An important part of business success is the hard work put forth by each and every employee. Because of this, it is important for businesses to keep their employees motivated, happy, and engaged. A lack of motivation and unhappiness can negatively affect employee performance, which can result in decreased productivity, a costly downside for businesses.

Effective communication is a great way to keep your employees motivated and engaged in the workplace. Without clear communication, employees may not understand what’s going on or feel out of the loop. Keep your employees involved and connected with these tips:

• Weekly Correspondence

Set aside a day and time to send out an email to all employees. Include important topics pertaining to the business such as ideas and plans. Invite feedback to encourage participation and engagement.

• Open Communication

While most companies focus on the positive, it can be beneficial to examine what isn’t working and what can be done to make it work. Show employees that you value their contributions by allowing them to voice their opinions.

• Town Hall Meetings

If you manage other remote offices, it could be beneficial to hold meetings among the employees from all locations. Whether it means traveling to each location, or holding a virtual meeting or conference call, make sure you encourage a two-way dialogue as opposed to simply lecturing the staff.

• Annual Senior Leadership Conference

In the same vein, hold annual conferences for the senior leaders. This allows for team building, networking, and sharing ideas to ensure that everyone is on the same page for company goals.

• Timely Responses

Always remember the Golden Rule and respond to your employees within 24 hours. Yes, we are all busy, but employees need to know that they are being heard and are appreciated.

By implementing these practices, you can build cohesiveness within your team, enabling employees to feel more comfortable and happy in the workplace. This is one way to enhance productivity, but here are a few more ideas and incentives:

• Eliminate Motivation Killers

These can include poor leadership, lack of appreciation, no professional development, and toxic people. Audit your workplace and make the necessary adjustments. Develop leadership skills, show appreciation and invest in professional development, and minimize the effects of toxic people. This will greatly increase the morale of your team.

• Gamification

Increasing motivation will increase productivity, and gamification can be a great way to motivate your employees. It involves using badges, rewards, points, challenges, and other game elements to make certain tasks more appealing and exciting to workers. There are different gamification platforms which can be integrated with your existing applications to add incentives for normal work tasks.

• Clear Goals & Feedback

By setting clear-cut goals for employees, they will know what is expected of them. In addition, short-term goals can help employees improve their time management skills. Constructive criticism will give employees insight on what is working and what they can do to improve. This also portrays that they are being examined and that they are a valuable asset to the company.

• Responsible Tech Use

Using technology in the workplace can increase productivity, however, it can easily blur the line between personal and professional lives. Provide your employees with flexible options, such as working remotely, through helpful apps and hardware, but be sure to respect the work-life balance.

• Standards + Skills Development

As previously mentioned, clearly define expectations for your workers, but also provide opportunities for skills development. Giving employees the room to progress and grow with the company shows them that you want to retain their talents for the long run.

• Communication

Again, this is what almost everything boils down to. Communication is not only limited to phones, devices, verbal or written exchanges of information, but applies to the entire communications system for your company. Employees should understand the hierarchy of the company so that they know who to reach out to for various questions and concerns.

When it comes to keeping a happy, productive work environment, remember to maintain motivation, practice proactive involvement, and employ appropriate technologies to enhance communications.

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Tags: communication, effective communication, Employee Productivity, Motivate Workers, Motivation, workplace communication