Employee motivation - how to increase staff motivation: 7 practical tips + 5 main mistakes when increasing employee motivation in an organization

What are the basic principles and approaches to increasing the motivation of employees in an organization? What methods are used to increase motivation? What are the mistakes when developing a motivation system?

Being a leader at the highest level is not easy. The production commander, who only gives out orders and fines, does not keep highly qualified specialists. How can you ensure that your subordinates receive moral satisfaction from their work and do not look towards competing companies?

We will consider motivation problems and their solutions in our new article. With you is the business magazine “HeatherBeaver” and regular author of publications Anna Medvedeva.

At the end of the article you will find an overview of mistakes that are made when developing and implementing motivation systems. Read and prevent management failures in your organization.

Why is employee motivation necessary?

A new employee in a team is usually full of ideas and enthusiasm. This distinguishes him from the bulk of workers, who are no longer so zealous in fulfilling their official duties. But after some time, the newcomer merges with the general mass of employees and also becomes more passive.

This state of affairs is typical for most enterprises. This makes management think that employees need some kind of incentive to encourage them to be active, positive and self-development. Therefore, institutions interested in increasing income and productivity are introducing a motivation system.

What it is?

Employee motivation is the internal need of employees to perform their job duties efficiently and effectively, as well as the creation of conditions for them that create this need.

The correct motivation system, that is, the one that produces results, involves the combination of two types - collective and personal motivation.

It’s great when a team becomes a team of like-minded people who work together towards a common goal, and everyone is aware of this very goal. But no global goals inspire as much as personal ones.

And if management manages to delve into the system of needs of its subordinates and harmoniously link personal motivation with collective motivation, then we can say that a positive result is guaranteed.

Inspiring your employees is one of the main missions of a good leader. After all, if he becomes a leader not only by position, but also due to his personal qualities, the team will follow him and conquer any labor peaks. A flexible approach to business always wins.

Many will ask the question: what to do with outright slackers? Who are not motivated by any benefits and whose only goal is to receive a salary for being present at the workplace?

Competent managers simply get rid of them. Yes, it’s tough, but the main danger of parasites is not that they receive a salary for nothing. And not even that their work has to be done overtime by other employees.

The main danger of slackers is the demotivation of the entire team. One such element can “infect” apathy and nullify the motivation of the entire team.

The article “Staff Motivation in an Organization” will reveal for you other aspects of this issue.

Did not get along? No problem. There are 2 options:

• 1) mentally give the unpleasant person a gift
• 2) imagine him as a small child

Both options will change your attitude for the better.

• Repetition is the mother of learning

Do you want something? Talk about it. Then repeat more forcefully. And further. And one more time. Eventually, motivating people to take action will work. They will believe in your idea and decide - why not? If he is so persistent, it means there really is something worthwhile there. Most advertising campaigns are based on this principle.

• Stop making excuses

Did you say no? Go away. A firm “no” is not explained and, moreover, there is no need to justify it. Stop feeling guilty, it's palpable. In some cases, explanations cannot be avoided. The ability to distinguish one from another comes with experience.

• Show you

Show yourself off
When you get a promotion, do something that shows your former colleagues that you've moved up a notch. Give an order, make an order, publicly praise a subordinate. If they whisper behind your back and don’t recognize your leadership, make an indicative dismissal. A properly *motivated* employee will value you and obey you unquestioningly, increasing your authority.

Motivating people to act directly depends on this part of the techniques, which change your communication style and worldview. Start applying it and turn into that “lucky guy” who goes above and beyond, achieving his goals.

Effective communication with people

What are the ways to increase employee motivation - 3 main ways

All known methods of motivating employees are divided into 3 groups. You can read more about them in the publication “Methods of motivating staff.”

Here we will briefly talk about each.

Method 1. Financial incentives

There are two types of financial incentives. The table will clearly demonstrate their essence to you.

Types of material incentives for employees:

Needless to say, material reward is the most tangible and powerful type of motivation.

Method 2. Non-material reward

How to increase motivation using non-material rewards?

There are also different ways to do this:

• changing the work schedule to be beneficial for employees;
• corporate events;
• recognition ceremonies;
• change in employee status;
• change of workplace, etc.

The main goal of non-material incentives is to increase interest and job satisfaction using intellectual and moral incentives. And also add positivity to your workdays.

