How to strengthen employee motivation and engagement

One of the anchors for running a successful business is keeping the employees engaged. As trivial as it may sound, keeping the workforce motivated plays a crucial role in uplifting productivity levels. Between carrying out the business as usual and critical tasks, it is equally pivotal to actively keep employees engaged. Here are some aspects to focus on in order to improve employee engagement.

1. Promote personal development
Personal growth is a salient element of employee motivation. A workspace that focuses only on organizational growth disregarding employees’ personal development can never garner long-term bonds and loyalty. Leaders should align employees’ KRAs with their expectations and goals. Training programs can be arranged to help people acquire new skills to boost excellence. Employees can also be given opportunities to explore new business avenues or assigned additional responsibilities to give a boost to their growth trajectory.

2. Encourage creativity
Following a repetitive routine nine-to-five every day can turn any job mundane. Encouraging individual creativity is empowering and engaging. It provides the employees with something new to explore, brainstorm, and bring innovative ideas. Leaders can allow flexibility to explore creativity in tasks by organizing contests or sprints. Creativity acts as a catalyst for self-motivation as it gives them a reason to be personally invested in their work, enhancing ownership.

3. Create a open positive environment
An unhealthy work environment where ideas are shut down frequently can develop negative psychological impacts on employees’ minds. Organizations should create a psychologically safe and transparent space where employees can communicate their opinions without the fear of rejection. It means welcoming new ideas, questions, or concerns from team members with an open mind. A constructive and insightful approach to new ideas by leaders will consequently motivate teams to bring more innovative thoughts.

4. Recognize and reward
Recognizing and appreciating the hard work is crucial to boosting morale within employees. Lack of recognition undoubtedly leads to disengagement, resulting in a negative domino effect, ultimately crippling one’s productivity. Leaders need to ensure that well-deserved employees are given their due credit. They can be represented as role models for their team members to encourage them to push their boundaries further.

Contrary to the notion of viewing it as a way to make amendments, investing in employee engagement is the foundation to build a stronger business. It represents that the organization is ready to work holistically for the future while keeping the values intact.