Management

7 Tips For Getting More Out of Your Workforce

Your workforce is the electricity running through the metaphorical machine of your business. Without it, the wheels and cogs stop turning, and the work itself grinds to a halt, and that can cause a massive loss of business, and even risks closure, so needless to say the workforce is hugely important. Simply read on to discover the wonders of modern industry and the ways to keep your workforce as happy as can be.

Reward Hard Work

This seems like a no-brainer, but rewarding hard work isn’t the industry-standard practice many employees think it should be. People get a pat on the back and a “good job”, but are then expected to go straight back to working harder than their colleagues for the same future reward. It’s not a very inspiring system, unfortunately, and for those of us that have experienced it firsthand, it’s hardly pushing us to do more and better work than our co-workers. Offering things like added days of annual leave, or a slightly longer lunch break, makes people want to work harder for something tangible.

Offer Incentives

incentive

Incentives are another way to bring more employees into the fast lane, and they differ from the low-level rewards offered in the previous point by way of scale. An incentive to motivate long-term hard work could be an increased pay rise on top of the yearly pay rise many places offer. This would mean that people have a goal to work towards all year, and those that really stand out will be rewarded with significant, lasting reward for a whole year of hard work.

Offer Overtime

Overtime is great for motivating your workers because it gets back to the original motivator for hard work- money. You offer workers relatively immediate gratification with a bonus on their monthly paycheck, and they work harder every month. Overtime can have a capped limit per worker per month to avoid incurring huge costs, and placing limits per day on overtime can prevent people from working all day and night and wearing themselves out.

Respect Your Workers

This is another one of those obvious things that really shouldn’t need to be said, but as it stands it’s being said. Respect your workers, and try to understand them and their unique and individual working conditions. Respected workers feel valued, and care more about the fate of the company that takes care of them.

“Employee of the Month” Benefits

The employee of the month benefits are great because they exemplify the results of hard work. The employee of the previous month gets announced at the start of the new month, and that employee enjoys 10 minutes more for their lunch break, and a 5 minute early leaving time as well as a small plaque for their desk stating that they are employee of the month. Simple things like this are good motivators.

If you are looking for ways to get more out of your workforce, nLIVEn can help, but if you’re looking to truly understand the ways that a workforce operates, we can shed a bit of light on that topic.

Promise of Promotion

Promoting from within the company is a great motivator for hard work, as it provides an opportunity for a person to be formally recognised for potential and excellence in a leadership role by the company they have been working hard for. This is a longer-term goal for many people, and it motivates hard work for a long period of time.

Celebrate Differences

Finally, celebrate the differences of your employees.

Companies are often multicultural mixing pots and having someone tastefully recognise the culture that means a lot to you can be a great boost to morale in the workplace, as is celebrating those cultures in others. Make sure the celebrations aren’t offensive, gaudy, or over the top, and you’ve got yourself a winning formula.

Your employees are people, too.

Treat them well, value them, and make sure they know how important they are to the company they spend days, weeks, months, and years working for and they will work hard in return.

If you have any questions, please ask below!