Simple Strategies to Motivate Your Hybrid Team
It can be challenging to keep your staff motivated throughout the year, especially when you have remote or hybrid workers.
The New Year has well and truly begun and after a well-deserved break, it can be hard getting back into the swing of things. The first few weeks often consist of planning, goal setting, resolutions, and holiday recovery.
This is why it's more important than ever to welcome your team back warmly and inspire them with what's to come over the year. However, it can often be a difficult task to keep this motivation consistent throughout the year.
To combat this, here are our top 5 tips for keeping your team motivated.
1. Embrace and encourage new ideas
Foster an environment where ideas and collaboration can flourish. Allowing your team members to think creatively enables them to do their job in a more unique, engaging way making coming to work that much more enticing. Not only will it increase team morale, but it will also encourage higher levels of productivity and willingness to get tasks done. Conducting weekly brainstorming sessions with your team is a great way to get those creative juices flowing. Having an accepting environment to discuss ideas openly and without fear of disapproval significantly increases the chances of producing viable ideas.
2. Be Flexible
In an era where mental illness is at an all-time high, it is crucial to offer flexibility in the workplace and give your employees the ability to find a work-life balance that works for them. Wildgoose who are experts in team building and workforce morale conducted a survey and found that 62% of employees have taken days off in the past year due to mental health-related reasons. Additionally, 39% of the people surveyed who work flexibly see a noticeable improvement in their mental health.
Rubberdesk Co-founder and CEO, Jim Groves stated that
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
As an employer, you can enable this by finding and creating an office environment that works best for your team. A popular solution for many employers is renting a coworking desk for your staff at locations that are closer to them. Focussing on making their journey to work easier can make a world of a difference and help accommodate their personal schedules. Additionally, taking office space in a coworking centre has additional benefits to the well-being of your staff. Many coworking spaces now offer access to wellbeing facilities such as onsite gyms, wellness rooms and even yoga studios. Finding a space that encourages your employees to step out of their 9-5 work schedule can contribute to increasing productivity levels and motivating your team.
3. Be understanding
Being an understanding manager is crucial to your relationship with your employees. When mistakes occur, you should never hold them against the employee. Instead, frame the mistakes as learning experiences. In order to achieve this, it requires a shift in the way you perceive failure. If you want your business to succeed, you have to create an environment where it is safe to make mistakes. As J.K. Rowling has stated,
“Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success.”
Looking at lessons learnt from Google's ReWork and their People Analytics team, they advise that managers have the ability to comfort their workers by showing more consideration for their employees. They have recommended some tactics to show greater consideration and understanding in the workplace:
- Validate comments verbally (e.g. “I understand.” “I see what you’re saying.”)
- Ask questions with the intention of learning from your teammates.
- Be available and approachable to teammates (e.g., make time for ad hoc 1:1 conversations, feedback sessions, career coaching)
- Build rapport (e.g., talk with your teammates about their lives outside of work.)
- Model vulnerability; share your personal perspective on work and failures with your teammates.
4. Thank your employees
Showing gratitude in your workplace is one of the easiest, yet underrated workplace gestures. Data from the U.S Department of Labour shows that the main reason for employee turnover rates is that they don't feel appreciated. A Gallup Poll shows that last year, 65% of people received no recognition for good work in their workplaces. As a result, our companies and individual relationships pay the price. Further data revealed that 99 out of 100 people desire a more positive work environment, with 9 out of 10 saying they are more productive when surrounded by positive people. When expressing your gratitude for your team members remember to do so in real-time. As leadership guru Ken Blanchard suggests,
“Catch people doing things right.”
As you read this, take this moment to thank a colleague of yours. There's no better time to start than now.
5. Celebrate successes
A great way to maintain productivity and ensure staff are motivated throughout the year is through celebrating all successes that the business achieves with the team that helped make them happen. If you win an award, celebrate with the team, but also remember to celebrate individual achievements. Celebrating the achievements of the individual not only shows the employee they are appreciated but also encourages them to be more engaged and motivated at work. According to research commissioned by David Novak's new company O Great One, 80% of people feel they are not recognised for what they do and 60% say they value recognition as much as money.
“Recognition is a secret weapon that every leader really needs to use" David Novak, Former CEO and Co-Founder of Yum! Brands
In summary
So as 2024 begins, when thinking of your own resolutions, look at the ways that you can recognise your employees in more meaningful ways. Whether that be through external team activities, or by other means, take today as a new day to refresh the office energy and see just how rewarding it can be.
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