How To Encourage Employees (And Double Their Performance)

Imagine if you could get twice as much from your employees by saying a few magic words. It sounds like crazy talk, but there’s some evidence that it might be true. All you need to do is offer the right encouragement and you could increase output per worker by 100 percent without having to change their pay at all. 

In this post, we take a look at some of the ways that you can encourage your employees and get the best out of them. Check out the following: 

Encourage A Positive Work-Life Balance

Employers often worry that if they are too lenient on their employees, they’ll take advantage of them. As such, they implement strict policies such as “you must be in the office at 9 am sharp.” 

This kind of approach, though, doesn’t chime well with modern living arrangements. Workers who are also parents need to arrange their days around childcare needs – something they can’t compromise on. 

The trick here is to actively help employees achieve a work-life balance. Deal with each worker according to their situation and allow flexible shift starts if that works in your industry. 

Train Them Regularly

You can also encourage employees by offering regular training. Training is a critical aspect of employee motivation since it gives them the belief that they’re developing professionally. 

Build Objectives

At your performance management reviews, take time to build objectives with each employee. Lay out what they would like to achieve in the coming quarter and then give them the tools to achieve it. Allow them to quantify what they think they can achieve as this will give them more ownership over the process (and make them work more earnestly towards it). 

Build Positive Competition Into Your Organization

A little bit of friendly competition in the workplace can go a long way. Things like recognizing employees for team spirit or outstanding individual contributions at corporate award ceremonies can be highly motivating for some people. 

Express Clear Goals

As a manager or business leader, employees depend on you to communicate clear goals about what you’d like them to achieve. Research shows that employees perform at their best when they understand why they do what they do. If you can communicate this succinctly, then they may naturally put in more effort because they know where they’re headed.

Be Grateful

Even though you’re paying your employees to be there, it still pays to be grateful. The more gratitude you can express, the more valued your workers will feel. And the more valued they feel, the more motivated they are likely to be. 

Notice again that showing gratitude is free. It’s something that managers and leaders can do at any time. 

You can also express it financially in the form of additional paid vacation days, vouchers or corporate travel. 

Bring Out Individual Creativity

You can also encourage employees by encouraging their individual creativity. Workers who feel free to innovate are much more likely to work hard to bring their ideas to fruition. It’s what transforms work to play.