Employees are all different and for some, it might be that they're self-sufficient. For others, they may require some gentle encouragement every so often. The business and senior staff members responsible for effective workforce management hold the responsibility of inspiring and driving employees for workplace success.

Inspiring and driving your employees takes time, so if you're looking to make these improvements, now is a good time to start. Whether you've noticed a dip in productivity or a lack of motivation in your staff, here are some tips to help regain that drive and motivation. Discover the keys to achieving workplace success in 2023 as we delve into strategies to inspire and drive your employees to excel.

Catch up with employees on a 1-2-1 basis regularly

In order to make sure your employees are feeling good in the workplace, it's useful to catch up with employees on a regular basis. You can't always assume that everyone is happy within the workplace and that there are no existing problems.

Chances are, there may be one or two employees who are having a tough time without you realizing or knowing. That said, it's important for supervisors/managers to conduct weekly or monthly 1-2-1 meetings to connect with their peers and those they oversee.

It could be a general chit-chat that covers their job, mental well-being, and other general conversations. However, there may be some occasions where you need to talk formally about a situation that has happened and is causing the employee stress. 

Make sure to schedule these meetings regularly and promote them throughout the entire workplace. Keep records of these meetings and ensure they happen as needed.

Set goals to help encourage motivation

Goals are a great way to get people motivated and chances are, you've set yourself some goals in the past whether it's as a business owner or in your personal life.

People often need motivation in the form of goals to break free from current ruts. Providing goals for your employees can boost their productivity and help meet deadlines.

You may want to set the goals for your employees or work in a collaborative way to ensure the goals you set, are something that they feel confident they can achieve. For some employees, you might be able to allow them to goal-set themselves without any encouragement. However, it's always good to start them off with some inspiration.

Provide them with incentives and feedback

Incentives are something that is helpful to have, especially when it comes to your employees and their productivity levels.

You might consider introducing a benefits software that allows you to offer employees regular incentives in exchange for completing specific goals or projects. If your business is based on sales, then it could be setting a sales goal that they need to meet in order to get the reward.

Incentivizing your staff is always a good way of encouraging a drive in even the laziest of employees. Make sure that you're asking for feedback on how you can improve this system.

Talking of feedback, be sure to give your employees constructive feedback, as this can often be useful to help them find the drive and inspiration needed to do better.

Consider what leadership influences need to be introduced or improved upon

Having great leaders within your workplace is part of the positive contribution that is made when you're looking to motivate your workforce.

Remember, not everyone is born to be a leader and some, even with graining, are simply not cut out for it. However, there are plenty of people who are, and that leadership influence could make a world of difference to the productivity and success of your business in general.

With that being said, consider what leadership qualities are currently within your workforce and promote those individuals to take on leadership roles if they desire it. 

Train existing leaders who may need improvement and encourage leaders to take a more hands-on approach in inspiring and motivating their peers to excel in the workplace.

Improve company communications

Company communications are something you want to work on improving, especially when it comes to driving that success for your organization.

Communication is important, otherwise, everyone ends up being on different pages, which can significantly impact the performance of your workforce. Introduce company communication software and identify areas in your business where maintaining communications is a challenge.

It could be a lack of communication in general, or it could be down to pockets of communication loss caused by employee relationships in particular. 

Find ways to help with collaboration and teamwork efforts

It's important that your business is proactive when it comes to collaboration. It's one of the best ways to inspire creativity and to create that drive that might be currently missing.

The power of teamwork is also certainly helpful to implement so if you're able to, it's definitely worth looking at ways to bring more collaboration in the form of team-building activities. While some people enjoy working alone, it's beneficial for employees to understand the effectiveness of working as a team too!

Make use of team-building days 

Talking of team building, if you've not already incorporated it into your company calendar, then it's definitely something worth doing often. Whether it's social events that are a little more informal, to company away days to help build relationships and team connections, make sure to do more of them for your business.

Team building is great for helping improve communications, and inspire your employees to care more about their job and the peers they work with. Hopefully, with more team-building days in place, you'll be able to see a considerable difference in the connections your staff are making.

In the pursuit of continuous improvement, creating an environment that nurtures workplace success is essential. Inspiring and driving your employees for success in 2023 is something you want to maximize this year. Make sure you're following these tips to improve your business and workplace success this year.

Exclusive presentation by Resident Publications.