There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to what motivates people to work hard. Everyone will expect to be paid fairly, but beyond that, some will value more time off or more flexibility over a raise. For others, doing interesting work or work that involves always learning something new will keep them engaged. Keep in mind as well that while some employees respond well to a more social workplace, this doesn’t work for everyone, and you’ll have some workers who will be happiest if they can be left alone to do their job. With all of this in mind, how do you figure out how to motivate a disparate group of employees? The tips below can help.
Compensation
As pointed out above, you do need, at minimum, to pay your employees an adequate wage that is in line with what they could expect doing a similar job with other employees. Figuring out what that compensation perfect amount is might be more difficult than it seems. If you have remote employees in a high cost of living area and you are in a low cost of living area, they might expect higher pay. You might want to recruit more local employees. Paying employees more generously is certainly a way to increase their loyalty, but it’s also important to look at other factors. Be sure to look at the benefits you offer as well and consider their value.
Adequate Equipment
Even if you’re a relatively well-paid employee, if your employer has failed to provide you with the equipment you need to do your job, you’re going to end up frustrated and potentially think about moving on. However, as an employer, one challenge you may face is not knowing what your employees need because their department is not your specialty. In that case, you need to have good communication with your employees and a sense of trust between you.
Your fleet manager may inform you that they need a fleet management system that will help them streamline their workflow, cut costs, and automate processes. Fleet managers have many different considerations to juggle, including compliance, safety and maintenance issues along with ensuring efficiency in operations. Fleet management software offers data based insight and save your company money in the long run, but your lines of communication need to be open in the first place so that you can learn about it. This is true for all the departments throughout your company.
Development and Promotion
Do your employees have the opportunity to grow, learn, and advance through your company, or is all that you have to offer them the classic dead-end job? Of course, in some workplaces, there simply may not be much room for advancement, if you run a small retail establishment, there may not be much of a ladder for your salespeople to climb. Even if that’s the case, you might consider when to hire employees and when it’s time to promote. Whether you could give them other opportunities that could help them grow, such as offering additional training or paying a portion of an employee’s tuition. This would mean having employees who will eventually move on, but you will also attract smart, ambitious people in the meantime.