Ever wondered how to keep employees motivated in your startup?
In this article, you will read about a few tips on how to keep your team constantly engaged that I have taken from my own observations working at a startup company, as well as from conversations I have had with my other team members about this matter.
Just like always, this is simply a list of my observations and is not meant to be a definitive list that includes the “magic bullet” solution.
Enjoy!
1. LISTEN When They Speak
Want your employees to keep bringing you new ideas and perspectives?
Let them know that they are heard and, more importantly, understood.
Speaking from my personal experience, I have enjoyed working with the company I am a part of because of this idea.
Our upper management has created an environment that encourages alternative perspectives to the status quo, and our team’s leaders never think any suggestion or idea is a bad one.
This welcoming culture has kept our team tightly connected and has caused us to work harder to help each other out.
2. Encourage New Ideas
All of the topics in this article are closely connected with each other, but I think it is important to emphasize each part separately.
As I mentioned previously, I strongly suggest encouraging new ideas from your team at any chance you get.
We see large organizations like Google implement this strategy by creating their famous “20-Percent-Rule” that allows employees to spend 20% of their time working on creative projects on their own that they believe will best benefit the company.
In the company that I work for, our team participates in weekly meetings solely centered around innovation, and we are now beginning what we call the “innovation donation station” that allows anyone in the organization to submit an innovative idea online and will then be assigned a project leader to help apply their innovation.
Encouraging innovative ideas helps employees feel valuable to the organization they are a part of and gives them the opportunity to lead a project that they are intrigued with.
3. Get To Know Them On A Deeper Level
In today’s remote world, it can be difficult to connect with your team outside of work.
But you don’t need to throw an event or travel to meet in person to sprout a meaningful connection with your team.
Many companies that have a remote-dominant workforce will set aside time to have a virtual meeting with their team to check in on each other and learn more about their associates personally, or team leaders will schedule one-on-one calls with their subordinates to learn about their life outside of work.
By understanding your employees on a more human level, you will have a better grasp of which projects to assign them, which responsibilities they would really enjoy, and what resources they may need to reach their desired outcomes.
4. Appreciate Them
To keep your employees happy and motivated, try to go out of your way to show your appreciation for them.
This tip has never been more important than it is today as the world experiences “The Great Resignation”.
The current pandemic has shown us that people are beginning to care more about a healthy work-life than a paycheck.
As many companies struggle to find the talent they need, companies with internal rockstar employees are doing everything they can to show their gratitude.
Even before the pandemic, many CEOS were confused at their high turnover only to realize that they weren’t giving their workers the financial and personal support that they deserved.
If you want to keep quality workers, you should be willing to pay a premium price.
5. Encourage Self-Development
Offer books, training, webinars, courses, and more resources to your team to help them continuously grow in their role.
It can be overwhelming to many employees when they are expected to already be skilled and knowledgeable in their current position.
Employees will beat themselves up if they continuously fail to meet your expectations, causing a downward spiral of continuous poor performance.
By acknowledging where your team members are at currently, you can have a more honest and sincere dialogue that will prevent frustration and encourage others to continuously improve.
6. Encourage Work-life Alignment
If you have tried applying for a new job in recent years, you may have noticed that virtually every company (at least in the tech world) is offering a mountain of benefits like unlimited PTO, remote-work opportunities, work schedule flexibility, insurance packages, and more.
Since employees are beginning to prioritize their own livelihoods over their company’s vision, it is important to accommodate your team’s personal desires.
Many tech startups today allow their staff to take mental health days to recover from their stress and allow them to work on their own schedules to fit in the lifestyle that they wish to live.
Providing this to your team will provide yet another reason for your workers to be happy and healthy each day when they show up to work.
Conclusion
In today’s competitive marketplace, we need to provide the most enjoyable experience possible for our staff.
As a startup, it’s important to have your vision aligned with your teams, or else growing the company will only become more difficult.
These are just a few tips that have been derived from my observations of what keeps my team motivated.
What else would you add to this list?
Leave a comment down below!
I hope you enjoyed this quick read!
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