6 Tips to Keep Employees Informed and Motivated

Keeping employees informed and motivated is not easy. It’s challenging to strike the right balance between overloading them with information and keeping them in the dark about what’s happening at work. If you fail to keep your team members informed, they will feel left out and unmotivated. On the other hand, if you overload them with unnecessary details, you risk losing their attention and making them switch off. In other words, striking the right balance is not easy, but retaining a positive working environment in your office is essential. In this blog post, we’ll share 5 tips to help keep your employees informed and motivated at work.

Communicate company goals and milestones

All employees want to feel like they are making a difference. Did you know that 66% of employees would quit their jobs if they didn’t feel their efforts were appreciated? More than anything, people, especially younger generations, want to know what they do is worth something and their effort is valued.

They will feel unimportant if you fail to keep them updated about their role in contributing to the company’s goals and milestones. Take the time to sit down with your team and explain what they do, how it supports other departments, and how it contributes to the company’s overall success. This will help employees gain a better sense of purpose and feel more motivated to do their jobs. If you work in a company with multiple departments, communicate with employees from other teams as well. They will appreciate the insight and feel more connected to their colleagues.

From bulletin boards, memos, emails, or collaboration apps, ensuring you effectively communicate is vital for employee satisfaction.

Hold regular meetings to assess the performance.

If you have hired the right people, they will have specific goals they want to achieve. However, they can’t do that unless they know what they are supposed to do in the first place. If you have hired the right people, they should be able to express their goals in the job interview. Therefore, you should encourage them to do so and hold regular meetings to assess their progress. Regular meetings will also help you build better relationships with your employees. They will appreciate the fact that you care about their progress and will be more motivated to reach their goals.

Let employees know what’s expected of them.

Different people have different levels of productivity. Some are more productive than others, and that’s okay. However, if you are holding your employees to the exact expectations regardless of their productivity level, you will frustrate them and cause them to switch off. Holding regular meetings will help you identify employees who have more specific talents, so you can redistribute workloads and give them a more detailed and defined job role. Holding regular meetings to set expectations will also help you identify underperformers. If you have hired the right people, most likely, they will meet expectations or even exceed them. However, if an employee is struggling to get their work done, you must identify them and let them know what they are expected to do.

Celebrate small wins

To keep your employees motivated, you have to celebrate their accomplishments. Every team member is unique and will achieve different things. You must acknowledge those accomplishments and let them know how much you appreciate their efforts. Holding regular meetings will help you identify the small wins in your team. When celebrating those small wins, make sure to let the whole team know about it. This will help you spread positive energy within the team and motivate your employees.

From vouchers for free meals, PTO, or extra vacation days can be a massive incentive to keep employees motivated. Alternatively, leaving thank you or well-done gifts can be a good motivation booster to eliminate meetings. Again, communicating your expectations and appreciation can foster a healthy workplace culture and work towards an informed and happy workforce.

Provide a helping hand

Teams are strongest when they feel connected to one another. Therefore, you should always be on the lookout for ways to strengthen your relationships with your employees. Regular meetings are a straightforward way of enhancing relationships with your team members. It will also make it easier to identify members who feel disconnected from the rest of the team. Holding regular meetings will also allow you to provide a helping hand to employees who need it. You might notice that one of your team members is struggling with a project and could use some assistance. You might also see that one of your team members needs someone to talk to about what’s bothering them. Holding regular meetings will allow you to identify these issues and solve them before they become a problem.

Utilize technology

Remember that not all employees are the same. Some come from more traditional industries and will appreciate being kept in the loop via email. Others might be more technologically savvy and prefer using Slack or Zoom. However, let them know you are open to using different technologies to communicate with them. This will increase transparency and make it easier for your team to participate. Even if your employees like the advantages of keeping things old school, they will appreciate the extra effort you have made to reach out to them. 

Technology has made communicating in real-time and connecting with team members easier. However, as an employer, avoid abusing this feature to overload employees during their time off or out of office hours. Nothing is more unmotivating than employers demanding employees work on their own time for no extra pay or appreciation.

Bottom line

To keep your employees informed and motivated, you must communicate with them regularly and provide them with the right tools. You have to tell them their role contributes to the company, what’s expected of them, and how they can achieve their goals. You have to celebrate your employees’ accomplishments and provide a helping hand when needed. And most importantly, you have to utilize technology to make this process easier. With these tips in mind, you will be well on your way to keeping your employees informed and motivated.