A few weeks after school started this year, my daughter informed me that she was “done with school.”  Because she is a straight-A student and only a sophomore at her private Catholic high school, I was very worried and concerned. After many conversations, I found out that she wanted to have more fun and more respect from her elders. I took this information to heart and we made a plan. She is now a happier and motivated student.

I believe that motivation has to come from within. What should corporations do to ensure that their employees remain motivated day after day for years? Here are 3 steps your company can take to keep your team motivated and focused:

1. Survey your employees to get a sense of what gives them satisfaction and what keeps them motivated at work.  These surveys should be anonymous. In the survey, ask your employees what they need from the company to feel like they are making a contribution to the company, their families and their communities.  In addition, the survey should address the following:
   1. Find out if they feel respected and appreciated by the company and the management team. Ask them to explain the ways they feel respected and appreciated. Perhaps they would like more responsibility or a greater say in how they perform their duties.  Maybe the team feels disrespected by a certain manager who may need to take some classes in managing people.
      1. Ask your employees if they believe they are working too many hours or feel compelled to work during evening and weekends to get caught up on their work.
         1. Ask your employees if they believe they are working too many hours or feel compelled to work during evening and weekends to get caught up on their work.
         2. Ask your employees if they believe they are working too many hours or feel compelled to work during evening and weekends to get caught up on their work.
         3. Ask if your company has too many or too few meetings. Either of these choices can lead to a lack of productivity and motivation.
         4. Once you have compiled the survey results, review the issues and determine how to address them in the short and long run.  Create a “task-force” to brainstorm on the issues and to make recommendations for improving the situation. Be prepared to implement the recommendations in a timely manner. Create a timeline for the roll-out of these recommendations.
         5. Share the survey results, task-force recommendations and roll-out plan with your employees to help them stay motivated.

The answers may be as simple as providing:

• Employee training on subjects such as organizational skills, tool operation, or time management.
• Team off-sites, a few times a year. These should be fun and engaging for your employees.
• Opportunities for team members to earn bonuses or additional PTO days.
• Lunch time activities such as yoga, meditation and stress management help keep employees motivated during working hours.
• Some financial support for those who want to go to University or graduate school.

Companies who stay in touch with the needs of their team members are more likely to have loyal, productive and motivated employees. These are the things that success is made of.

I would love to hear how your company keeps your employees motivated. Please email me your ideas at alicia@somametrics.com.  I will compile these to share in a future post.