Are You Keeping Your Team Motivated?
(because if you’re not you might pay the ultimate price!)
If this hasn’t already happened to you, then you may know someone who’s been in this situation. Everything at work and with the team seems to be going swimmingly. Everyone’s getting on with the task in hand, no one’s complaining about anything, morale is good.
And then ‘out of the blue’ one of the best employees hands in their notice!
There were no clues they were even thinking about it. There were no indications at all they weren’t happy in their role. Some team members need to be motivated to continue to want to work well and stay with their employer. Without obvious signs, because their work stays at the level required, it’s hard to tell if behind the scenes they are plotting their departure.
Although in some instances the motive for leaving might be a promotion that you can’t offer, often there are other considerations at play.
It’s easy to forget about the need to motivate staff, they seem so engrossed in getting the job done, and managers have got their own work to do, with other problems and tasks arriving every day.
Sometimes the best anyone can hope for is that there’s a bit of thought behind the work that gets delegated, so that it’s appropriately allocated. Pass it to someone who will find it interesting, or learn from it, or who will do it quickest, or the best or with the least support and intervention. But that’s hardly going to keep people motivated.
So what can be done to motivate staff, and give them satisfaction enough to stay?
Managers may not be able to offer a promotion, or give more money, but there are things that can be done, which will increase the likelihood of someone being happy, and as a result staying in the team for longer.
Ultimately, the motivation will have to come from individual team members, but there’s a lot that can be done to encourage this.
Take a few minutes each month to do MoRe for the team, a Motivation Review.
Think about each team member and consider the following, see if there’s anything to be done to support them and address their needs. Make a mental visit to everyone and think about the following, if there’s something that isn’t being addressed then act on it now – tomorrow may be too late!
Mentor – does a team member have ambitions that could be supported by a mentor? If it’s unclear if they have ambitions then find out, and once this is clear arrange for a suitable mentor who can support and guide them.
Ownership – does everyone have at least one task that’s ‘theirs’? They are the expert; they can use their strengths. They have the freedom and can choose how to do it?
Targets – does each team member know what success looks like for them? Have targets been agreed, and timelines for achieving them? These don’t have to be huge goals, just challenging enough to stretch them a little bit each time a new target is agreed.
Investment – are all team members being given some investment? Some dedicated resource, time/money/training etc. to reinforce that they are important?
Valued – does each team member know how they contribute to the success of the business and the team? Do they understand how what they do ties in with the mission and values?
Attention – outside of work issues, has some time been dedicated to each team member to check-in, see how things are going, whether there are any worries, or any good news they want to share, people aren’t just cogs in a machine. Spend a little time with them.
Thanked – we should always look to thank people for their work – regardless of the size of the achievement. Let them know they are appreciated, that their effort isn’t going unnoticed.
Empowered – does everyone in the team feel that they can contribute without fear of come-back? Can they constructively challenge where they don’t agree? Are they able to determine their own ‘how’ as long as they achieve the ‘what’?
…..and of course, if you spot anything that needs attention make a note to fix it straight away!
