Management tips: How to motivate employees

In a world of increasing digitisation, human interaction remains just as important in the workplace to let colleagues know how valued they are.

A global study of more than 50,000 workers found 87% were less likely to look for a new job if they felt motivated in their current role. Unfortunately, two-thirds say they rarely feel this way, so clearly, something needs to be done.

Benefits of workplace motivation

Keeping employees motivated and interested leads to a 41% reduction in absenteeism, according to a 2024 study published by TeamStage. On average, a highly engaged team also experiences a 17% increase in productivity because they’re enthusiastic and continually coming up with new ideas.

The benefits of training an employee go far beyond simply keeping them happy. Engaged employees are more eager to perform, resulting in better relationships with customers. Those who enjoy their job are 59% less likely to suffer stress and burnout, benefitting the employee and the business.

There are many ways a manager can help motivate their team, keeping them happy and, importantly, discouraging them from jumping ship.

Set clear and measurable goals

Setting realistic goals is an important step in motivating your team. As a manager, you need to give clear and measurable targets for your team to work towards during the next few months.

Setting unachievable goals will lower morale, rather than boosting it. Managers need every team member to fire on all cylinders, so development objectives at work should be considered carefully and communicated clearly.

Holding regular one on one meetings with employees and devising a personal development plan, is the best way to make team members feel truly appreciated. Commend personal milestones and achievements, such as marking their birthday, for example, or the anniversary of when they joined the company, so they feel valued.

Promoting teamwork and collaboration

A survey in 2024 suggested fewer than 50% of employees had a full understanding of the business’s goals and strategy. This made them feel less engaged and less bonded with other team members.

Even an informal meeting at work to have an impromptu catch-up with your team can make sure everyone’s on the same page. This is important to every organisation, whether it’s a weekly team meeting, or a manager check-in. Take time to ask whether everyone is fully onboard with the company culture.

As a manager, an important part of your role is to know how to get the best from your team and what kind of meeting is appropriate. Employees may be uncomfortable admitting they’re not 100% au fait with what’s going on but turning it into a friendly chat can achieve better results. They will feel happier discussing gaps in their knowledge when there isn’t a formal meeting agenda and minute-taker.

The type of meeting should depend on the reason it’s being arranged. When it comes to formal team meetings, agendas are important to let everyone know the items for discussion, reserving a specific time and place for the gathering. In these circumstances, meeting room hire away from your regular workplace can be a great opportunity for team bonding.

Purpose-built meeting rooms enable you to focus on the business in hand, escaping any distractions that are commonplace in your office. It’s also an ideal environment to host team-building exercises, discuss complex matters, organise a new campaign, or have a light business lunch together mid-session.

All work and no play isn’t much fun for anyone, so while we’re all here to get on with the job in hand, there’s no harm in ensuring attendees enjoy themselves.

When you book a meeting room in London through &Meetings, you can expect a welcoming and professional environment in a hand-picked location.

Training and development opportunities

Giving employees training and development opportunities can boost motivation significantly. Almost everyone is aspiring to climb through the ranks, so enabling people to achieve their ambitions and develop will keep them more engaged and loyal to the company.

Provide new staff members with a comprehensive induction to set the relevant expectations soon after they have been recruited. Organising training rooms hire will give new recruits a chance to meet their colleagues and the management team.

Use these sessions to clarify job expectations and tell them about the available support and career paths. Don’t leave it as an initial one-off session: communicate regularly with the team to keep them in the loop. Always show a keen interest in their personal development and ideas, ensuring any problems are resolved as they arise.

This sounds simple, but a survey of 1,000 UK employees by YouGov in 2023 suggested only 20% always understood the role their own career development played in the path of the company as a whole. Amazingly, 20% said they “rarely” or “never” fully understood the company’s career structure and felt their manager didn’t make things clear when evaluating performance.

Understanding individual employees

Strategies may need to be adjusted for an individual, based on how they learn and thrive. Some may need more guidance and structure to achieve their full potential. For example, not everyone copes well with a rigid structure, especially those who have commitments outside the workplace, such as caring for an elderly family member, or organising childcare.

A flexible work schedule can work wonders for individuals who are feeling overwhelmed, as it creates a better work/life balance, increases the employee’s sense of being trusted and has a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.

Understanding individuals means getting to know everything you can about what makes them tick such as their goals, needs, role, pain points, experiences within the company and their career plan. Empathising with your team means walking in their shoes to gain an understanding of how they do their job, devising a strategy of how you can help them to succeed.

Encourage creativity

Encouraging creativity at work means celebrating innovation and giving every employee the opportunity to fulfil their potential. They need a place to speak and be heard. Even if their ideas aren’t what the company is looking for at any given moment, they must be supported, encouraged and given time to grow.

Implementing a positive work culture is a major part of this. Research reveals a negative workplace culture is detrimental to morale and motivation. According to a survey of more than 2,000 UK employees by Oak Engage, 67% said they would be reluctant to stay at a company with a negative culture, 63% said it made them feel unhappy at work and 39% felt it hindered collaboration.

It’s up to you, as a manager, to utilise the important tool of employee motivation in every way you can for the good of every individual and the company as an entity.