Inspira UK offers ten top tips on how to motivate and engage staff

1. Listen to your people ñ people who are actively listened to by management feel more involved and are more committed to the organisation. Active listening involves ëbeing seen to listení and also feeding back on progress made. For example, if an employee complains about an internal promotion policy, provide him or her with a clear and simple explanation about why the policy exists and how they can directly benefit from it.

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate ñ you can never communicate enough. However, managers often get it wrong: they either over or under communicate. Be clear about the message, who the audience is and what team members need to know or do as a result of the required action (or not).

3. Praise hard work ñ acknowledging the effort that people put into their work is essential. When going the extra mile is noticed and praised in front of other team members, quality standards are invariably raised. The person feels confident, valued and other team members may be encouraged to ëraise their own gameí.

4. Treat your people fairly ñ respect them and they will respect you and your organisation in return. Discuss personal matters in a private area, respect confidences and offer explanations for decisions made.

5. Donít over promise and under deliver ñ the easiest way to motivate people is to set goals and reward achievement. A manager within a retail organisation recently set up a point system for achievement of goals and offered a dinner for two as a reward for the person who achieved the most points. This was never followed through and, as a result, team morale nose-dived.

6. Delegate effectively ñ when delegating a task, ensure that the person has clear goals, understands their role, is supported by sufficient resources and agree when to review progress. Donít constantly check their progress or make them do the task again without explaining clearly why you are doing so.

7. Create the right environment ñ this is often overlooked. The right ambience can lead to better working relations and increased creativity. Think about whether you would like to work in their environment and if the answer is no, do something about it. It doesnít have to cost the earth: pot plants, the (re)-arrangement of desks, a sit-down area for breaks and lunch are all simple ways to improve any working environment.

8. Support your people ñ adopting a ëbuddyingí system or electing internal mentors can work wonders. This is especially relevant for new employees who are often trying to find their feet and need an unbiased, friendly person to talk to without feeling stupid.

9. Provide development opportunities ñ your teamís skills are your business: develop their skillsets and your business will develop. Ensure that the learning and development you provide is relevant to business objectives and that people have opportunities to improve their skill base.

10. Have some fun! ñ team lunches, birthday cards, Christmas events, away days, team-building events are all great ways to motivate people to demonstrate how much they directly add value to your business.



For more information on the full range of Inspira UKís HR services, please visit the website at www.inspira-uk.com or contact Cathy Mortimer on 0870 747 9820.