in operations? Why not! Not only will your employees feel encouraged to take on the odds, but also feel valuable as they see that their job makes a difference. Why else would the CEO volunteer to do it, if it was not important? The CEO needs to decide if it makes sense to go vertically down in every aspect of business or have another approach.
He also needs to reassess his own talent and spot skills that will help him solve challenges that employees face on a day to day basis. Organizations where CEOs routinely interact with the employees not just over coffee but also while they are doing their routine tasks, helping them, guiding them, witness much higher levels of employee engagement. How can you do it? You need creative avenues to motivate employees. Activities that are integrated or tied to the business will generate the impact you desire.
What drives marketing guys could be completely different to what re-energizes operations people. Are you customizing it for them? The impact that we expect outside (on customers) and the impact inside (on employees) have to be integrated to the same objective. It is therefore important to keep thinking on these creative avenues and launch activities with a lot of excitement and preparation to create that impact and re-energize the employees. And do not forget to amplify these activities to reach that impact.
You must also remember that in addition to the CEO and the top management getting involved with the employees, you have to build a work culture where motivating teams is a key performance parameter for every manager. Even if you have a single member team, you have to engage and ensure that the individual desire to excel becomes stronger. Understanding your employee, his needs, what factors motivate him and recognition for good work done will ensure that he is excited to be at work every day! And this has to be a continuous engagement.
Finally, as an organization, you have to also help employees develop a degree of self-motivation. In my career, I have seen certain individuals who had that zeal. Again, not everyone has that level of clarity and focus. You’ll have to work with employees to help them sharpen their focus and give ownership of tasks. Granting ownership means that he or she has the full responsibility and flexibility to complete a particular task. Success in achieving it will be his or her personal glory.