On this topic, read our article “Non-financial motivation of staff.”

Method 3. Application of sanctions

This is the so-called negative motivation. That is, a system of punishments.

Forms of negative motivation:

• fines;
• deprivation of status;
• public condemnation;
• in special cases - criminal liability, etc.

Such methods of motivating employees can be effective, but only in certain cases. And they must be applied immediately after unwanted actions are carried out.

The most reasonable option is two-way motivation , that is, a combination of punishments and rewards. Moreover, rewards should act as a primary factor, and punishments as a secondary factor.

We think not about the difficulties that lie ahead of us, but about the benefits that we will ultimately receive

We describe in detail in our minds or on paper all the benefits that we will receive when we achieve our goal. They will inspire and motivate us. We answer ourselves the questions: how will our lives change - financial situation, lifestyle, what interesting people will we be able to meet, what new things will we be able to learn, where to go, how will our horizons expand, what opportunities will appear?

From photographs and drawings that correspond to what we want to achieve, we can create our own “dream collage” and hang it so that our gaze falls on it as often as possible, not letting us forget about the reward for our labors awaiting us. Such visualization of desires can be a good motivation. At the same time, we create an “anti-collage”, where we also colorfully depict what we don’t want, are afraid of and want to avoid - black and white photographs depicting boring, dull people, poverty, misery, etc.

How to increase employee motivation - 7 simple tips

The employee motivation system is diverse and largely depends on the specifics of the enterprise.

We have chosen universal tools and principles that will be useful to any leader and will come in handy in any team.

Tip 1. Ask employees about their performance

This does not mean total control over the activities of each employee. Of course, there is some degree of control here, but the main goal is different. This technique is necessary primarily for the internal composure of employees.

Not everyone will count at the end of the working day, for example, the number of calls made and how many of them were successful. If the manager begins to be interested in this, the employee’s level of self-information will increase, as will internal motivation after a visual analysis of his own achievements.

This topic will be complemented by information from the article “Staff Motivation.”

Tip 2. Strengthen interaction with subordinates

This is necessary to track the degree of interest of your employees in the results of their work. The majority of managers have a vague idea of ​​the level of motivation in their team or do not have it at all. This gap is filled by ordinary communication with the team.

At pre-planned meetings, discuss not only work issues and plans for the future. Try to delve into what is important to employees now, what motivates everyone, and what hinders progress.

During detailed conversations, employees are convinced that management is interested in the lives of their subordinates, and the manager receives important information about the motivation of his employees.

Tip 3. Formulate instructions to employees as clearly as possible

The same applies to the reward system. The more specific the request is formulated, the more specific the results will be.

Every employee needs to know:

• what he does;
• why is he doing this;
• within what period of time he must do this;
• what will he get for it?

Largely thanks to specifics, the employee motivation system becomes successful.

Tip 4. Create an idea bank

The staff themselves will help you with this. Many of them develop interesting and useful thoughts during their working life, which are sometimes useful to put into practice. The main thing is to be able to listen and find a rational grain even in the most unusual and, at first glance, unpromising ideas.

To create a bank of ideas, keep a separate notebook or file (whichever is more convenient for you) and record all your employees’ ideas in it. Do this, and you will see that most of your colleagues have an extraordinary mind and imagination, and many have a sense of humor.

Tip 5. Motivate with knowledge

Any employee who is committed to career growth also strives to learn. A person who finds himself in his place acquires new skills in his professional field with interest and pleasure. Therefore, motivation by knowledge is a very powerful lever for self-improvement.

Let's add a small nuance. Provide the opportunity to acquire new knowledge that will be useful to employees in your production. Otherwise, you can prepare a specialist for someone else.

Continuing this topic, read another article on our website, “Types of staff motivation.”

Tip 6. Provide employees with unscheduled rest

There are many variations of this type of encouragement. For certain achievements, employees receive additional rest in the form of time off or, for example, the opportunity to come to work later on certain days or leave a little earlier.

Example

The office supply company introduced a record of goods sold during the week. A sales report is made every Friday evening.

Based on the results of the report, the most active sales manager is calculated. As a bonus for success, he receives the right to go to work on the coming Monday not in the morning, but in the afternoon.

This type of employee motivation is very important, for example, for young professionals.

