To Motivate - as a definition means "give an incentive for action."  For the small business owner, motivation is a huge factor for either the success or demise of your company.  You need to devise an "employee motivation program".

Positive Reinforcement

Showing your employees that you are willing to recognize their accomplishments and hard work is undoubtedly the simplest and least costly methods of employee motivation.  There are many ways to convey this to your employees.  Token gifts, Employee of the month awards, or a pat on the back, all show how much you appreciate them.  As you increase your employee's sense of pride and accomplishment he or she feels better about there job and in the end are more productive. 

When your employee's function as a team, think like a coach.  Reward the whole group for a job well done.  This will boost morale both personally and collectively.  Employee incentive programs such as small bonuses (time off, monetary), employee award certificates, etc, all serve to better the company as a whole.  Remember that everybody like to feel appreciated and special for the work that they do. 

Happy Employees

It's not illogical to determine that the more satisfied the employee, the better he or she will perform.  So the environment that you create for your employee must be one that is constructive to positive energy.  If your employees feel happy when they are working.then they will be naturally encouraged to work. 

There are a lot of unmotivated employees out there. According to a recent national study showing that less than 1 in 4 non-management employees is fully engaged (fully motivated and productive), good news is that there is still room for improvement.   Since an employee’s relationship with his or her direct manager is the single most important factor influencing engagement, the responsibility falls to management to improve motivational levels and to create an inspirational work environment for the employees in order to be more focused and productive. Through the next few lines, during the next paragraphs, you shall learn 5 key elements for improving the motivation of your employees and making them more productive:

1. Align individual economic interests with company performance

This is the hardest of all the 5 points mentioned as it may require the involvement of higher management levels. Incentive compensation programs that give employees at all levels of an organization a chance to benefit when a company grow can naturally boost motivation (always assuming solid individual performance in order for one to share in financial rewards). That is about making the employee feel his/her powers as an individual for the advancement of the business altogether.

2. Take a genuine interest in the future path of an employee’s career

It does wonders for an employee’s attitude to believe that a manager really cares about where his or her career is headed.  Mentoring, coaching, suggesting additional training or coursework, all of these can be helpful to employees, and highly valued as most employees would appreciate the personal and genuine care about their future selections.

3. Take a genuine interest in their work-life balance 

It always pays to be a bet flexible as a manager, to the extent that managers can offer some flexibility in schedule, be understanding about family commitments, doctors’ appointments and so on. Such sensitivity can be greatly appreciated.  Small gestures often make a big difference as it would alter the mental attitude of the employee and his/her thinking of his work place from hostile to a place that he/she is purely interested in its benefits.

4. Listen More

This is an easy one: Just listen thoughtfully to employees’ ideas for job improvements or their problems, concerns, frustrations, conflicts, dramas, kids’ issues, parents’ issues, grandparents’ issues and so on.  So, you do have to separate the wheat from the chaff and as a manager, it can wear you out at times but, within reason, intelligent listening is an integral part of the job.  (If someone is a chronic malingerer, and carps for the sake of carping, just tell them to knock it off and get back to work.  But if someone is a good employee, well, people appreciate being heard and it will pay off eventually.)

5. Do unto others as you would have done unto you

This is the most important point of all the 5: When it comes to treatment of subordinates, this is as basic as it gets.  But yet very powerful as well, still as valid today as it was a few thousand years ago.   It shows you respect your employees as individuals, and for the job they do.

All of these suggestions (other than the first one on aligning economic interests) have the same cost: nothing.  And this list is by no means all-inclusive.  When it comes to motivating employees, you’re limited only by your imagination and what are you capable to do to push your employees’ motivation furthermore.

Reaching Employee Motivation & Job Satisfaction through Cloud CRM

Discover how to reach employee motivation and job satisfaction through the up to date tools of Cloud CRM. Build a friendly and motivational work environment with Cloud CRM�s Sales, Marketing and Customer Support tools. It is not an easy task but it is much simpler and effective when Cloud CRM is involved.

Some of the methods for increasing job satisfaction include:

A)  Allowing flexible schedules. It is becoming common for the small business to allow their employees to work alternative schedules that don't follow the traditional 9-5 workday.  Job sharing or part time schedules - once a mainstay for the elementary teacher - is also becoming very popular in the small business environment. 

B) Telecommuting. Some jobs can be performed by employees who telecommute from their home computers a few days a week

C) Performance reviews - scheduled regularly - allow you to give your employee positive feedback and let them know what is expected in the near future.

D) It is also a good practice to encourage employees to do various tasks so that their jobs to not become routine and boring.

E) Permit your employees to improve and decorate their own workspace.

F) Encourage socialization through lunch time or after hour activities.

G) Stress that employees can move up and advance within your small business.

H) Portray an open-door policy, so that employees feel comfortable with asking questions or making recommendations.

I) Make donations to charities selected by the employees on behalf of the company, or sponsor a team or event that is of immediate interest to your employees.

Be clear when talking to your employee and let them know that there opinion or views are important in building a viable company.  Strong communication skills are necessary when assigning tasks to your people, so that the project is clearly defined and understood.  Don't overload your workers with information or demand that they try to complete tasks that aren't reasonably attainable. 

You will probably see better results from your employee if you sit down with them periodically and ask them for feedback.  To help manage this process use a Cloud CRM package such as Salesboom.com  With this type of software you can schedule your meetings with your employees, link them to joint projects, establish a consistent and open dialogue and log every issue on a case-by-case basis. 

Highly paid motivational speakers may be brought in for pep talks, but in the end you will be left to motivate them in an ongoing basis.  Find out what they like about their jobs, what they dislike, and what they would like to see changed or improved. Perhaps you can start with anonymous employee satisfaction surveys, which will allow employees greater latitude in communicating how they honestly feel about company policies, management and their jobs.  Would the employee do better if they had more training in there position?  Are they concerned about the equipment they are using?  Is the balance of supervision equal to there expectations?   Would flexible hours help employees who have long commutes or family responsibilities? Questions of these type are a good starting point to gain the necessary information from your people.

Why do employees become disenchanted?  Here are five common reasons:

1) They feel that there concerns, problems, suggestions or complaints are being ignored by management.

2) They feel that they are stuck in positions with no potential for advancement.

3) They are bored because the tasks are routine and they are not encouraged to take on new projects or new responsibilities.

4) They only receive negative feedback.

5)  The office environment has become impersonal and sterile.  The social aspect is gone.