How to Turn Your Employees into a Focused Team

There is a direct relationship between the engagement and motivation levels of employees, and the general productivity of a company. Employers and managers find it difficult to motivate their employees and keep them engaged. Many companies spend millions on a project, but are then left wondering what went wrong after the project failed. Perhaps, if they had motivated employees, the results of their investment would have been quite different.

Here are a number of ways that managers can motivate their team members.

Routine switch up
When an employee gets to perform a new task, they are motivated and engaged and therefore yield higher returns. With time, the returns start going down. Doing the same thing day in day out gets boring and the employees’ productivity levels decrease. Their morale will dwindle over time and they start feeling discouraged and bored. The employee starts to feel like a robot while in the office. By varying the routine tasks of the employees, however small or large, re-energises them keeping them focused on the goal. It doesn’t matter if the changes are temporary, they will have a dramatic effect on the employees.

Incorporate technology
In the current business environment, for a company to get ahead, they have to adopt tasks as well as project management tools. Technology not only helps increase production and attain higher returns on investments, it also helps you plan, direct and evaluate any activity. Making use of work planner software ensures that each team member is aware of their goals. This way they can focus on activities they should be completing for the success of a given project.

Share information with employees
The ideal workplace is where an employee feels that what they are doing has an effect on the success of the company. To ensure this, it is your duty as a manager or employer to share information as soon as you get it with the employees, whether it is positive or negative. By doing this, you are keeping the employees in the loop and they feel part of the team. Clearly share the mission and goals of the company with them and have them contribute to achieving this goal. Feeling part of the company’s success keeps them committed to their daily tasks.

Space to innovate
Getting your team excited about learning new methods to achieve success in their project can get them motivated and focused. Sometimes as a leader your presence may be intimidating for the employees. To avoid this situation, arrange some out of the office lunch for your employees. This is a great way to get team members to connect with each other and they get a chance to discuss how they achieve their goals as a team. These meetings create a strong foundation for the team and they are more equipped to approach new challenges as a group, rather than as individuals.

Promote from within the company
If you run a large company where there are new positions and promotions on a regular basis, it is a wise idea to conduct internal promotion. As the company grows, there will be new assignments and expansion of the current roles. Promoting from within the company boosts employee morale and inspires them to work harder. In addition to this, when new employees come into the company, they will see there is potential for growth and will thus work extra hard to get ahead of the competition. When this is the case in the company, employees are more likely to take up educational and training opportunities, hence you end up with a highly skilled and focused team.

The employees are the force through whom you can execute your directives. Therefore, by keeping them motivated and focused, you are able to achieve the company’s long-term goals. Even though tangible perks such as financial incentives might keep them focused for a while, they might not always be a viable option, especially for small companies. Look for creative perks that don’t cost too much such as positive comments, celebrating the team’s achievements, work-life balance, etc.