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Live By Example
As the business owner, you are the first motivation your employees need to keep going. So, be the leader in your business and set worthy examples for your team. If you expect your employees to arrive at work on time, then show up early. If you expect your employees to dress in a certain way to work, then be first to dress in such a way. If you expect your employees to go out for marketing and to make sales calls, take the lead.Be Genuinely Interested In Them And Show It
There is a famous quote often credited to Theodore Roosevelt that says, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” In your business, your employees want to know you care about them. They want to know you care about them more than the results. It is a biological need of humans to want to be valued and cared for. So, develop a genuine interest in your employees and show it. Some of the ways you can do this are:- Make out time to speak to them about their welfare, including their families. Call them outside of regular work hours, maybe weekends or during holidays, just to ask how they and their families are doing.
- Celebrate them in your workplace on their special days such as birthdays and other anniversaries.
- Invest in their growth. Introduce them to resources that will help them grow, not just for the works they do but also in other areas of their lives, including finances. You can also buy them books to read or set up a staff library where they could borrow books to read and return later.
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Make Your Workplace A Safe Space
One of the things which COVID-19 did was made some people realize how unsafe their workplaces were. This is said to be one of the reasons for the great resignations recorded last year. As a business owner, you have to ensure your workplace is safe (physically, psychologically and emotionally) for all who work and do business in it. Make your workplace a place where your employees love resuming to every morning and are reluctant to leave at the close of work.Offer Them Praises
As kids, when our parents offered us praises for the work we did, we looked for ways to do even more. Praise for work done is one of the natural ways to motivate someone in the work they do. Motivate your employees to go over and beyond in the works they do by acknowledging the works they do and praising them for their efforts. In doing this, you need to understand that public praise ranks higher than private but both are important.Introduce Periodic Employee Award
Another way you can motivate your employee in your workplace is to introduce employee recognition and awards. Periodic awards have a way of giving your employees something to look forward to and be excited about. Examples of awards you can give our Employee of the Month, Team Player of the month ad so on.Offer Them Bonuses
Bonuses are not just effective in increasing sales, they are also effective in increasing the motivation of your employees when done right. You don’t want your employees to see you as the ‘stingy boss’. From time to time give bonuses to your employees either in cash or with other things such as a ticket to a movie.Flexible Schedule
Your employees could experience burnout from time to time. When this happens, productivity dips. You can reduce this by introducing flexible schedules in your business. COVID-19 introduced an alternative mode of working. So, if the work can be done remotely, encourage your employees to choose how they want to work – either remotely or physically.Closing Thoughts
Keeping your employees motivated will help increase their productivity and when their productivity is increased, that will translate into an increase in the volume of sales you are currently making in your business. Featured Image Source: The Guardian NGGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com