5 Ways to Motivate Your Staff

Keeping your staff motivated throughout the year can be tough, but the impact of a happy workforce is worth your time and effort. To help you achieve this result, we’ve put together five of our top tips to keep morale high and engage and inspire your employees.

1. Make the work environment a pleasant place to be – It sounds like common sense, but a dark, unclean or messy office is not the most inspiring place for someone to work in. It’s easy for your office surroundings to blur into the background, but pay attention to the work environment and make sure it presents the right vibes for your staff – and your company as a whole. Plants, plenty of light, vibrant colours and modern, comfortable furniture are all a must, and you can make things even better by providing social and break-out spaces, private pods, plenty of coffee and some break-time entertainment to make the office feel more relaxing and engaging.

2. Listen to your staff – Employees want to feel valued – and it’s in your best interest to value their thoughts and opinions in turn. Make it clear that your staff have the opportunity to talk to you whenever they need to. Communicate regularly – this can be as simple as asking how their weekend went, or remembering little details about their interests – and embrace a more open atmosphere to break down some of those hierarchical boundaries.

3. Inspire them: Motivation is not a magic spell you can cast; you have to inspire staff to motivate themselves. One of the most effective ways of planting the inspirational seeds in an entire workforce is to draft in someone with a unique perspective on things. An inspirational speaker has just that. Find a speaker who can share relevant experiences with your staff, and one who will be able to tap into, and engage, with the mindset of your employees. Fresh ideas, insightful anecdotes and a goal to aspire to, a good motivational speaker can make a huge and lasting difference.

4. Recognise hard work and effort – Too often, people only ever hear feedback if they’ve done something wrong. But recognising hard work and effort on the part of your staff will go a long way to building confidence and encouraging employees to keep themselves motivated. A sincere thanks in written form is a great touch, and some companies have a dedicated ‘shout out’ forum where people can be openly recognised for their great work on projects. Positivity breeds productivity, so don’t ignore the efforts of your staff, and make sure they hear about it when you think they’re doing something right.

5. Be the change you want to see – Leading by example is one of the best ways to establish a motivational atmosphere throughout a company. You don’t need to micromanage and scrutinise everything and everyone, just show that you have faith and trust in your staff, and this will naturally have a positive effect on everyone. Offer opportunities for training and advancement, seek out ideas to constantly improve the business and try to encourage a diverse, interesting and cohesive mentality. It’s all about creating the right atmosphere for your staff to feel like they have the space to grow – motivation will flow naturally from there.

Kruger Cowne has a wide range of motivational and teamwork speakers to help you and your staff move in the right direction, together. With talent from a variety of backgrounds, each one offering unique, personal and engaging experiences to communicate with your staff, our speakers are some of the best in the business. If you need any specific advice on who would be the best speaker for your business, simply contact the knowledgeable team at Kruger Cowne today and discuss your requirements with us.