Top Tips For Motivating Staff In The Run-Up To Christmas

It’s that time of year when many employees are winding down for the Christmas holidays, so here are some top tips for keeping them motivated now and into the new year.

Flexible working

 

This is perhaps the easiest and most cost-effective way in which employers can motivate staff. Staff with end-of-year targets to hit are likely to greatly value being able to crack on with work in the comfort of the their own home and away from the hustle and bustle of the office.

 

Flexible working is particularly useful for staff juggling children and end of term school activities, such as that unmissable Christmas play, because it allows them to schedule their work accordingly.

 

Family-friendly policies

 

Flexible working is just one of many forms of support that employers can provide for working parents, who are likely to struggle with workplace motivation as family commitments takeover ahead of Christmas.

 

Workplace crèches, school holiday clubs, offsite nursery place, emergency childcare and extra holiday can all help to ease their load and help them remain focused on work.

Sports clubs

 

Sports clubs can be equally effective in helping to motivate staff as well, boosting their health and well being in the process, which is useful at this time of year when gluttony gets the better of us all.

 

Companies like Dell have established fantastic global peer-to-peer staff sports leagues to help motivate staff across the business.

 

But support can be as simple as the offer of discounted gym membership.

Workplace gadgets

 

Wearable gadgets such as heart rate monitors can help to boost the motivational and health benefits of sports clubs and, in the process, staff productivity.

 

Gadgets could be funded by employers and awarded to staff through a recognition programme or offered at a discounted rate through a workplace employee benefits package.

 

Social clubs

 

Of course, sport isn’t for everyone and social clubs may be more suitable for some employees.

 

Many employers run choir groups, with popular UK providers such as Rock Choir and Singing Works able to provide professional support if required.

 

But workplace clubs could extend to cooking, photography and knitting, to name but a few interests, depending on employees’ preferences.

 

Awards ceremonies

 

Award ceremonies are a popular event in employers’ calendars, which can prove useful in helping to recognize, reward and motivate staff.

 

The end of the year is a great time to host such events because they enable businesses and staff to reflect on their performance over the past year and celebrate their excellence, as well as highlight areas where there’s room for improvement in the year ahead.

 

Ceremonies can be company-wide, division-based or held at each of an employer’s sites, which may be necessary for global companies.

Long service awards

 

Many employers run separate awards ceremonies for long-serving staff members.

 

Our ageing society means that employers will have older workforces in the future, so these events may well have limited appeal as the proportion of older workers grows, but for now they help to celebrate the achievements of older workers and help to motivate and inspire their colleagues in the process.

 

Retail vouchers

 

High street retail vouchers and cinema tickets for staff and their families can help to keep staff motivated throughout the year.

 

Vouchers could extend to experience days, provided by UK firms such as Red Letter Days, which provide all manner of experiences from cookery classes to falconry.

 

Holidays

 

For employers with bigger budgets, experience days could extend to experience-based weekends away or an overseas holiday for an employee and their family. What better way to create staff loyalty and drive motivation than by being the employer that funded a much-needed and long-overdue break for staff? Holiday memories last a lifetime.

 

Family health cover

But many staff need basic support to help remain focused and motivated at work, such as health cover for their families.

 

Many employers offer staff health cover for staff and their family members, with some organisations even funding the cover, too, which is a great unique selling point of their employee benefits package.

Learning and development

 

Training is highly valued by staff, particularly younger generations whose career aspirations take priority over short-term motivational tools that are often of little interest.

 

Robust performance reviews

 

Training should form part of a robust performance review process that allows staff to track their progress with their line manager and communicate their career aspirations.

 

Such processes should be part and parcel of an employer’s workforce planning strategy, which ensures that they have the right level of talent in place and in the right areas of their business to help it thrive.

 

Inspirational leaders

 

But perhaps one of the greatest forms of motivation is an inspirational leader who inspires employees to work hard by continuously communicating the part they play in helping to drive the business forward, how and why they matter in this process and why the business is worth pledging their allegiance to.

 

This is the perfect time of year to remind staff why they matter; they can then start the New Year with the spring in their step needed for them to be as productive as possible.

 

Thank you notes

 

Another highly cost effective and highly valuable form of motivation is a thank you card or email, which can be sent by employers or between staff to recognize a job well done.

 

They’re not for everyone, but some staff appreciate the gesture in someone noticing their efforts, particularly if it’s their line manager and even more so if it’s their chief executive.

 

Pay

 

There will always be staff who will be most motivated by pay, so employers can’t please everybody, but leaders should not forget that recognition can be equally powerful, providing that it’s done in an authentic way.

Source: forbes.com
Collected by Nhu-Vu SAPUWA