Team Motivation: What It Is And How To Encourage It
We live in the era of competitiveness, and having the most motivated human team possible is essential for most companies.
However, it is not always easy to achieve this effect. In order to delve deeper into this issue, we are going to review some of the most important keys that increase team motivation and thus facilitate the achievement of the set objectives.
In the times in which we have had to live, the markets dominate everything, and therefore it is essential that each company tries to stand out from the rest, and this would never be achieved without a solid human team behind it to carry out the work of the company. in the most efficient way possible, so that finally it is your product or service that captivates the consumer ahead of the rest of the options. But for that to happen, Workers must be committed to the organization and this is achieved through team motivation.
A team that is not motivated is not going to perform as well as it could, and therefore we are going to be wasting invaluable potential, since the members of our department are going to contribute a version of themselves that is surely not the best, the most creative nor the most efficient, since a motivated person involved in a project experiences a transformation and generates work of a quality that is difficult to achieve in any other way, hence the extraordinary importance of team motivation.
Motivation is what makes people have the energy to move towards achieving a goal , not only in the workplace but in any area of ​​a human being’s life. Team motivation, therefore, would be the key to ensuring that all the components of our work group carry out the behaviors we seek, without skimping on efforts, thus facilitating the achievement of all the purposes that have been established to complete the project satisfactorily. .
The keys to enhancing team motivation
We already know the importance of correctly motivating teams, but the most important part remains: what are the keys to being able to carry this out.
The first thing to keep in mind is thatThe motivational process cannot be completely extrapolated from one person to another , since each individual will be more motivated by some reinforcements than others. What is certain is that some general lines can be established, which are what we are going to describe below, in order to design an effective motivational plan.
1. Salary
Obviously, the main factor that comes into play in team motivation is salary. And it is that Financial remuneration (sometimes supported by in-kind benefits) is essential for the start and maintenance of an employment relationship The salary must reach a minimum threshold for the person who receives it if we want the rest of the factors to fulfill their motivating function, since if we do not cover their most basic needs we can hardly expect the worker to be committed.
However, salary has a limit to its motivating effect. Past a figure (which is different for each person), motivation stops increasing through this factor, and we can only maximize it in combination with the rest of the factors.
In short, salary is a basic motivator, and without it the other criteria do not work, but after a limit, it is only the rest that continue to have an effect. It is important to take this mechanism into account if we want to achieve the best results in our team motivation.
2. Growth
Another motivating factor in a job is growth expectations, knowing that within the company you can pursue a professional career which will entail a series of promotions, improvements in conditions, increases in responsibilities and even managing increasingly large teams of people.
This professional growth also entails personal growth, which helps the individual reach the peak of needs according to Maslow’s pyramid, which is none other than self-realization.
3. Dynamism
In most cases, monotonous, repetitive and mechanical jobs soon end up saturating the worker and make you lose motivation towards the task. That is why it is important to introduce a certain dynamism, as much as possible, since not all jobs allow the same degree of change in procedures. Modifications and variety will keep the team mentally active and more motivated.
Of course, the changes must be moderate and always correspond to the skills and abilities of the worker, since a radical change and entrusting him with tasks that have nothing to do with his usual position could cause frustration and therefore the opposite effect to what what we are looking for with this mechanism.
4. Work environment
Likewise, it will be essential have a good work environment if we want to succeed in our team motivation program
Let us keep in mind that the worker will spend most of his day in the workplace, interacting with his colleagues. Therefore, it is essential that there be a work environment that is, if not good, at least neutral, because if negative interactions between workers were common every day, motivation would decrease drastically, as is logical.
5. Effective communication
Another necessary factor to be able to develop team motivation is effective communication, at all levels. This means that There must be clear communication channels known to all those involved , so that messages arrive and are responded to fluently, whether between project colleagues, subordinates and managers, and vice versa. If a worker tries to transmit a message and does not have a clear communication path or does not receive a response, he will become frustrated and demotivated.
The usual secrecy, the lack of transparency in communications, will also cause a decrease in team motivation, since workers will feel alien to the company and therefore will not be driven to get involved in achieving its objectives. since they will see it as an entity totally independent of themselves. It is essential that communication flows so that a team feels like one.
6. Recognition of achievements
Recognizing workers for the achievements they have achieved, letting them know their worth and their importance to the company, is a highly motivating factor. If we want a person to be involved in a common challenge, It is necessary to feel like an essential part to achieve the objective If, on the other hand, we ignore them or underestimate their achievements, what we will achieve is that they will stop making efforts, since they will be losing social reinforcement, which is essential in team motivation.
7. Workload
It is evident that the workload assigned to the worker and the team itself must be reasonable. At a given moment, extra effort may be requested (always accompanied by the appropriate motivational factors), but if this becomes a constant the only thing we will get will be a group of totally exhausted people who will in no way have the necessary motivation to carry out the challenges that we have assigned to them.
This point has to do with the communication that we mentioned previously. Sometimes team leaders are well aware of the objectives that must be met and the tasks that must be carried out to achieve them, but they fail to transmit these concepts to the workers in their charge. For correct team motivation It is necessary to communicate with complete clarity what are the objectives that we must achieve, what are the tools that we have and the deadlines that must be met
If, on the other hand, the team lives in constant uncertainty in which priorities fluctuate depending on the day, motivation will be lost. In addition, the appropriate level of importance must be assigned to each task. An example of an ineffective work dynamic would be assigning top priority to absolutely all requested tasks. The problem is that when everything is urgent, nothing is urgent, since the focus of the true priority is lost.
10. The leader
All the points we have seen so far are essential to achieve team motivation, but possibly none of them would work if the team did not have adequate leadership. The leader is the captain, the one who must lead the way and set an example. He should not demand anything from his team members that he himself has not demonstrated before with his own work That attitude is one of the greatest motivators a team can find.
If at the head of the group we have a person who radiates energy, who is fair and hard-working, who assigns tasks with good judgment, gives a certain autonomy to its members, perfectly communicates the messages and is decisive in the incidents that arise, we will have great part of team motivation done.
