5 Ways to Motivate Your Staff

One of the most successful business people, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, has often spoken about the importance of staff for business and how keeping your employees motivated pays back. His is the famous quote ‘’If you look after your staff, they will look after your customers.’’ which I find quite true both for large and small businesses.

People are the brains and the soul of your organisation. They are the face of your company. It is your employees that a customer sees first, right after he’s come into the door. Whether he feels welcome or not will depend on the smile on your employees’ faces or the lack of such.

Whenever there is an issue, it is your staff’s attitude and the way they handle the situation that will reflect on how your organisation is perceived. Imagine that you bought a faulty product that you wanted to return but the staff at the shop created all sorts of problems before they took back the product. You will probably leave the shop frustrated, thinking that you will never buy another product from that shop (not the staff but the shop!). In other words, your customers will identify your organisation with the staff that they deal with.

Apart from all that, whether your organisation is large or small, your employees are your eyes and ears. They interact with your customers and understand how people react to different products or services. They handle issues directly. This makes them a valuable source of ideas for remedies or improvements. Your employees are the link between you and your clients and at the same time, they know what works and what doesn’t in your organisation firsthand.

Thus it is common sense that you should try and keep your staff happy and motivated so that they do their best at work. In my experience working with companies of various industries and sizes, I’ve observed a pattern. There are simple steps you can take to inspire your staff. These steps help them view your business’s success as their mission.

Emphasise their role

Clarify their role in the organization, including their duties. Highlight how they bring value and impact customers. Emphasize their contribution to the business’s success. Continuous training and feedback from managers are essential. They help ensure everyone understands their importance to the company. When people clearly understand the consequences of their actions, they feel more connected to the organization’s mission. This connection motivates them to take its success to heart.

Be a role model

Great leadership starts with setting the tone—be the example your team wants to follow!

When there’s a positive example, people tend to imitate; when there’s a negative one, they feel their negative behavior is justified. Try to set a positive example for your employees. Be the way you want them to be with clients. Act, behave and treat everybody around the way you expect your staff to treat your customers. Demonstrate a positive attitude and optimism and you will see that your staff too will start demonstrating the same, among themselves and with customers. Along these lines, set high standards and show commitment in your work, so you can demand the same from your employees when it comes to quality and customer service.

Communicate openly

Talk to your people, share news with them, tell them about your objectives for the company, and let them know how this or that affects the business. Why not seek ideas and inspiration from them? Explain what you are hoping to achieve this month/year. Get them to give you feedback share their observations, and ask them openly about what motivates them. Sometimes, people need very little to feel content with their job. You might easily provide what they need. This can boost staff morale effortlessly. Small gestures can go a long way. Giving them more responsibility or diverse tasks costs nothing but might mean a lot to them.

Involve employees

Make them feel part of the decision-making process. Whenever you consider implementing certain rules or making changes, consult your staff. Explain your point of view and get them to contribute with opinions on the topic too. Instead of handing down rules, you could have them come up with rules that they feel necessary or think themselves would work. A simple board in the office for writing down ideas can be helpful. It encourages participation and motivates employees. This makes them feel more connected to the company.

Be appreciative

Acknowledge their successes even if small. Make sure to recognise a job well done so that everybody knows their efforts, time, and energy spent won’t go unnoticed. When somebody has achieved huge success such as winning a big account such recognition is expected. Don’t overlook smaller contributions. These include creating a new filing system, solving everyday problems creatively, or making small office improvements. Don’t forget that the person has put thought and energy into it. Initiative is one of the most valuable qualities in an employee. Small tokens of your appreciation such as a ‘thank you’ card or a box of chocolates could motivate people to outperform even more.

Your staff are essential to the health and success of your business. While you must offer good quality products and first-class services, nothing can affect your company’s image and reputation as the people who represent your business do. That’s why, as Richard Branson has recognised himself, your employees should come first.