Employee Motivation in 2019

Whether you’re an employer, or an employee, you probably have some idea of how motivation contributes to great work. We often do our best work when we feel motivated and energized to tackle projects ahead of us. On the flip side, most of us have experienced moments when a lack of motivation for a particular task or job has gotten in the way of achieving success.

As an employer, it’s clear that tapping into employee motivation can help your business succeed, but just how do you do this? And how do you identify new hires who are going to be motivated to succeed?

What Motivates Employees?

Motivating employees can seem like a daunting task, and can require different approaches for different people. Employee motivation often depends on an individual’s personal goals and needs, both inside and outside the workplace.

Some of the most typical employee motivators include:

•      Praise and acknowledgement from colleagues and managers
•      Financial rewards
•      Flexibility
•      Opportunities for advancement
•      Handling tasks that meet or challenge skill sets
•      Being involved in decision making
•      Believing in the company mission
•      Simple love of the work

The best way to discover what motivates your employees is to actually have a conversation about their drives and needs. Start by taking notes of their answers, and see if, and how, your business can accommodate them. Having that conversation does two important things. It shows that you are listening to your employee, and care about their role in the company, and their success – this attentive listening is a big motivator all on its own. But more importantly, this conversation will help you understand how to get the most out of your employees.

Hiring for Motivation

Another important way to ensure employee motivation is to hire the right person for the job from the start. The first step in this process is to make sure your job posting is clear, detailed, and true to the role. This will encourage the right kind of candidates to apply.

Once you’ve filtered your candidates and invited your top picks in for an interview, make sure to ask them what keeps them motivated on the job. It’s also good to know why they want to work for your company, and what their future goals are.  These questions will help you assess their personal drives and if they have a real passion for what your company does. If you want to learn about their self-motivation skills, you can also ask about their least favourite tasks in past jobs and how they pushed themselves to complete them.

You also want to ensure that an employee’s skills and experience match the needs of the role.  One of the biggest motivation-killers can be repeated failure. While failure can be a tool for developing resilience and an opportunity to learn and improve, if someone just isn’t equipped to do a job, they will quickly lose heart. This doesn’t mean you should rule out keen learners who are a little bit under-qualified for a role – remember a lot of people are motivated by challenge and learning – but you’ll want to ensure you can provide them with mentorship and guidance, and/or that they have a personal learning plan in place to help their success.

The Power of Listening

What you might have noticed is that motivating your employees is a lot about the power of listening. That is, asking the right questions, and discovering how you can work together with your staff to ensure success. If you hire smart, actively listen to your employees’ needs. By providing the right environment,  you’ll be able to retain long-term motivated and passionate employees.

Conclusion

Do you need help finding motivated employees? Platinum Recruiting can connect you to some of Kelowna’s best employees and will screen and find the best fit for your staffing needs!