Team motivation: how to keep it high for the second half of the year
The vacation season is drawing to a close, and companies are getting ready to tackle the second half of the year. How can you ensure that team motivation remains high? Managers can use three tactics to keep employees happy.
It is well known: When employees enjoy their work and find meaning in it, they are happier and healthier. As a result, they then work more effectively in their teams and do better work for their employers. So engagement should be a high priority for any organization. What's there to object to when both sides can only gain from it? While one would think that all companies would agree with this without any ifs or buts, the reality is that most companies neglect employee engagement. The experts at Hogan Assessments - a leader in workplace personality assessment and leadership consulting - have identified three critical tactics that keep employees engaged and consistently satisfied at work.
Tactic #1: Know the mechanics of motivation.
Motivation is related to well-being when our satisfaction at work meets our basic human need for meaningfulness. What meaningful work means is naturally defined by each individual. Some need public recognition, while others seek it more privately; some like to have wide-ranging decision-making authority, while others prefer to carry out predetermined processes and tasks. "If you know the specific drivers of each individual, then as a leader you can put employees in the role they each see as most rewarding and provide them with an environment in which they are most likely to be most productive," says Dr. Ryne Sherman, Chief Science Officer at Hogan Assessments and host of The Science of Personality Podcast.
Tactic #2: Promote Team Psychological Safety
Security is a primal human need. After fulfilling physiological needs such as eating and drinking, humans actually look for security. Those who do not feel safe will search for safety until they find it. Thus, team psychological safety is the shared perception of whether it is safe or rather risky for team members to be truly authentic to others. Where there is fear-whether it is fear of a leader or fear of the leader-trust is absent and interpersonal risk-taking is perceived as dangerous. "Leaders set the norms for the team. When leaders model psychological safety with humility, authenticity and vulnerability, team members feel safe to do the same," Dr. Sherman said.
Tactic No. 3: Individualized further development
When employees spend half of their waking hours at work, it's only natural that they would like to have rewarding work. Employers can accommodate this desire by investing in employees' futures within the organization so that employees feel valued and see their opportunities for career success fostered. "Continuing development plans for each employee encourage them to see their current role as a springboard for professional growth and a foundation for their future career path," explains Dr. Sherman.
Source: www.hoganassessments.com
