4 benefits of motivated employees

Employee motivation is defined as:

‘the enthusiasm, energy level, commitment and the amount of creativity that an employee brings to the organisation on a daily basis’.

Having motivated employees in your organisation is invaluable. Motivated employees correlate with an organisation’s success; motivation is intangible, difficult to measure and extremely difficult to control as it is affected by multiple factors, but very easy to facilitate if done correctly. It’s all about intention, intensity and perseverance, particularly in a climate where the majority of the workforce are working remotely.

Motivation can be contagious. If one employee is actively seen to be happy and engaged at work, morale will lift and motivation spreads within the team.

Read on to fully understand the importance of motivation. 

Four benefits of motivated employees in the workplace:

1. Increased innovation:

an important factor for a company's ability to innovate is the motivation of its employees. Innovation is key for sustaining a company long term, therefore nurturing creativity and motivation in your workplace is key. Motivated employees will be heavily invested in the success of the company; hence, they will often be responsible for generating new ideas and optimising business performance.

2. Increased employee engagement:

Employee motivation and engagement are intrinsically linked. In previous blogs we have discussed at lengths the various benefits of high employee engagement levels, and quite aside from the positive business impacts, shouldn’t an organisation in this day and age be striving to create a space in which employees feel happy and engaged? An engaged employee is invaluable for an organisation, with research showing that highly engaged teams result in 21% increased business profitability.

To find out more on methods to engage your employees, read our blog: Congrats, you're engaged! 8 methods to engage employees 

3. Increased productivity:

Employee motivation levels have a direct impact on productivity. If an employee feels motivated at work, they are more likely to work harder for the company. Employees who are motivated carry out their responsibilities to the highest standard; production numbers increase as a result of this, in fact, Hay Group’s research on employee motivation proved that offices with motivated employees are 43% more productive.

4. Higher retention rate:

In order to retain an employee, there are certain criteria that must be met; such as employees finding their role interesting and challenging, having the opportunity for development, having a good manager and being motivated. Motivation acts as a catalyst for success, according to Allison Schnidman “Job switchers are most typically people who saw their job as a dead end, so they left it for one that offered a chance to grow”. It is important for employees to feel motivated to work hard and hit targets or achieve promotions; without a reason to be motivated, employees are more likely to stagnate and contribute less to the overall success of the business.

In recent years, it's been challenging to think of new ways to motivate employees. With many employees working remotely you lose the face-to-face interaction that can sometimes be enough to motivate your workforce. It is important, now more than ever, to focus on employee motivation, it should not fall by the wayside because people aren’t physically in an office. Although it can be difficult to motivate over Teams or Zoom, companies need to think outside the box. For example if an employee has worked particularly hard on a project, send a bouquet of flowers to their doorstep; they will feel recognised and that their hard work hasn’t been in vain, consequently leading to an increase in motivation.

Employee motivation isn’t black and white, trial and error are key, but the most important thing to remember is to keep trying. Find out some top tips here for How to motivate employees. And read up on some of the most important factors affecting employee motivation to ensure all your efforts are not going to waste!