Leadership Development News Roundup: Employee Motivation Edition

It’s critical to every organization’s health to hire the right people and then keep them motivated and engaged in their work. Motivated employees produce results. They offer the benefit of their knowledge and experience for the betterment of the organization because they care that it remains healthy and profitable.But how can you keep your employees motivated? For this week’s Leadership Development News Roundup, I’ve assembled a collection of articles and blog posts with information on employee motivation to help you answer that question.

• Employee Recognition Linked to Satisfaction, Motivation and Work Effort. World at Work: “Employees who said that recognition practices are fair, that direct supervisors provide recognition effectively and that they value the recognition they receive reported a variety of positive outcomes. They reported higher levels of job satisfaction, a greater likelihood to work harder because of the recognition they receive, stronger motivation to do their best and a greater sense of feeling valued. In addition, employees who received recognition more recently also reported higher levels of satisfaction, motivation and work effort.”

• The Most Powerful and Sustainable Motivator for Early Employees. Inc.: “The most powerful and sustainable motivator for an early employee at a startup, or for employees at any company for that matter, is the sense of meaning derived from work. Meaning comes from working on a product whose long-term vision you believe will have an impact. It comes from working with a team whose members you respect, who constantly challenges you to learn and get better, and who you can't bear to let down. It comes from the dopamine rush you get from building and releasing something that your user base will love.”

• Understanding Employee Needs: Key to Creating a Highly Motivated Workforce. TLNT: “It is important to recognize that not all employees are the same: Different employees will have different needs (want and value different things) depending on the levels of consciousness they are operating from. The levels of consciousness they are operating from at any moment in time will depend on three factors: The employee’s level of psychological development; the employee’s general life circumstances; and the specific life challenges the employee is experiencing.”

• Top 5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees. It’s Easier Than You Think. Business 2 Community: “Your employees are more motivated when they know they’re working towards something. If they think there’s no opportunity for advancement, they don’t have much to work for. Nobody wants to work a dead-end job. Motivate your employees by offering training that gives them the skills they need to climb their career ladder. Grooming young employees to move on to better opportunities is valuable to you as well because it enables you to build your company’s reputation as a great place to work.”

• How to Motivate Employees to do Their Best. Washington Business Journal: “Annual performance goals are one of the biggest motivation killers out there — annual goals need to be broken down into small, daily or weekly achievements and recognized thusly. No one can stay motivated by recognition that is given once a year.”

Contact us if your organization’s leaders could use some assistance learning how to motivate employees at all levels.Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.