The answer to "Why is employee motivation important?" is because in today's down economy, it's more important than ever to have a motivated workforce.
That's because a motivated employee is a productive employee. And a productive employee is a more profitable employee. See how that works? When people aren't motivated, they become less productive, less creative, less of an asset to your company. Now more than ever, we need motivated employees!
Then, obviously, the answer to "why is employee motivation important?" is simple: So you can stay in business. With that in mind, here are some ways you can get your employees motivated, enthused, and ready to go conquer the world:
First, motivate yourself.
Have you ever worked for a sourpuss? I know I have...on more than one occasion, as a matter of fact. Talk about a de-motivator! It's hard to feel good about your job if your boss is stressed out, disinterested, and/or unmotivated.
Understand what motivates your employees.
Again remember that main answer to why is employee motivation important is so you can stay in business. Therefore, before you can understand why is employee motivation important you must understand what motivates them individually.
Make your employees feel rewarded, recognized, and appreciated.
Because let's face it, it makes a heck of a lot more sense to retain employees than hiring new ones all the time. One of the best ways I know to retain an employee is to make her feel appreciated. Never underestimate the value of simply saying "thank you." And if you've done a good job understanding why is employee motivation important, while determining her motivators (as per the above point), then your battle is half won already. Just be sure to be consistent and fair with your rewards, recognition and praise, or it will have a de-motivating effect on your staff.
Vigorously manage your weak performers.
This is a great illustration of why is employee motivation important. Have you ever heard of the 20-60-20 percent rule? Basically, it states that if most companies took the time to rate the performance of their employees, they'd find their employees divide into three categories: 1) 20 percent strong performers, 2) 60 percent average performers, and 3) 20 percent weak performers. Although average and strong performers make up 80 percent of a business' workforce, it's the 20 percent segment of weak performers that can bring down the performance level of the entire group. Why is employee motivation important? Because apathy and negativity drag everyone down - two qualities weak performers have in abundance. When you allow the weak performers to "get away" with weak performance, the message you send the other 80 percent of your workforce is that excellence isn't expected.
