The world has changed over the last year and as hope is in sight with the news of vaccines, it could still be some time before things were back to the way they used to be – if they ever will be. One thing that does need to get back though is the economy and the way to do that is to get people back to work. While it still might not be a good idea to be working in an office any time soon, working from home seems to be working for many businesses, however with it being such a difficult year, it might be that your employees need a little more motivation and here are five ways for you to help them.
Provide opportunities to grow
It seems like things haven’t moved along this year and your employees might feel the same in their work. It’s likely that bonuses, pay rises and promotions have been stopped for the year so it’s important to find other ways for your employees to grow. Adapting to the pandemic in your business is one way to find new opportunities for your employees to develop new skills, take on extra responsibilities, or expand their knowledge.
Make work fun
Making work fun hasn’t been easy this year, as the opportunities for socializing have been limited and team-building exercises have been a no-go. It’s even harder to make work fun when everyone is working remotely so it’s important to find new ways to make work fun. Virtual socials can be fun and easy to do, but they can also become a little tiresome.
Try new things such as getting special guests such as business and corporate speakers to attend your virtual meetings as it’s always nice to see a new face. Ask your employees for ideas on what they would like to do while still complying with restrictions and try and treat them where you can by sending them things in the post or having pizzas delivered to them.
Create a sense of belonging
People have a psychological need to belong and to feel a sense of security and purpose. Again it can be harder to create this when people are working remotely from each other so it’s important to let your employees know that they are valued and what they are doing is contributing to the success of the business. One of the best ways to create a sense of belonging is to communicate and to keep the communication going at all times.
The more information you share with your employees the more involved they feel and the easier they find it to cope. Consult your employees on big decisions too, you’re only human so you don’t need to pretend to know all the answers – no one does when it comes to covid, so discuss things with your employees because it’s great to get their suggestions and opinions and it also makes them feel valued.
Enable teamwork and collaboration
It’s hard enough to get motivated when you’re sitting at home working alone, never mind when there’s a pandemic going on. So to try and motivate your team, it’s important to provide opportunities for your team to collaborate and work together where they can.
Recognise and reward good work
Always make sure that you recognise your employees’ good work. Give them feedback and share success stories with the rest of the team. It’s important to make up for those everyday conversations you would normally have in the office.