Tip 7. Encourage employees financially

We have already talked about monetary rewards above. Here it is worth mentioning separately about the calculation of annual bonuses. Such bonuses are very important for every employee, and this is natural. After all, a long reporting period is closing, and the rewards for it are the highest.

Example

How can you calculate the bonus percentage relative to the amount of work completed?

If the set goals were achieved by 90% or more, the bonus is awarded in the amount of 100%.

80% of goals achieved - 50% bonus.

Less than 70% - no bonus is awarded.

Usage example:

1. — Hello, are you Marya Ivanovna?
2. - Yes
3. — Do you need to submit quarterly reports?
4. - Yes
5. — Could you suggest/do/prepare...?
6. - YES

• Take a break

How many times do bosses ask us to stay after work, on a day off, and without pay at all? A typical situation - the boss comes up, actively gesticulating, talks about how great it is that the company has employees like you and offers you to come on Sunday completely free of charge and do a ton of work for him?

In principle, you both understand that he does not have such a right. At the same time, he is afraid of conflict. If you refuse, your authority in the eyes of your subordinates will fall. Don’t take your eyes off, remain silent, it works to motivate people to take action – to express their point of view. After a couple of minutes, the boss will begin to speak more calmly. Remain silent, nodding every now and then. He will begin to explain, then make excuses, at the end he will apologize and go look for a new victim.

• Overcome hostility

Help in increasing employee motivation - review of the TOP 3 service companies

Now let's turn to some companies whose field of activity is related to training in the field of business management, as well as the provision of services for the development of motivation systems.

Professionals always know better how to do it and teach it to others.

1) MAS Project

The unique management system developed by this company will help improve the work process for both management and staff.

If you run a business, you will learn:

• increase the productivity of each employee;
• synchronize company goals and employee goals;
• manage projects and tasks;
• regulate areas of responsibility;
• control staff employment;
• Conduct quality planning sessions and meetings.

Thanks to the MAS Project system, employees will learn:

• track the fulfillment of goals and earned bonuses;
• manage your tasks;
• manage your employment;
• realize your role in the common cause;
• understand your own areas of responsibility;
• view all information in one resource.

You can confidently trust MAS Project. A system created by solving real business problems is the most reliable and viable.

2) Business Relations

This company is the first in Russia to begin providing training in the field of relationships. It began its activities in 1996, and in 2007 opened a corporate direction.

During their professional career, the company's specialists have become experts in the field of working with relationships. “It is the attitude to work and to life that determines the result” is the main postulate on which the entire learning process is built here.

Among others, the company offers corporate training “Business Context”, after which many organizations have already made a breakthrough in business development. The training consists of 70% practice, which allows it to dramatically increase the level of staff involvement in the work process.

3) Moscow Business School

Human resource management courses offered by the Moscow Business School will be useful not only to business managers, but also to everyone whose activities are directly related to hiring, training, motivating and improving the skills of employees.

After completing this training, you will easily:

• understand legal and financial management issues;
• develop employee motivation and reward systems;
• evaluate and hire employees;
• engage in training and development of personnel.

Business trainers and teachers at Moscow Business School are also engaged in other areas, which allows them to develop original teaching methods based on personal experience. After completing the training, you will also receive tips for further development.

Remember the Yerkes-Dodson Law

According to the law developed by British psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson, the best results are achieved with an average level of motivation. It is the average level that is optimal. The second name of the Yerkes-Dodson law is the law of optimal motivation.

Psychologists have empirically found that when the level of motivation is too high, a person begins to get nervous, fearing not to live up to expectations and not being able to cope with responsibility. Fear does not allow him to think adequately, and he makes mistakes.

What are the mistakes when increasing employee motivation - 5 main mistakes

Any enterprise motivation program is imperfect and often makes mistakes - this is inevitable.

We have selected the most common ones. After all, if not all, then many problems can be avoided if you know their causes.

Error 1. Punishment with rubles

This is the most ineffective employee motivation in an organization. I would even say that deprivation of bonuses and fines have the opposite effect.

As a rule, such measures are taken to stop systematic violations, and not to improve labor standards. On the one hand, this is logical. On the other hand, this approach is extremely undesirable, since it embitters people and kills any desire to perform their duties efficiently. And even more so - to develop.

Mistake 2. Lack of a feedback system

Any motivation system requires adjustments during implementation. But any change made at the suggestion of employees, that is, direct participants in the process, will be much more effective and rational.

