Employee Motivation—you as a supervisor /manager can make the difference. Positive or negative is up to you…

Employees decide whether they like their job or not however, you as a supervisor/manager are the factor that can change their attitude from not liking the job to liking the job or vice verca. When I say employee motivation I am not referring to the monetary awards I am simply referring to how you value your employees day to day. Being valued is the key to employee motivation without which individuals would not be satisfied at workplace. Being valued is placed just as high as competitive pay, opportunities, and not being left for many employees. Achieving high employee morale is challenging however it is a necessity. It can be compared metaphorically –water is to fish as motivation is to employees. This involves the investment of time on a daily basis to impact the lives of your employee thus in turn their performance. The attitude with which you arrive at the company, how your mood is when communicating with the employees, and body language play important roles. Having a smile on the face can motivate an employee positively while having a frown on your face can de-motivate employee. Greeting everyone and walking around the company as well as sharing goals for the day will start it right. Make sure you layout your expectations clearly so that it does not leave the employees confused. Be transparent as to the reasons for doing the task so that the employee does not do it just for the sake of doing it. If there are changes in the expectations, be sure to notify the employees so that everyone is on the same page.

Feedback can be a very powerful tool in employee motivation from the employees as well as the supervisor’s side. Just like a supervisor needs to know how they are performing at work the employees need the same. Therefore, as a supervisor having daily or weekly feedback for the employees would boost their morale. This helps them understand exactly where they are and it will also help you as a supervisor to tell them where you want them to be if they are not there already. Asking how to motivate employees is not the right question, asking how to create a work environment in which the employees will be self – motivated is the right question. Or is it?