Most times, smaller organizations in lack of a functioning human resource department offer additional tasks to existing employees. There are organizations where an executive takes interviews when required and there are others where a manager also manages all the reimbursements because they don’t have a functioning accounts department.
Indeed, a good number of employees take on more responsibilities out of excitement or curiosity. After a while, this added responsibility becomes a burden because it contributes nothing to their productivity. As a good employer or manager, it is crucial that you make sure that employees don’t start feeling de-motivated due to their workload.
One way to ensure this is to appreciate your employees for their hard work. Small efforts of appreciation can motivate them to a large extent. According to reports, even a small ‘thank you’ note can significantly increase motivation levels.
When it comes to additional responsibilities, it is very important to make sure that employees who take additional workloads are being incentivized for their efforts. For an organization, it is very necessary to establish a set of rules to offer incentives.
Consider, for instance, an employee who takes up the additional duty of HR and conducts interviews during their free time. As a manager, it is your duty to start the incentive process to make them feel appreciated for their contribution.
Remember, lack of appreciation can lead even the most loyal employee to quit their job and move on. Every employer or manager struggles to keep employees motivated, but great entrepreneurs understand that employee motivation is key to overall success.
While there is no single way to ensure that your employees will stay excited and inspired to assume extra responsibilities, there are a few specific and effective techniques that, when implemented, can have major, lasting effects on workplace motivation and productivity.
10 Ways to Get Employees Excited to Assume Additional Responsibilities
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Gratification
Note that gratification can vary from a monthly ‘employee of the month’ title to a gift for their contribution to the workplace. You will have noticed how occasional bonuses increase productivity and help create a happy workplace. Titles like ‘employee of the month’ not only motivate the employee who takes the additional tasks but also prompts fellow co-workers to show enthusiasm when it comes to additional tasks. Gifting on occasions like Christmas also helps improve the employee motivation.
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Show Them You Care
A staff member that is about to assume new and extra responsibilities will naturally have questions, comments, or concerns. Having an open door policy and creating consistently accessible lines of communication will help your staff feel as though their input matters (which it should!). If having an open door policy is unrealistic for you, it can be just as impactful to dedicate some time during staff meetings for people to voice or write down their concerns.
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Offer Other Compensations
You can compensate for the extra work an employee has done by letting her set her own hours or work from home every so often. Have it in mind that a flexible work schedule is usually highly desired by employees. Show your appreciation for a worker who has put in a lot of effort by telling her she can come and leave at a time she chooses.
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Always Follow Up
Following up with your employees regarding their input is quite as pertinent as asking them for it. Although you may not be able to answer every question, or fix every problem, following up at least shows employees that you took the time to consider their remarks, rather than ignoring them or sending them to someone else. Your staff will know that you’re listening to them, and won’t be afraid to come to you again in the future.
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Offer Incentives
Note that you can give an employee an extra vacation or personal day off for performing additional duties. An additional day off will let an employee know his work was appreciated and give him a chance to recharge his batteries, which will enhance his work performance.
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Make Work Fun
A good number of employers have implemented a strategy called “gamification,” which involves applying game-like concepts to ordinary work tasks in order to generate enthusiasm and establish friendly competition in the workplace. Google implemented a great example of this strategy through what is called the “Google Code Jam,” where the company organizes a coding competition in order to fish out potential hires.
Although not every organization can (or needs to) gamify something like their hiring process, things as simple as a game of bingo for sales representatives to motivate them to sell bigger ticket items will make work feel more like play. Indeed, you will be shocked at how competitive your staff will become over a reward as simple as a $10 gift card or an afternoon off (and, of course, bragging rights).
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Understand The Process Of Taking Responsibility
Always remember that good performance is not just an act. It is the final result of a process that can be replicated over and over again if it is understood properly. Once you notice a certain member of your team performing well and taking more responsibility, find out what he or she does and how you can help other employees to implement the same process. This will motivate your employees to perform better because it came from their colleagues and not outside the organization.
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Recognize Hard Work
Rewarding your employees for hard work is decisive in how motivated they will be. Recognizing them for their achievements can be cost-effective, too. You don’t have to use monetary rewards or even spend money on a prize.
According to reports, Deloitte turned to a software that helps incentivize workplace tasks by providing employees the opportunity to appear on leadership boards or earn badges in exchange for completing a task. Offering your staff ongoing opportunities to be recognized for their onerous efforts will keep them motivated over longer periods of time.
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Choose your words
When your employees take on more responsibilities, they are likely to make mistakes especially since they are doing what they are not very familiar with. And it is very normal. It is imperative during these times to correct them using encouraging words rather than being a critic. Do not focus on the weaknesses of your employees but their strengths.
Tell them what they can do better in the future rather than telling them what they did wrong. Correction is pertinent for anyone to perform better but it is only effective when it is done well. As the saying goes, correction helps, but encouragement helps more. Focus on what can be improved and less on what cannot be changed when you give your employees more responsibility.
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Have A Clear Vision
A clear vision is critical in any organization which wishes to grow and expand its activities. A clear vision is not only critical to you as a leader, but also to your employees in showing them the way ahead. Once the vision is clear, all departments will collaborate with each other to achieve the vision. When training your employees, always remind them of the organization’s vision.
Most times, overworked employees simply end up suffering silently as they cannot directly refuse the senior management. This makes it very important for employers or senior managers to identify these key points and work towards the betterment of their workforce.