If you own or run a business, you might want to learn how to make your employees more efficient without having them lose moral. There are several different ways that employers are able to create efficiencies in the workplace, but most of them create a sense of animosity between management and employees. Here are a few ways to increase efficiency while actively motivating your workers.
The Power of Recognition
One way to help increase the efficiency of your employees is to offer more instances of recognition for their work. As humans, we like to be told we are doing a good job and to be recognized when we go above and beyond. Your employees are no different. There are several ways that you can choose to recognize employees. One of the most common ways is through public recognition on a board or through other incentives. This is where the employee of the month idea came from. Employees that go above and beyond are rewarded by having their name and picture up with a sign asking other employees to tell them they are doing a good job or to offer congratulations.
Another way to recognize employees is to offer them dinner or lunch with the CEO or any of the owners of the companies. This is a fun way for them to get to know upper management, and the offer will motivate them to find new ways to do their work and go above and beyond.
The Power of Incentives
One way to incentivize your employees is through monthly prizes or drawings. These little raffles and drawings can be very effective in getting your employees to take their work more seriously while also creating a fun atmosphere that allows for motivation. You can set up a raffle where each employee is awarded a ticket or another marker for sales or any type of metric that works with their department. These employees can then turn in their tickets for a chance to win a prize of their choice in a monthly drawing.
You can also give a prize to an employee or department that hits a certain target metric or goes above. For example, you could offer a sales team tickets to a basketball game if the department as a whole hits a sales number. You could offer a river cruise to a manufacturing department that completes a certain number of machines in the least amount of time. This fosters friendly competition between departments without creating competition within departments, which can lead to problems. This also sufficiently motivates employees and enables them to go above and beyond.
The Power of Planning
Another way to motivate employees is to get them involved in the planning process. Too often, companies will do all the work of planning and then treat their employees like cogs in a machine. Employees want to take pride and ownership in their work. They want a sense of purpose when they walk into the workplace. Give them the ability to alter the workflow as they see fit or to change the schedule based on their needs. Give them the power to provide feedback on how the process is going and where improvements can be made. These employees are, after all, on the front lines and are the most qualified to find the inefficiencies in their own work and get rid of them. You can have a particular manager lead this planning group to make sure the process is on track, but other than that allow your employees to take ownership in their work. The results will astound you.
Efficiency is key in businesses today. However, there has to be a balance between being efficient and also creating the motivation for your employees to stay efficient. By allowing your employees to be actively involved in the planning process, giving them incentives for reaching targets, and offering them recognition for going above and beyond, you can ensure that your employees will become more efficient and will have levels of motivation that will drive your business.
—
Carol Evenson is an entrepreneur and professional business consultant specializing in C-level training and business growth. She currently works with organizations across the globe, assisting CEOs with their expansion strategies.