Employee Motivation

Employee motivation is a driving force that an employee must have to fulfill his / her responsibilities within the company.

The work that emerges in a place and time where motivation is low cannot show maximum efficiency. Employees must have high motivation to show quality and sufficient performance and to add value to the company. Otherwise, low motivated employees may cause the company to lose turnover; it may even cause businesses to shrink. According to researches, while people reflect their happiness to an average of 2-3 people around them, they reflect their unhappiness to 8-9 people. Based on this research, the dissatisfaction and loss of motivation of only one employee bring along the loss of motivation of 8-9 employees.

Employee motivation is of great importance for companies to run their business efficiently. Motivation brings with it high-quality individual performance. The higher the individual performances of the employees, the better the teams can be managed and this plays an important role in the growth of the company.

 

How to Motivate Employees?

Companies have many valuable ways to increase the motivation of their employees. Although these differ in company structures, they may also vary with employee characters. At the end of the day, all methods serve the purpose of increasing company productivity by strengthening employee motivation. Here are 7 methods to increase employee motivation;

 

1.Appreciation

Appreciation is a declaration of appreciation for a person's work. Employees want to know and hear that their work is good and of high quality. This is a motivational factor for them. Appreciation is made in a social environment rather than personally, which increases the motivation of the employees. Being admired, approved, and valued are among the most important factors that foster self-confidence in human nature. Employees' self-confidence is also nurtured with appreciation. In general, there is a big difference between thanking employees and personally thanking them. When employees are not appreciated, they may feel that their efforts are not getting enough attention and that they are boiling in between. When they are personally appreciated, they see that they are noticed positively and continue to do their job with high motivation. Appreciation is a fire that fuels the perseverance of the workers. The more effort of the employee, the bigger the job done. There are many ways of appreciation. One of them is to thank in a personal way for the software used in companies that have undergone digital transformation, through an interface that everyone can see. In the meetings, the feeling that the employee's work is appreciated personally can be declared within everyone, and the employee can be proud of himself.

 

So appreciation is a driving force for employees to feel noticed and to have an even better quality of their next job.

 

2.Rewarding 

When it comes to rewarding, the first thing that comes to mind is the raise on the salary. Although this idea makes the employee happy, there is another reward system that will make them even happier; these are spiritual rewards considered. What are these spiritual rewards? Spiritual rewards, watches, bags, etc. Although they can be products, there can also be channels where the employee can gain new experiences. A holiday gift that he can go with his family, overseas travel, riding training course, etc. The rewards that are considered and can be shared with their relatives increase the motivation of the employees. Such gifts directly affect social life, and therefore the employee who is happy in his social life is more motivated to the company.

 

When rewarding is mentioned, if the focus is on making the employee happy in his social life, a longer-term increase in motivation can be achieved. Apart from this, a spiritual gift to be received will bring success to the mind of the employee and will trigger the desire to achieve that success again.

 

3.Monetary Rewards

The main reason people work is to make a living. Although success and career satisfy the employees, the salary they receive at the end of the day is their main goal. Every employee expects to be rewarded in monetary terms as a result of their achievements. The monetary reward system offered by companies to employees who have proven themselves contributed to the company, increased their productivity, and proven their value, increases employee motivation, and increases their loyalty to the company.

 

4.Show Your Employees You Value Their Ideas

The idea is a creative process that people use to express themselves in their environment. Employees want to maximize the work done by offering ideas and suggestions. Valuing and listening to these ideas feed the courage of the employee and his desire to add value to the company. The ideas put forward by the employees should be conveyed to the relevant people and due care should be taken. Even if the idea is disliked, the person should be made to feel capable of offering better things rather than saying it in a discouraging way.

 

Employees can seek new ideas to motivate themselves, and if their ideas are welcomed, their motivation is significantly increased. The main reason for this is that the idea comes out of itself and acts with the instinct of proving itself by feeling the responsibility completely.

