As your business returns to its normal operations, you’ll be tasked with the challenge of motivating your employees. While they will be happy to return to work, they may have lost some of the momenta that resulted in high productivity. You can help your employees become more productive by utilizing some of the following suggestions.
Introduce New Tech Innovations
Providing new technology that your employees can use to boost their work efficiency doesn’t always involve buying new hardware for your business. There are plenty of apps that can be used for free to help your employees save time and communicate with one another more easily. By using messaging apps to use an automated online calendar, your employees can use technology to be more productive. If you find an app you like, share it with your employees, and ask them about the apps they use to be more effective in their own lives.
Give Your Team More Freedom
It’s still common in many businesses for employees to be trained to perform tasks in a specific way and for new employees to be micromanaged until they conform to those time-honored practices. However, many progressive leaders find that giving employees more freedom and less supervision helps them adapt their methods. This can help individuals work more efficiently to produce similar or better results.
Encourage New Ideas
You should also provide more autonomy among your employees in allowing them to try out new ideas. This requires allowing your team to take risks that may result in mistakes or downtime, but it also means there’s a chance for success that could improve the operation of your business. Letting your employees take these risks, and helping your team learn from failures, will help your business develop more efficient and successful practices in the future.
Create a Sense of Transparency
You’ll also encourage more productivity in your business by being more transparent with your employees. This is more true in admitting when you have been wrong than in boasting about your accomplishments. When your team can see that you make mistakes and own up to them, they will do the same. This will reduce the chances that your employees will try to hide their mistakes, which can negatively impact productivity. Instead, they will admit to their mistakes, learn from them, and quickly move on.
Bond With Your Employees
Few business owners realize that there are benefits to hosting a company picnic or a potluck dinner. When you bring your employees together in a social setting, they will have opportunities to get to know you and one another in a casual atmosphere. When everyone returns to work, that sense of familiarity and closeness will provide the foundation for a well-functioning team. They will use each other’s strengths to help them work better together, which means they will reach their goals sooner.
Reward Accomplishments
As a general practice, it’s a good idea to set short-term goals that your team can reasonably obtain continuously. A series of successes will show your employees how to use their skills to benefit the organization while also encouraging them to do better. As they do reach each goal, be sure to recognize their achievements and offer rewards. An extra day of paid time off or a free baseball cap that bears the company logo won’t cost you much compared to the increased productivity that results from the recognition of your team’s accomplishments.
Even after implementing these ideas, you should still look for more ways to motivate your employees. Over time, the most innovative ideas will lose their spark. You can keep things interesting and exciting for your employees by adding variety to their work environment consistently. Trying new ideas to motivate your team may even stoke their creative juices, which can be used to benefit your business.
