Why is Employee Motivation so Important for Performance?

Employee motivation.

How can you keep your workers motivated?

Your employees are the gasoline of your company, and they are all those small gears which, with good performance, make that great machine of your company work perfectly and even reach new horizons.

However, the gasoline of your employees - beyond the payment - is their motivation.

As a manager, you may find yourself caught between two sides of a scale: on the one hand, the company's well-being and your job, and on the other, the performance of your employees.

If one falls, the weight goes out of control.

Even so, many companies fail to give this incentive to their workforce, and this means that instead of receiving a job done with dedication, the results are automated and without spark. The issue of low worker motivation is such that Gallup demonstrated in a study that only 13% of them are engaged at work, and from such a low percentage, it is difficult for your company to grow.

You have come to our blog to correct this lack of motivation in your company and thus apply the correct strategies to keep everyone in line with the process.

So let's see in depth how motivation affects your company's performance and what you can do to promote it.

CodeDesign is the leading digital marketing agency in Lisbon Portugal.

What is Employee Motivation?

As we already described, the motivation is the gasoline for our employees. 

Motivated employees will be willing to go the extra mile if engaged with their work, but what does it depend on?

Although the salary can jump as the first motivator for workers, this only represents 50% of the motivation, but it is not the main engine. 

We have often come across motivational videos about people who have good jobs but that doesn't motivate them, and the only thing that keeps them there is their monthly payment. Workers with this type of thinking can do a reasonably good job, but take in mind that they might only do it to get by can take a bit of good energy from your company.

So, beyond good compensation, some factors that influence employee motivation are:

• Recognition
• Opportunities for growth
• A positive work environment
• Meaningful work
• A sense of purpose

The benefits of Employee Motivation.

Motivation is a vital energy that, when well directed, does wonders for the cause you are promoting. In the workplace, the most noticeable benefits of a motivated team are:

More productivity.

When your employees are positively involved in their work, it encourages them to do their best in every task.

To achieve this, it is good that your company demonstrates that status of being a great thing or that business that is projected to be one of the greats.

When you show your degree as a company, each employee feels that status that makes them feel part of something special, and with that, they even become loyal to your company.

It's like when Google considers an engineer; at that moment, his self-esteem goes up, and with it, his motivation and productivity.

Your company has to show them that they can develop their skills and even learn more; in this way, they strive to show their best every time and are motivated to reach the next level.

When your employees work hard to evolve professionally, your company continues to grow from their passion for work. Read this complete guide on digital marketing funnel and then choose the right digital marketing channel for your business.

More profits.

Businesses need more and more profits to keep their business afloat, and the growth of these profits depends on their employees' quality and quantity of work.

Now, if you want employees to increase their average level of work, this effort must be rewarded with an equal incentive for them. And no, that extra reward should not be pizza for all the staff since this reward does not leave them satisfied with their extra effort; rather, it can annoy them.

If your case is that you are a growing company and you need more budget to give them extra money, this extra incentive can be in courses or events that help them enhance their skills. It must be something that really excites them so that they can do that extra work with the care it requires.

As you receive more profits for your business, you can give better salaries, incentives, rewards, and benefits to make employees' lives easier.

More profits/Employee Motivation.

More innovation

A motivated employee can also be inspired and develop new and better ways of doing their job with this drive. In this way, they will be able to notice areas of improvement within the company and take the initiative to make things happen, making your business more innovative.

Reduce employee turnover.

Rest assured that turnover will significantly decrease if employees feel part of a great company and are motivated by the benefits.

This is important since, as an organization, you are likely to invest in the professional development of your workers, and the fact that they leave your company means a loss of investment in them.

That is why it is essential to keep them motivated since being comfortable decreases the chances that they will want to look for other places where they can be treated even better. This is reflected in studies such as those by Gallup that reported that nearly half of U.S. Employees were actively searching for new job opportunities in 2021, with disengaged employees at the highest risk of leaving.

Companies that do not invest in their workforce's well-being run the risk of having to renew staff constantly, and for a company to maintain and grow, sometimes it needs a long-lasting work team that knows all about the operation and history of the company.

Work-life-quality.

Not everything revolves around the company; you have to know that as a manager. Yes, your ultimate goal is to do your job, but you should know that you work with human beings, and these people have a life outside of work. That is why to keep them motivated, and the economic and professional benefits must be such that they can also have a life outside of work or even solve any problem they have.

This is essential for mental health, which is essential for a person to stay motivated at work.

This aspect began to attract more attention from the company with the entry of new generations, such as millennials, into the workforce, since with all the economic challenges these new generations face, it is necessary to offer them an excellent work-life quality for their good performance. Check these Amazon FBA tips to grow your business and see how optimising your Amazon listing could help you grow. 

Improve customer experience.

As a company, a large part of your reputation depends on how you treat your clients. We understand that sometimes it can be challenging to deal with clients, but if your clients have enough good energy, it is much easier to deal with any inconvenience that may arise.