 

5.Make Your Employee Feel Special 

The more special the employee feels, the more efficiently he/she works, engages with the company, and increases motivation. On the contrary, the employee may not feel special, may work at low efficiency, and even quit due to lack of commitment to the company.

 

Many methods can be applied to make the employee feel special. For example; In management, it can be invited to speak one-on-one by senior persons, included in customer meetings, invited to unexpected meetings and adapted, or individual work can be assigned based on their experience.

 

6.Make Your Employees Feel Confident 

The more trusted the employee feels, the more tightly he clings to that job. He does not want to frustrate trust and wants to successfully fulfill his duty and gain appreciation. As a result of this trust, the employee will constantly try to bring innovation to the work he is responsible for. This will bring more innovation, product, and service sales, and employee engagement to the company.

 

7.Fair Performance Management

The first point to be seen as a result in companies with fair performance management is a happy employee. Performance management increases employee motivation when it is done fairly in the right place and at the right time. Employees are always in sweet competition with other employees. As a result of performance evaluations, employees compete by comparing themselves with other employees. This situation increases employee motivation, productivity, and the pace of progress in the company. If the scales of justice have deviated and the performance of employees is not measured equally; There will be a decrease in motivation and work commitment.

 

Therefore, measuring the performance of employees in the company fairly will trigger the employees' desire to hang on to work more and to chase success by reflexively evoking the instinct of comparison.

 

8.Increase in Wages and Benefits 

It is a common method to increase wages as a result of the efficiency of employee performances. Employees experience an increase in their motivation as a result of the monthly wage increases they receive. The importance of wage increase for employee motivation cannot be discussed.

There is also an increase in employee rights. These rights; health, social life, transportation, food, education, etc. There may be supporting elements. Fringe benefits are important actions aimed at the quality of life of the employee. Most importantly, it is a strategic step for the employee to feel loyal to the company.

How to Motivate Remote Employees?

Remote working is an increasingly common method today. In this digitalized age, employees can now carry out their work from virtual offices, homes, cafes, and many other places. Besides the many benefits provided by this way of working, the most obvious negative effect is the loss of motivation. Even employees with a high sense of responsibility may decrease their self-confidence, commitment, and motivation when it comes to them.

 

The 6 methods that can be applied to motivate remote workers are as follows;

 

1.Individual Recall of Special Days by the Human Resources Department

It is inevitable that what is out of sight will be out of mind. The most important point for companies when working remotely is to make their employees visible and private by removing their invisibility. This starts with remembering employees' special days. It can be ensured that the employee feels considered and cared about so that he/she does not leave the company. Birthdays, company anniversaries, wedding anniversaries, or any important day for that employee should be followed by the human resources department meticulously and celebrated on time and be accompanied by the employee on his happy day.

 

2.Social Activities Online

Online collaboration platforms, meeting interfaces, channels where online events can be designed, etc. Socialization should be ensured by bringing together employees who work remotely with applications.

 

Nowadays, even dance courses can teach online, while companies can easily create a digital environment where they can socialize with their employees. This action provides a significant increase in motivation by improving communication between employees.

 

3.Communicating not only about work but also about family life

In-office life, employees can socialize with their colleagues at coffee breaks or during work breaks and have a conversation with each other about their lives. This makes it more efficient for employees to focus on their work because an employee can return to work after fulfilling his desire to share. The employee communicating by telling his / her happiness, sadness, new knowledge, or an event that he/she is excited about to his / her colleague, makes him / her own the working area even more and feel like home. 

 

During remote work, such social actions leave their place only to work and a communication break begins. The person ends their day without any social communication by just talking about work. As a result, the employee may lose motivation and feel invisible and lonely after a while. To prevent this situation, short chats should be made before business talks and communication should be strengthened by holding online meetings. In this way, employees will work more efficiently in their work, realizing that they are cared for and visible.

