Motivating Employees In An Office Space

Motivating staff members in an office is vital for any company or business as it keeps a team enthusiastic at work thus improving productivity. With a wide variety of ways out there to heighten motivation, it is very common to forget the most obvious ways to achieve this. As a CEO or Director, it is our job to elevate a team’s spirit and create a desirable work environment. This article will go through the fundamentals in how to keep a team motivated and make them actually excited to come into work.

As a whole, there is a wide spectrum of things to do in order to motivate a workforce but there are certain crucial aspects to remember when carrying out such a task. One of the most important things to consider is to do something that everyone is going to enjoy. For example, if a task involves doing a speech in front of the rest of their colleagues then we need to make sure that all members are content with this and not afraid to do it beforehand. After all, this is supposed to be a motivational exercise and not a terrifying experience. Remember, not checking with office staff beforehand can actually have the opposite intended effect on the whole task.

With quite a few categories that can contribute to motivating a work force, these techniques below are designed to both motivate employees and also bring staff closer together in order for them to work better as a team.

Incentive

An incentive is the most effective and commonly used for motivating staff members out of all the ideas. It not only creates competitiveness in the workplace but also can actually heighten an individual’s determination to succeed. However, without an appealing incentive in place, this task can be a waste of time and effort. It is a well-known fact that anyone will react better to a higher prize or reward but we cannot always afford to raise the funds but one way to achieve this is to get a helping hand. An ingenious solution to do this is not to just put your own hands in your pockets but to ask the participants involved to contribute out of their own pockets too. If each staff member puts in a certain amount each then the total combined would probably fetch quite a substantial amount and therefore attract more interest to the task.

Another good point when running an incentive is perhaps to have a choice of top prizes available in order to cater to everyone’s taste. For example, shopping vouchers, a health & beauty day at a spar, theatre tickets, go-cart racing or a weekend away in a hotel. Adding different prizes is quite beneficial as it gains the attention of the people who are, shall we say, not so enthusiastic about office incentives. To add to this, you can even ask them what they would be interested in winning too prior to the event.

Playing a game

Playing a game is probably more of a team building experience but it does contribute to the motivation of a work force by keeping them upbeat and happy in the office environment. This is quite an interesting and fun task that is great for energizing staff members in the morning but like the point before, it is always a good idea to play a game that is to everyone’s taste. Simple games such as Pictionary, Who am I, Bop It and Charades can really get a team going first thing but remember the easier the game, the more people will enjoy doing it. It is also a good idea to make sure the game is quite social too as the object of the exercise is to improve relationships and enthusiasm in the office. These kind of social activities are a great way to get staff members to want to come into work, as the office environment would be perceived as a cool place to be.

Regular Appraisals

Appraisals or one-to-one meetings may not be someone’s idea of being associated with motivation but it certainly is or can be shall we say. As human beings, we all need some recognition in life and appraisals are an ideal opportunity to complement employees achievements or to acknowledge what they have done for you and the business. This in turn can encourage an individual to work harder rather than them feeling worthless. Taking the time to build a rapport with a member of staff and taking an interest in them can be extremely beneficial too as the person will grow to respect you as a friend.

A very popular question to ask an employee in an appraisal is how they would personally improve themselves or the company. This is a key question to ask in any appraisal, as the employee will feel that their opinions count and that they are a main asset to the company. Secondly, they may even come out with some fantastic ideas too. A great tip is to isolate their good points and then give them an opportunity to see if their good ideas work. This is an ingenious way to drive any employee to do certain tasks for you, and the funny thing is, they would have suggested it themselves.

Social events

Social events are highly important in a workplace as they build the social aspect of the environment and encourages staff members to work together as a team. Going out for a drink or going clubbing is regarded as a social event but is not really an effective team building exercise. A good team building activity should involve something where your employees can work together as a unit i.e. paintballing, sailing, camping, football or netball etc. You will notice that these types of events involves both the social aspect as well as a team player side that is crucial and beneficial for a workforce to interact together. Again, this type of event does involve planning so it is a good idea to check that everyone would be interested in the activity.


Now you have some great ideas to motivate staff, why not use your imagination yourself to conjure up some interesting tasks or events for them. You never know, there may be quite a difference in the productivity levels and how the team work together as a whole.