Employee motivation: the supreme challenge

Teamio Event GmbH’s event specialists in Essen work with teams, departments and whole companies on team building and staff development. Demand for support with lasting employee motivation—a complex subject—is growing rapidly.

Many economic actors face a tough mix of challenges: the war against Ukraine and, with it, inflation and rising energy costs; a recession, albeit a mild one; and a skills shortage that is ultimately of our own making. Germany’s Mittelstand (its small and medium-sized businesses) has seen better days.

It seems all the more important, then, to identify and motivate the people who drive success within your company: your workforce. After all, nothing costs more money than an unmotivated team. If people can’t identify with the company or with their own tasks, they lose drive and, at the extreme, mentally check out of their jobs. Gallup puts the damage that this disengagement does to the German economy as a whole at 220 billion euros a year (Gallup study, 2019).

5 ways to motivate your employees

Keeping employees inspired for the long term is the supreme challenge for business owners. Employees want fair pay, enjoyable work and to feel happy with their colleagues, the company’s purpose and their managers. There are plenty of motivational levers you can pull; here are our top five:

Communication that shows respect and appreciation

Open, transparent communication matters to everyone involved. To keep managers’ expectations and employees’ goals aligned, you need communication that works. Show appreciation—and speak as equals!

In dedicated communication training sessions, we help teams see other people’s points of view and work out effective communication strategies together.

Flexible working arrangements and hours

New Work concepts put people and their needs back at the centre. More flexibility in how people organise their lives — through working from home, co-working spaces, flexitime or sabbaticals — makes sense, and not just for employees.

Incentives show appreciation

“Lob”—German for praise. Don’t underestimate those three letters. Praise your employees for good work. With words — and with actions. Incentives are a good way to show your teams how much you appreciate them.

Whether it’s an incentive trip to the south, an off-road experience in a quarry or dinner underground, teamio has the right event ideas.

Challenging tasks

Work that is exciting and varied brings personal fulfilment and strong intrinsic motivation. According to Daniel H. Pink, three factors get you there:

1. To feel motivated at work, employees need to understand the meaning, purpose and aims of their working conditions, and the reasons behind them. Only then can they make the organisation’s goals their own.
2. Employees are more willing to put in the effort when their work matches their interests and skills.
3. Employees are motivated when they make decisions independently and take on responsibility.

Relationships with colleagues

For two out of three employees, the relationship with their colleagues matters most, even more than their own salary (EY job study, 2019). So there we have it: money really isn’t everything in life.

Help your team get along better with events to mark an occasion: a company outing, summer party or Christmas party could give everyone a motivational boost.

Teamio Event GmbH supports numerous companies with a wide range of team experiences that get people talking. Whether it’s a leadership conference with intuitive archery, a summer party with a raft-building event and a BBQ by the lake or a programme alongside a conference at the hotel, people all over Germany now experience the unique team-building events run by the Essen-based agency. Its online team events even delight teams around the globe, for example with a digital quiz show, the popular online wine tasting or the virtual event where participants build insect hotels. Invest in your team now: it’s never been more worthwhile!

Original article published in Revier Magazin.