 

4.Physically Delivering Rewards

Rewarding methods have a positive impact on company employees. The situation is the same for remote workers. In order not to lose their ties with the office, remote employees should concretely receive their awards. In this way, the loyalty of the company can be renewed and low motivation can be prevented and the employees can be made to feel connected to the company.

 

5.Teamwork

Teamwork is an organization where employees can work in solidarity. Teamwork is very important for remote workers because it prevents the feeling of loneliness and allows employees to work together. It increases social communication as well as trust, support, and motivation.

 

Teamwork is the most powerful method that can prevent communication gaps between employees. When employees need help, they can get support from their teammates and nurture each other by sharing new ideas.

 

6.Using Digital HR and Collaborative Platforms

As every process (sales, production, logistics, etc.) is digitalized, inevitably, human resources will also be digitalized. Digital processes and software provide positive effects for remote workers in many ways. Collaborative platforms, digital solutions, business management software, etc. In companies where products are used in an integrated manner, remote working can be managed more healthily.

How to Keep Team Motivation High?

After increasing the motivation within the company, it is very important to maintain the current motivation. The constantly changing mood of the employees is the most important problem leading to inefficiency within the company. After increasing the motivation of the employees, making that motivation disappear can irreversibly affect the trust and loyalty of the employee to the company. Employees somewhat feel like they are being let down from top to bottom. For this reason, it is very important to ensure the continuity of the increased motivation.

 

The 5 main methods of keeping staff motivation high are as follows;

 

1.Organizing Corporate Social Activities

Organizing social activities by the culture of the company is very important for the sustainability of employee motivation. If it is necessary to open the social activity in line with the company culture; For example, suppose that dinner is organized in a company with a majority of the blue-collar. While this event increases motivation in this company, going to a concert can increase motivation in an agency that develops games, where employees dress comfortably and pursue creativity. Here, the company and its employees should be well defined and activities should be organized in this direction. If the right activity is organized, both the communication between the employees will be strengthened and the continuity of motivation will be ensured.

 

2.Giving Constructive Feedback

The company’s constructive feedback on the employee's job performance enables employees to weigh themselves and awaken their desire to improve. Feedbacks should not be perceived as negative here. The greeting of the action taken by the employee and resulting in a positive result is also feedback. As long as these feedbacks are made regularly, the employee continues to carry out his work with a desire to work more determinedly without leaving himself.

 

Every feedback made creates awareness of being noticed in the employee and encourages him to do better.

 

3.Giving Autonomy and Freedom to Use Initiative at Work Drawing out the

fields of the employees and leaving them free within those areas gives the employee self-confidence. A self-confident employee is taking more confident steps in his job. The company's trust in its employees is one of the greatest motivations it can give to its employees.

 

Freedom, given in a controlled manner, brings success, efficiency, quality work, motivation, and employee loyalty with it.

 

4.Employee Satisfaction Survey

While companies think that they are making moves to increase motivation, the expectations of employees may be completely different. For this reason, the employee satisfaction survey gives companies the healthiest results. They do not waste time with wrong moves and can focus directly on employee requests.

 

Actions taken in line with the results of employee surveys conducted at regular intervals increase in-company motivation. One of the facts that make this method most effective is that the surveys are conducted anonymously. Employees ensure that the real problem is directly reached without giving their identity information and being completely honest in their criticism and requests. Companies can increase the motivation of their employees and nurture their trust in the company by focusing on the problems in the majority of the survey results.

 

5.Inclusion of Employees in Decision Making Mechanisms

Employees want to feel that their ideas are valued, and the best place where they can feel this is through decision mechanisms. If the employee's suggestion is included in the decisions taken on behalf of the company, even 1%, the employee said, "I have a share, too." He/she sees himself/herself as valuable with his thought and feels like a considerable individual. The employee's next move would be to include more suggestions in the decision-making mechanism. This method is very important both in terms of bringing new ideas to the company and increasing the motivation of the employee.