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What challenges do managers face in motivating today’s workforce?
One of the main reasons of motivation being a challenging job is due to the changing workforce. The employees become a part of their organization with various needs and expectations. Different employees have different beliefs, attitudes, values, backgrounds and thinking. But all the organizations are not aware of the diversity in their workforce and thus are not aware and clear about different ways of motivating their diverse workforce.
For a manager it is challenge to understand that different people are motivated in different ways
To be able to motivate a manager must first be in a position to understand the needs of the people. Humans are complex and understanding their needs is a challenge
To many hierarchical levels actually could be a demotivating factor. As such it is challenge for the manager to keep the hierarchical levels to the minimum possible.
Poor systems and work overload could be demotivating factors! A manager has to cope with the challenges of changing business systems, proper workload distribution and to keep the jobs varied so that boredom does not set in.
A manager must not assume that he /she is visible but must ensure that it is true.
Another challenge could be how to involve and encourage staff to participate in the decision making.
Ensuring that the staff is motivated and stay motivated at all times is an important part of running a business. An Involved and happy staff delivers.
Motivation is important because it costs more to replace staff than to keep them. Staff likes to feel needed and respected and keeping them happy results in their continuing to stay with the organization much longer. As such it is essential to keep motivating the staff. It is an important point on the list of priorities of an organization. Following are some essential aspects that need to be adhered to:
Communicating
Communicating with your staff should be high on your list of essentials. Most of the staff wishes to have a boss who is visible and available for consultation for any problem solving. It’s important to hold frequent chats and informal meetings to make sure they are happy and getting on well with their assigned tasks and aren’t confused about anything. Communicating with the staff on regular and frequent basis is needed. Greeting them appropriately is a simple motivational tool that makes a world of difference than to turn away your face when one comes across staff. Communicate daily however insignificant the intervention seems to be. Make yourself available.
Training & Development
Investing in staff is important. It will get an organization up to date in the business. Moreover the staff will be grateful for being able to develop under the watchful eyes of the leadership. It is of paramount importance that the courses being sponsored to send your staff are thoroughly researched to exploit the full potential. It is also important to get feedback from staff on how they feel benefited from the courses.
Lead by Example
It is crucial that the leader leads by example while dealing with staff. If one wishes to have staff working late, then it is imperative that one is also staying back late to support staff. Likewise, if staff is not expected to start rolling in at11 am on a Monday, then make sure you are at your desk bright and early. It is not just about working hours though! you must respect your staff. They will also pick on the way you behave and act in different circumstances. As such it is important to ensure that the leadership must behave as it expects the staff to behave. Do not expect you staff to do what you don’t
Make people feel valued
Hopefully, the staff is performing well and helping drive your business forward. In such a case, it is of utmost importance to show them how much the leadership values their contribution on regular basis. Whether you just tell them or buy them a slice of cake both work equally well. It is essential that incentivising staff by social events to let them know that they are valued and respected.
There is a thought that "Motivation comes from ourselves". It is only us who can motivate us. We are the shapers of our futures.
But this saying is a philosophy and won't really apply today. Let's be realistic in answering this question.
To motivate your staff, first be a role model to them. Indirect motivation is always achieved if you send the message to them properly. Managers who are the silent type are using a motivational method that affects his staff by body language and heroistic attitude. You don't need to remind them to do their job, if they see you working very hard and sacrificing so much for your dedication to the job, some of them will follow you, even if you don't tell them to. That is Indirect motivation and this will realistically not affect everyone, especially the cold-hearted ones. So motivating them through coachings, words, open forum discussions, and positive reinforcements will be the other option, but it will have a lot of challenges.
One challenge would be the salary. Everyone needs a good salary, no matter how humble and preserved you are, this is a motivational factor that you can't deny. As a manager, I don't have the final decision to give a raise to my employees, or even better benefits. I can however contribute to it by giving good feedbacks, recommendations, and reviews, but still I don't have the power to make it happen, it will still go through HR and the top management. Even if this employee deserves a raise, it still has to follow a process.
Another one would be personal issues, this is by far the most challenging. If your staff is having motivational issues because of personal issues in the family, love life, loss of his dog, or something else, then it will be a challenge for you as a manager, because now you have to act as a guidance counselor and a philisopher to your staff. You must be equipped with words of wisdom in order to motivate them to do well and be focused on their jobs. Not all managers will really care on what is happening to you outside of the office, some will be hesitant as well in intervening with your personal life. It is that kind of barrier that managers should overcome to fully understand their staffs and resolve their issue, whether personally and professionally.
Common areas for motivation are job security, salary, benefits, career growth, sense of fulfillness, education, family, and personal development.
Modern-day manager face the modern-day employees or staff or most commonly called as millenials. They are more after on higher compensation rather than on newly added knowledge and learning. Modern Manager can overcome this work attitude though motivating and encouraging them that learning is "Continous Process and much better than Salary" by giving them regular training and seminars.
