For many Brits this week is where we have the dreaded “back to work” day following the festive break. After a long break of afternoon naps, scoffing Christmas chocolate and binging Netflix it came as a bit of a shock to a lot of us when that 6AM alarm went off this morning, and even the most optimistic morning lovers struggled to feel positive today! Chances are some of your employees also got the dreaded back to work fear, but luckily there are a few things you can do to inject a dose of 2019 drive into the team and motivate your employees today!
Share company goals with your employees
A New Year is a great opportunity to re-evaluate the goals for your organisation, and while you might normally leave this to the Directors and Senior Managers to discuss you may also want to consider feeding this information further across all of your departments. Every single employee in your organisation has the ability to make a difference, and if you can outline how individuals can make an impact and help you succeed then they are more likely to deliver and including them in your strategic goals will only help to make them feel more valued as an employee too.
Map out plans for success
Once you’ve shared the strategic company goals with your employees it’s time to give some one-to-one time to your employees to help map out clear plans for individual success. This is beneficial for both parties as you will be able to outline expectations for projects they are working on, and it will also give your employee a chance to speak up about their own ambitions so that you can identify a clear path for them to achieve them (e.g. promotion, pay rise etc.).
Consider an incentive
Sometimes you just need to “dangle a carrot” to get the most out of your employees, so consider possible incentives you could offer in return for employees meeting certain targets or deadlines. You may consider offering to take your employees on holiday for hitting a high sales target, or simply offering a free “duvet day” for the January employee of the month!
There is loads you can do here and the anticipation of an incentive combined with the competition to achieve it will help motivate your employees to get involved.
Ditch pointless meetings and inspire
If you make one new years’ resolution, consider ditching those meetings that you don’t really need. We are all guilty of it, rounding up the team into the boardroom, using up precious time only to leave the room having not really achieved anything with employees feeling slightly confused. Try consolidating your meetings and planning ahead to avoid pointless meetings, but also using this saved time to deliver sessions that inspire and motivate! You may ask some of your most charismatic managers to come up with a fresh training session, or even hire external experts and speakers to come in and deliver something new altogether. The idea is you want to shake things up and get employees excited about their job again!
Consider what’s important to your employees
The reason many of us feel so sluggish when we go back to work after Christmas is because we got so used to doing the things we love. It may have been taking a trip away or simply spending more time with family, but going from full freedom to the 9-5 can make employees start considering options that provide a better work-life balance. Companies that recognise the importance of this and offer flexible working options such as remote / home working or flexible start times are more likely to hold onto their employees for longer than those that ignore it altogether.
Make it fun
The small things can make a big difference, so in the month of January where everyone is skint, cold and a little blue you might consider injecting a little bit of fun and happiness into the office. Things like “free fruit Mondays”, “dress down days” and “bring your dog to work day” can really help transform the mundane into an environment that your employees want to be a part of.
Are you using January to get your team motivated – tell us your top tips by tweeting us at @SearchabilityUK!
