Employees are the most valuable asset of an organisation. Everyone will agree with this statement. The right team can take you to great places. When working in a team as a leader you must see that you’re teammates are happy and encouraged to achieve new things. Hiring the right team and managing them well will result in the exceptional performance of your workforce and ultimately all this will lead to the growth of your business.
Why is it important to encourage your employees?
It is important to keep your employees motivated to ensure that your organisation is going towards success. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to encourage them to contribute more towards the organisation’s growth. When an employer respects the talent and skills employees bring to an organisation, it may leave a positive impact and motivate them to achieve better. When you fail to take care of your employees it will lead to excessive employee turnover, which can put your organisation in a fix.
Your employees are also humans, so it is common for them to feel tired or get discouraged in such situations receiving encouragement from their boss can keep their spirits up. Not to mention it builds trust and improves communication within the organisation. When you make efforts on creating a healthy environment in the workplace it can improve focus, productivity and make the office an enjoyable place. Next time your employees are not satisfied with something they will take the initiative to talk and sort it out rather than quitting their job.
Benefits of encouraging your workforce
Encouraging your employees has its benefits. Your workforce will get motivated and improve their performance. When you encourage your team to build a strong bond within themselves, which makes it easier to work and complete projects on time. Little encouragement from you can give them immense strength to achieve anything and complement their strengths. It will even foster learning and creativity in them. Your employees will share their ideas and participate in making your organisation better.
Encouraging them will also infuse a sense of ownership in them and helps them in taking responsibility for their actions. And ultimately all this will have a true impact on your organisation. Remember the collective efforts of all these people will only put your company on top. So it is your responsibility to understand them and pull them up in case of any demotivation.
So, if you’re wondering how to encourage your employees here are a few tips that can help you.
Welcoming Environment
An organisation needs to maintain a welcoming environment in the workplace. Employees spend most of their day at the office. It naturally becomes their second home so providing them with a healthy environment will keep their spirits high. A large chunk of time you will find your employees in front of their computer screen. It can take a toll on your employees.
If you want your employees to enjoy their work, then give them space. Don’t push them into stressful situations. Working for long hours without any breaks may also result in lack of motivation. You can provide them with getaways such as game rooms, lounge, breakout areas socialize with their colleagues and to de-stress. A well-balanced work environment can improve productivity and nurture your workforce. It is a win-win situation for the organisation.
Respect and Value their work
People work with more determination when they’re appreciated. Don’t you agree? When someone praises and values your work you would feel motivated and it gives you the motivation to improve yourself and become better. Same goes for your workforce too. You need to encourage and treat your employees better as they are an integral part of the organisation. When they don’t feel valued enough they would quit the job, increase employee turnover, which will do no good for your organisation.
Respect their work and appreciate their efforts towards the company. You can reward them from time to time, according to behavioural sciences rewarding can positively influence your workplace. And one of the best ways to feel them valued is by asking their feedback and recognise, reward their achievements.
Open communication
Establish open communication within the organisation. When you keep your employees in the dark about your ongoing business they will feel excluded and it will reinforce the feeling of not wanted in your employees. When you maintain open communication with your employees and explain to them about all the issues relating to a project, who knows they can come up with solutions and make your work easy. For any team to have a reliable and stable relationship with the organisation it is a must to have open communication. When included in such conversations your employees may feel valued and help in making your organisation better.
Listen to their needs
Not everyone will be satisfied with the organisation policies or organisation as a whole. Employees will have concerns or frustrations regarding their job. If you want to improve their productivity then you must listen to their needs. Understand their struggles and work demands to help them better. You can send around a questionnaire asking their feed or suggestion on the workplace. Once you know their concerns then you must try your best to motivate them. When you provide solutions to their concerns they will automatically feel valued and it improves the bond between you and them. Most of the time people are just happy that their organisation is listening to their concerns even if they don’t immediately come up with a solution to their problems.
Play your part
Employees can feel demotivated when you order them to work but never pitch-in to share the work. If you want your employees to work at the top of their abilities then you will have to take a hands-on approach. As a leader, you need to lead your team in the right direction. Lead by example, believe in this statement. Be a perfect role model for your employees. Conduct brainstorming sessions before you start a new project.
Ask their ideas, create a stage for them to pitch their ideas, participate in debates or discussions. All these methods will bring you closer to your personnel. As a leader, you must build trust in your team so that they would follow you and help you in reaching the top. Celebrate your success, share your failures with your team. Keep them constantly involved in your company this way they can understand the organisation in and out.
Incentives or perks
Who doesn’t love receiving perks from their company? Whenever you appreciate an employee for their work there are high chances of them improving their performance even more. So you can come up with simple programs to always keep them motivated. You can conduct employee of the month programs, this will motivate your employees to perform better.
When your project becomes a success, you can host a small party and reward your employees with small gifts such as gift cards. Take your team for an outing once in a while. If you think that increasing the salary is the only way to motivate your employees to work harder, then you’re wrong. Providing them with incentives, bonuses and team lunches can also motivate them. Conducting activities such as team lunches will also improve bond within the team too.
Self Development
Since your employees are a valuable asset to your organisation. Then you must always encourage them to improve themselves. The market is ever-changing, every day there is at least one new skill that gets updated. So your employees need to stay in the loop. Your employees self-growth may even help your organisation too. So you can offer them an opportunity to learn new skills. Providing such training can help them in advancing their career and improve their skills and knowledge. Knowledge transfer within your organisation can work wonders for your business and help you in coming up with solutions to any queries.
Happy employees
Happy employees are always a plus for an organisation. Their attitude is infectious and they can make your workplace happy. So make sure that you keep your employees happy. If they are not happy about something try talking to them about their issues and try your best to resolve the issue. Encourage them to come up with ideas and make your workplace happy and peaceful.
Conclusion
Employees are the foundation of an organisation. They have the power to make or break an organisation. So, you must hire curious people, hiring the right people can take your business forward. Don’t micromanage every detail of their work, give them space and chance to express their views and ideas. Encourage them to interact and improve themselves. When an employee improves your organisation will also improve. Create a peaceful environment where they can grow and help your organisation grow. Open communication with your employees can build trust within the organisation. So, an organisation needs to encourage its employees from time to time to work hard, it improve productivity and takes your company to new heights.
