It’s that time of year, once again! After all of the hustle and bustle from the busy holiday is season has come to a close and the long winter daylight savings is amongst us. You may be finding that your team members are feeling a little unmotivated. According to CareerBuilder.com over 40 percent of workers in the United States say they have trouble staying motivated at work. There can be a variety of factors explaining why employees become unmotivated to do their jobs. The real question how do you get team members fired up and motivated to achieve your company's goals as you move into the New Year. Unfortunately the solution is not pixie dust or some magical potion. By using a few key steps and sticking to them, even the most unmotivated team member can be turned into a happy, motivated worker.
Recognition – The NEED to be noticed
In a recent survey 78% of employees cited recognition as the main motivating factor in their career. Motivating team members through recognition is a skill that as salon and spa owners and managers can use as long as we understand the correct methods of recognition.
- Recognize and reward those behaviors of which you want to see more. In other words what gets reward and recognized will get repeated. As owners/managers we should make it a part of our daily routine to catch team members in the act of doing something right, then recognizing them for it.
- Make it personal – People respond positively to personalized recognition because it means that their employer/owner/or manager took the time to thank them personally and recognize them for doing a great job. There are several different ways to recognize your team for doing a good job. A simple thank you when you see it or even a written appreciation note takes little time, but it can mean a lot to an employee because it means their Supervisor took the time out of a busy day to thank them and appreciate the work that they are doing.
Don’t Forget the Fun – Create a FUN work environment
We all have to go to work each and every day, but there is no reason it shouldn’t be enjoyable. If your team members aren’t’ having fun, they’re probably not performing at their highest level. When’s the last time you laughed at work, or encouraged your team to enjoy themselves, or did something playful. Team members who are enjoying themselves, and what they do, can and will be motivated to move mountains. Try bringing a little color into your world. What would it look like if you allowed your team to wear bright colorful clothes on Tuesdays? You might just be surprised how upbeat and motivated your team can be.
Build on Their Strengths – I’m the EXPERT
You can improve team member’s motivation by improving their confidence. Take the time to observe what comes natural to your team members, what do they enjoy doing or what are they particularly good at. Build off of those strengths. Allow team members to train or work with other team members and share their areas of expertise. An employee who is successful at one thing will have self-confidence and will be excited. When team members are excited they will be more open to the things that they aren’t so excited about. .
Remember, motivating team members isn’t always about paying them more. There is an optimal level of arousal that is key to motivating people. This can be brought about in many ways: employee recognition, having fun while working, and having a high level of self confidence.
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