Understanding the benefits of employee motivation

Employee motivation is a hot topic for remote managers. Keeping employees engaged and productive can be a struggle when they're not physically in the office. 

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But the benefits of employee motivation make it worth the effort:

1. Employees who are self-starters
2. High productivity
3. Increased retention
4. Setting a great tone for new hires

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In this piece, we’ll explore those benefits and share further reading on how to motivate your team.

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1. Employees with good motivation are self-starters, reducing the need for hands-on management

Management is time-consuming work. Many managers become frustrated by how much time it takes to ensure every employee is on task and meeting objectives. However, if you start with motivated employees, management is a matter of helping team members achieve their own processes. Renowned marketing author Philip Kotler points out, 

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“When managers overdo micromanaging others, they probably hired the wrong people or failed to give them a clear idea of what each one is to accomplish. I prefer to train employees to be self-managers, just as in an orchestra each performer knows their role without micromanaging."

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Self-managed employees create even more benefits over time. With less time spent monitoring every move of their employees, managers can spend some of that time creating systems that continue to motivate their team. Hands-off managers who only support their teams as needed are free to do their best work.

2. Employee motivation boost productivity

The concept of “quiet quitting” has created a buzz. It discusses how unmotivated employees do the bare minimum. When the work, the pay, or the team culture is highly motivating, however, employees ask a different question. Instead of “what do I have to do to stay employed?,” motivated employees ask, “how can I make the most of my time?” This can look like:

• Offering time- and energy-saving processes that change the status quo for the better
• Streamlining a process that previously frustrated clients or customers, increasing customer satisfaction
• Advocating for valuable pivots that would make the company more successful

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Striving for ambitious goals and achieving them is motivating in itself. You will see a productivity return on any investments you make in employee engagement and motivation solutions. 

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3. Motivated employees are less likely to leave, reducing turnover costs

Gallup estimates that in the United States alone, voluntary turnover costs businesses more than $1 trillion a year. Replacing an employee who leaves the company can cost months of their salary in recruiting, hiring time, and onboarding time. When employees are motivated by their work and feel strong employee engagement, they are less likely to quit and move to a different company. 

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‍Gallup’s own polls show that even in high-turnover industries, higher engagement and motivation contribute to 18% lower turnover. This saves companies lots of money and builds a more experienced team. The more motivated employees are at their current job, the harder it is for anyone else to recruit them away.

4. Motivated employees set the tone for new hires

The employee journey or employee experience has many components that influence employee motivation. Gallup identifies seven stages of the employee journey, and the first three, Attract, Hire, and Onboard, set the tone for the rest of the journey.

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Every stage of the employee journey contributes to your new hires’ perception of the workplace. It also contributes to their long-term motivation. If they see unmotivated employees during the early three stages, it’s much harder to motivate them during the next three stages, Engage, Perform, and Develop. Over time, new hires catching on to this standard creates a widespread culture of motivation.

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The large marketing and CMS company HubSpot has gone so far as to point out in their own Culture Code that “Culture is to recruiting what product is to marketing.” An environment that promotes high motivation is as crucial as having a high-quality product to sell.

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How to increase motivation at work

When you want the benefits of employee motivation, you often have to make changes. Altering a company culture and improving morale can lead to higher motivation. Here are a few ways to kickstart your employees’ motivation. 

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1. Consider a survey on your virtual employee engagement platform about employee motivation to uncover new statistical trends and elements of your culture that aren’t motivating employees.
2. Widen your list of employee motivation ideas with some out-of-the-box options.
3. Put employee engagement apps in the palms of your employees hands, increasing uptake of new initiatives.

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