Workforce Diversity and Team Motivation Tactics

8 Tips to better mental health and motivation in your team.
Workforce Diversity and Team Motivation Tactics
By
Claudia Jeffrey

Many people seem to think that managing employees is easier than just having to do a basic 9 to 5 job where you sit around all day. However, much to the contrary, managing employees is stressful.

Imagine having a bunch of people codependent on you for as simple as the will and motivation to work throughout the month.

In such circumstances, as a manager, you would essentially sit down and ask yourself how you can successfully manage this without compromising on your own mental health and still come out with satisfied employees.

According to recent statistical publications, studies suggest that only a mere 12% of employees reported quitting their job for more money. Where, in comparison, a whopping 79% reported saying they lacked the correct will and appreciation that would derive optimum results from them.

If it isn’t still evident now, then you, as a manager, really need to question your policies because if you start to lose employees, you cannot tell the organization that they left because they didn’t get a raise.

Workforce diversity and motivation tactics

Many organizations, and even their respective leader, tend to undermine the importance of mental health in the workplace. What they don’t realize is that sometimes providing the right tangible benefits of a bi-monthly raise, incentives and compensations just doesn’t cut for individual employees.

The majority of them just lack a fundamental virtue of motivation, and maybe a one-on-one conversation would be enough to get them back. So, here are a few useful tactics you can utilize to increase workforce diversity and motivate your team of employees.

1) Educate your employees

Employee training and development should never be kept at the backend. It is one of the most essential and crucial elements that make or break your team of employees. Many times it may happen that people would become so competitive that they wouldn’t want to indulge in teamwork to complete a task.

This is precisely where educating your employees about the value of teamwork is essential. They need to be aware that to progress, they may be required to coordinate with other fellow employees. And that working on their own might not only be against getting the work done but also not suitable for stress management.

2) Understand and know your team

As a team lead or manager, what you need to do is to work for understanding your team better. The more diverse the team, the more effort you should put in to understand all their workplace needs and opinions. If you have a diverse gender team with you being a male, put up the position to cater to a team of women.

Then, you need to address these circumstances with them so that they don’t hold back on their needs or go behind your back to take it up themselves. Similarly, if you are a female, given the position to lead a more male majority of a team, then approach them with confidence and take your time to understand how they work.

3) Recognize their effort and reward accordingly

Employee recognition tactics are different points of interest as a whole. But to discuss it a bit here, as a boss, you need to believe in the value of rewarding and recognition. Because somewhere somehow, even when your bosses reward you or recognize your effort for the organization, you feel the surge of motivation to do even better next time.

So, in applying the same rule over here for people working under you, you’ll take advantage of it. You will surely see that once you recognize even a single member for his/her efforts, others will follow through to have their name taken the next time a task arises.

4) Include your workforce in essential decisions

Employees need to feel that they are an asset. They need to know that the company they are so diligently working for values them as an investment and not as something that can be thrown away if required. The best way to satisfy and comply with such needs of employee satisfaction is to include them in corporate decisions.

Employees need to feel that they are an asset.

You don’t necessarily have to adhere to exactly what they say, but allow them to have a say, an opinion going forward, and explain how that decision can affect the team. This tactic works because, not only do you get employee input on where the company is headed, but you also engage with employees on their level of perspective that helps you gain a newer way to view a situation.

5) Value mental health wellbeing

As mentioned earlier as well, many companies don’t value the mental health wellbeing of their employees, which is not right on their part. As a responsible corporate leading business, you cannot ignore something as vital as mental health.

Such companies tend to set examples for others to follow in their footsteps. If even one such organization lacks the basic ethics policy to put mental health first, then it can be questioned by the association. Thus, never leave your employees unattended.

Conduct motivation and therapy classes to enhance their mental state toward workplace positivity. Instead of allowing them to stress and potentially harm their capability by indulging in negative thoughts, give them space to voice their fears, concerns and objections.

6) Build a strong and supportive environment

“Teamwork makes the dream work.”— John Maxwell

This quote by John Maxwell has inspired many literary features. From articles to motivational conferences, speeches, and even books are written about how teamwork is the key to certain aspects of one’s professional life. It is why a workplace should be a contributing factor to valuing teamwork. Building a strong and supportive environment should be one of the critical aspects your organization focuses on.

7) Make work fun and boost positivity

It is not said in any policy, law, or rule book to adhere to a particular stance towards work. You need not comply with a strict way of working just to maintain a level of workplace discipline. When employees are happy and satisfied with their workplace and bosses, not only do they comply with rules but keep the regulation on their own so as not to lose the positivity that the workplace environment has.

A workplace should not be a cage where the employees feel trapped and locked out from the world. It should be a place of creative freedom and thought-provoking activities.

8) Respond to their needs

Being responsive to employee needs is one other crucial element that can easily be missed. Many times employees tend to complain, have questions and opinions of their own that the organization or the management tend to ignore.

Treating employees like they are cogs in a machine, set to receive a certain amount as compensation for their skills and services at the end of the month, is not the right way to treat your team. Their input and feedback should be just as valuable as that of the management, and should be responded to accordingly.

In Conclusion

All in all, employees shouldn’t be treated inhumanely to serve a purpose. They are not machines or robots to work according to the algorithm fed to them. Instead, feed them positivity and help them enhance their mental wellbeing. In this way you will keep them motivated and bonus: increase profitability for your company!

About the Author

Claudia Jeffrey is currently working as an Editorial Manager at Crowd Writer, UK’s favorite essay help providers. Having worked with many significant teams at bigger organizations, she has gained experience in how to manage workforce diversity. For further reading, you can check out her blogs, where she shares her opinions and interests for a network of like-minded audiences.

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