15/12/2022
Motivating and engaging staff members is one of those perpetuating questions that many mangers struggle with. Think of ‘motivation’ as a ‘motive for action’, or a ‘reason for doing something’, and it will give you a pointer towards how you can develop this skill.
One of the more simple ways to drive the motivation of staff is by offering praise and recognition. It’s very often neglected, as we tend to spend a lot of time dealing with tasks and issues that lead us away from noticing how people are working and completing their roles.
Yet, seeing and remarking on what a person has done right can offer a great deal of motivation to someone. This is because, when someone’s efforts are seen and praised, it raises that person’s self-esteem and self-worth. They feel good about themselves and acquaint your comments with those feelings. It drives them towards doing more of the same.
What the best way to ensure this is done? Here are some tips:
Try to catch people doing things right.
We often do the opposite, noticing when things go wrong. But, if you can offer some kind of recognition when people have made the effort, that will encourage them to do more of the same.
Be specific in giving praise.
Just saying, ‘You’re a good worker’ or similar, doesn’t help the person recognise what exactly they are being praised for. General praise is good up to a point, but specific recognition will be something they can repeat, as they see this will be recognisable.
Something like, ‘The way you turned that customer complaint around and made them happy to deal with us again was excellent. Well done!’ will make the person want to repeat the same attitude, as it has been noticed by you.
Recognise the effort people put in.
What they try may not always be successful, but you want to highlight the effort that has been shown. ‘I like the way you approached that task’ will go down well, before discussing what may have to change next time.
Don’t patronise. Be real and genuine.
Don’t think you’ve got to praise every little thing. It can come across as patronising and condescending. Instead, look for areas that you want repeated, so the person becomes aware of how you want tasks to be completed and worked on.
Try looking at motivation from this simple direction and you may find your people are more driven to get results, because their efforts are being recognised as well as their results.
I hope you found that useful.
Please check out our upcoming Management Training Courses to improve your management and leadership skills even further.
If you are based in the UK, please check out our Funded Leadership Programmes. We have face to face, blended or complete virtual training options for them.
Thanks
