Do you ever feel that your staff are not performing at the level you would like?
Here are four keys that can help you motivate your staff and get more out of them…
1) Treat Your Staff as a Team
The first key is to start to view your staff as a team rather than staff. Staff just turn up to get paid. They want minimum work for maximum pay. Team on the other hand turn up to play the game. They are there to win the game and to win the game together. Just making this shift on how you view your staff will make a difference in how you treat them and how you work with them. And guess what? If they are your team, that makes you the team leader. You are the coach. You are the captain. Your role is to get the most out of your team.
2) Have a Clear Vision That Will Motivate Your Staff
Next is to make sure you have a clear vision. Where are you taking your business? One of the first things we do in Biznostics is help you get really clear on your goals, your vision and the direction your business is heading. If you don’t know where you’re taking your business, then you will just end up going nowhere. You will just be caught in the day to day. How clear are you on your vision? If you are not, then take the time to get clear on it. Create a vision that inspires you and inspires your team. That way your staff will be motivated to be part of a team that is going somewhere. They will show up to achieve the goals and vision you set.
3) Set Clear Standards and Expectations
Another key to motivate your staff is to set clear standards and expectations. What often happens for small business owners is that they get frustrated because their staff are not performing at the level they you like. But guess what? They never told them the level that was expected. Of course they did not perform because they never knew what was expected of them. Be really clear about what behaviour is acceptable or unacceptable when it comes to your business. Be very clear on what results you expect from each person. Once you are clear communicate to each team member. Make sure each person knows exactly what needs to be achieved in terms of:
- Goals
- Key Performance Indicators
- Activities Required
Once each team member knows where they stand and where the boundaries they can be their best. They don’t have to guess and they don’t have to make up their own rules. They can just get on and play the game because they know the boundaries of where they are playing.
4) Know What Motivates Each Individual Person
The final area to get the most out of your team is to know what each of their motivators are. This is where each one of your team members are going to be different. Each team member is going to be motivated by different things. Some are going to be motivated by competition. They will be interested in winning, achieving personal bests, hitting goals and results. Others are going to be motivated by feeling like they belong. They want to have a sense of contribution to the team. Others will want technical challenges. These people need to be given activities and tasks that are going to challenge them technically.
Overlying all this, there are what individuals value. Some people are going to be more motivated by money. Some are going to be motivated by time off or flexibility around time. Others will be motivated by gifts. Things like special notes and thank you cards. Your job is to get really clear on what motivates each individual on your team. Learn what works for each member and focus on that.
By applying these four keys, you will have a more motivated and inspired team who will take your business further than you ever could. They will come up with new ideas for your business and help you achieve everything you want.