That is why there must be a good working environment within your company so that everyone can provide an excellent experience to customers. When employees treat them correctly, you earn customers' loyalty, and in the same way, they will recommend your business over others for its impeccable customer service.

Improved manager-employee relationships

This benefit has to do directly with you, as many employees can resign if their relationship with the manager is not good enough.

To improve this, you as a manager have to work closely with it and understand what motivates them to offer them job opportunities that suit their abilities and goals. In this way, you enhance your team's skills while forming a closer relationship with them.

How to motivate employees at work?

How to motivate employees at work?

Since you have seen that a large part of your company's success is linked to your employees' motivation, you may wonder how to motivate them.

Motivation is an energetic resource that comes and goes, and although there is no specific procedure to generate it, there are strategies that you can apply to promote it within your workplace. Let's take a look at some of them.

Make sure everyone understands the "why?" of their job.

It is good that every company has had a "why?" since its conception. The answer to this question gives meaning to the company since it is why everyone is rowing to the same place. "The why" is the company's core; if you want to learn how to define it, you can read our article.

Now, within that big "why?" there is a succession of sub-jobs that contribute to the achievement of this goal, and for that, each worker must know the reason for their work to feel part of this great concept. If you know how to communicate to each team the importance of their work and their value, you add strength to their duty, and this will help them feel empowered and essential within the entire organization.

Break a big goal into small and clear objectives.

When you come to employees with a big task to accomplish, even though it is challenging and an opportunity to grow, it can also feel overwhelming to them. This, in the end, is not motivating but frightening.

On the other hand, if you break a big goal into small tasks that feel manageable, you will let workers feel more in control of their functions and that each small goal motivates them with an unlocked achievement.

Offer a reward for a good job.

As we said earlier, reward is one of the biggest drivers of motivation.

Let's not try to fool ourselves, and no one works for free for any company; everyone expects recognition and rewards. That is why it is good that your company rewards and encourages all employees who do a great job or have even given beyond expectations so that they feel that their authorities are perceiving their effort.

The best reward will always be more money - we know what makes the world go round - however, this incentive for extra effort can also be a day off, invitations to an event or any other incentive they may consider rewarding their effort.

Give your team autonomy. 

As a manager, developing a good eye for choosing the right people for each job is always good. Now, when you know that you have talented people who do their job well, it is good that you loosen the reins of control a bit and allow them to carry out their duties in their way, yes, with the specific indications of each case. 

Even today, with remote work, we have seen how this model of 9 mandatory hours in an office, with too strict regimes, takes away any worker's motivation. The fact that we feel in this obsolete work model of the industrial revolution makes us feel almost imprisoned in our work, and that castrates any motivation that we may have with the project. Instead, by setting important deadlines or preparation details, you can allow your workers to complete their tasks in whatever regimens they are most comfortable with. Read this guide on E-commerce supply chain and voice search optimization.

Offer a career path.

One of the biggest demotivators within a company is feeling stuck in the same position for many years.

Promoting your employees' training also goes hand in hand with giving them more important positions as they grow up. In this way, they feel that they have entered a new status and have a set of responsibilities for which they must show who are the right ones for this new position.

As you see the potential of each employee grow, allow them to climb within the pyramid of positions in the company and thus also make room for new candidates within it.

How to measure Employee Motivation?

To conclude this topic, can we ask ourselves how employee motivation is measured? You see, motivation is an energetic factor, very subjective, which, although it can be felt when entering a workroom, does not have specific measures for its quantification. Still, you can use these strategies to measure your team's performance:

• Surveys and questionnaires: Nothing like an old and reliable survey to find out how your team's motivation is going. This can be done monthly or quarterly and thus be able to measure performance in those time frames. It is crucial that you ask them how they have felt in terms of their motivation and also ask what factors could be bothering them to find a solution to them.
• Employee performance and productivity: The performance and productivity of each employee is directly correlated with their motivation.
• Absenteeism and turnover rates: These two factors are critical when evaluating how general motivation is within your company. We have already dealt with turnovers, and we have defined that if everything is maintained well, they will decrease to a great extent. Now, the lack of constant work can be another factor that shows low motivation within the organization. In any case of continuous faults, it is better to investigate further and find the reason for this to determine if it is justified.
• Feedback and communication: Communication with your work team is always the most direct indicator of motivation, and that is why it is good that as a manager, you present yourself as a close and reliable person with whom they can talk to give you their feedback on the situation of the job.

Final thoughts.

Nothing is more satisfying for a manager than seeing his team committed to the cause. A good workflow not only brings good results for the company but subsequently, this must also be reflected in the salary and other benefits of its workers. Thus, motivation can continue to flow freely within the company.

With a motivated team, it even gives the energy to work on a Monday.

In any case, if you are looking for more guidance on digital marketing issues or help to improve your work as a manager, keep up to date with all our articles. If you want more advice on your business, contact us now!

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