Feedback helps to correct errors as accurately as possible. It also establishes trusting relationships between managers and the team. Each employee feels not only his importance in production, but also the weight of his voice for management.

Without feedback, it is impossible for an employee to objectively evaluate the results of his work. What are its advantages and weaknesses? In what direction should we develop? What knowledge and skills are missing to make the result of work more effective?

It will not be surprising if such an employee sooner or later submits a resignation letter, even if he copes with his responsibilities and receives a decent salary.

Mistake 3: Paying too much attention to individual employees

Selecting favorites in the team invariably suggests the lack of professionalism of the manager and his bias in resolving management issues. It’s even worse when such actions directly indicate personal relationships that have nothing to do with the work process.

A competent motivation system will tell you how to identify an employee worthy of encouragement. And this will be visible not only to management, but also to other team members.

Mistake 4. Reluctance to train employees

Saving on training is always questionable. It is impossible to increase the level of labor without increasing the level of qualifications. And the second, in turn, is impossible without special training.

The opportunity to learn additional skills and develop is a strong argument in favor of the company. Even qualified specialists are guided by this factor when choosing a place of work.

Any rational motivation system provides for employee training. And every experienced manager knows that spending on improving the skills of employees always pays off.

Internal collective training is highly effective. Its result is doubly justified: employees acquire personal efficiency skills, and the manager improves his managerial qualities.

Mistake 5. Opacity of the remuneration system

This approach is the exact opposite of motivation. It will definitely leave employees feeling deceived. It is important for every person not only to receive bonuses, but also to be aware of how they are awarded.

What if, after seeing the principles of bonus distribution, employees are inspired to achieve higher achievements? Have you thought about this?

From the expert in the video, you will learn about other common mistakes that managers make when implementing a motivation system.

Setting a goal

So our goal is to achieve success. But this goal is too abstract, so it needs to be specified. We ask ourselves the question: in what area of ​​our life do we want to be successful? In work, sports, personal life, hobbies, or in all at once, which, of course, will require a lot of effort on our part, but if desired, it is possible.

Goal is closely related to motivation: without motivation, it will continue to loom somewhere ahead. Motivation is what motivates us to move towards a goal. The stronger the motivation, the greater the chances of achieving it. The reason that almost half of the goals that people set for themselves remain unfulfilled is a lack of motivation.

For example, we want to head a department in a large company, and this is our goal. But we may want this until retirement if we don’t start working on ourselves. We may have to get additional education, learn several languages, work on our image, etc. On the one hand, this will not be easy, on the other hand, motivation will help us overcome difficulties, which will spur us on and support the desire to move towards the goal.

Of course, we need to set realistic goals for ourselves - ones that we can achieve. Goals like “become the mayor of New York” or “lead Deutsche Bank” are wonderful, but they are unlikely to be achievable even if you have a strong desire. Or maybe we want to lose an extra 20 kg within a month? It is unlikely that we will be able to do this without harming our health. Failures will lower our self-esteem, discourage any desire to act, and therefore move us away from the goal, while successes bring us closer to it.

Promote professional growth

The desire for growth is a universal incentive. Try to show your employees prospects: the opportunity to receive more complex tasks, a new project, position, salary increase. When a person understands where he is going and what he can count on in the future, his motivation grows.

If necessary, help develop a personal development plan, recommend a training program, literature and other resources.

Pavel Belsky, team lead of the EPAM Belarus development team : “Robert Greenleaf introduced the concept of a servant leader - a team lead who helps people grow and solve problems. I agree that this is how a manager should treat employees. But at the same time, it is important to help people where they really need it. If you have an experienced employee on your team, be his senior comrade and try to interfere less often. Be a mentor for beginners: help them cope with problems, draw up a development plan.”

Give more freedom and the right to make mistakes

Sergei Boyko, director of the EPAM Belarus department : “It is very important that people somewhere act in accordance with general instructions (such situations should be specified immediately), and somewhere they show initiative and autonomy: generate ideas and make decisions. But this is only possible when the employee clearly understands where he and the entire team are heading, when there is a common goal.

It is equally important that people know how to take responsibility for decisions made. To do this, they must know that they can make mistakes and there will be no punishment for it. There will only be a result that we would not like to see, and the understanding that this is a consequence of your own decisions.”