Help for dealing with employee motivation

Keeping employees motivated can be a very challenging task. There will be times when you have periods of high morale due to large sales that are completed; new products launched, reduced workloads, etc. While these times may be some of your most productive times, it is unrealistic to think that your employees will have high morale all the time. A variety of factors play into employee morale and you cannot always control everything in order to keep your employees happy and satisfied. Here are some things you can try to see if it will boost employee morale and provide you with a happier and more productive working environment.

Attitude
Perhaps one of the things that plays the biggest roles in employee morale is your attitude and how you approach the working environment. Do you come into work with a happy demeanor? Do you want your employees to respect and appreciate working for you? You have to come in with the right attitude if you want that to spread to your employees. Leaving your personal problems at home can really reduce a lot of the morale issues as no one wants to listen to talk about all your personal problems.

Training
Many times employees are having motivation issues because they have not been trained properly as to how they can effectively do their job. You have to spend time teaching your employees about their jobs so they know their roles and how they fit into the organization. Some companies only spend a few days on training and they usually make the new employees read through the company's instruction manual to learn about the company. The problem is that employees do not have enough time to really learn their position and they are often forced to figure it out for themselves as they go along. Take lessons from successful companies like Disney and start giving your employees additional training time so they actually have a chance to fit into the company without any problems.

Recognition
Just like raising a child, you need to recognize the good behavior and performance of your employees, not just the time when they make mistakes. Praise them for a job well-done and simply thank them for their hard work and the contributions they are making to the company. As you recognize your employees for a job well-done, it will be noticed by your other employees and it will be much easier for people to feel appreciated by the company.

Lead your employees
In order to help generate the right type of motivation at your company is by becoming a leader to them. You must be able to show them that you have a plan and you are going to take the company far into the future. As you lead your employees, you will easily be able to strengthen the employee morale for the organization. Another way to help lead your team in the right direction,you also need to take your managers to training seminars where they can learn new leadership skills such as problem-solving solutions and communication skills.

Bonuses
Provide your employees with something to look forward to. Offering bonuses for completing a project by a specific deadline is always welcome. Use goals to help you offer bonuses to your employees as this is a big motivator and will make it easier for you to step back and watch your employees push themselves.

Watch for employee burnout. One employee that starts to experience this can easily spread it to the rest of your staff and it will really decrease the morale of your company in no time. When you notice burnout, bring that employee into your office and talk to them about things you can do to help release the stress and offer them a happy working environment again.