Changing your Ways

What is the most important thing about motivating employees and what can you do to make it better? There are many advantages to having motivated employees and how they feel is a direct link to better performance and at the same time be smiling and happy about their jobs during times of change. Knowing what employees want and what makes them happy is one key to success and should be explored if you are suffering from poor productivity or reduced morale.

There is no doubt that today’s workplace is a volatile, turbulent and unpredictable environment. Sometimes it borders on chaos and yet through it all, you are expected to full fill your duties and complete the job so that the mission is successful. Motivating people can improve performance and attitudes but what has to accompany this method used to motivate you is something people have to believe in to be true and sincere otherwise it may backfire and told to be just another manipulated ploy to get you to work for less and do more with less.

First you must be sure that the systems you have in place are in good working order. You may have to see if you are fat (overstaffed) at the top and flat (understaffed) on the bottom. Being flat at the bottom may create insecurity and low morale. If you don’t give employees what they think they want then you will never see them perform at their fullest ability unless you can motivate them into a higher state of mind and expectation.

Motivated people strive hard to achieve goals, remain positive in their perspective and create the inner power to change things around them. They become better workers as they build their self-esteem and confidence increasing their capabilities to do the job and more. Finally they will begin to seek room for improvements and work hard on managing and developing their own growth and career plans.

The other end of the spectrum are the disadvantages of motivating staff as they may begin to see barriers that existed all the time but hardly noticed. Although not a real disadvantage by definition of the word it does bring awareness to other dynamics in the workplace that may need to be addressed in order to accomplish successful change.

There may be a need to better train managers or supervisors, improve the workplace or surroundings and update or upgrade the equipment used to get the work done and give them better tools to work with as their attitudes change for the good of all as well as everyone working there.

Overcoming barriers when motivating others includes traditional comments such as “we don’t get paid extra to work harder” and “we have always done it this way” and slowly the list gets longer as “our bosses don’t have a clue what we do” and their favorite complaint that “it doesn’t say that in my job description.”  Such views will take persuasion, perseverance, and the proof of experience to break down.