It’s been said that motivating a large group of employees can be like herding a group of cats. Each one is an individual, and therefore you must look at employee motivation in much the same way.
Motivating the employees you supervise starts with getting to know them as individuals. There are no parlor tricks in motivating employees. You conjure up magical and inspirational speeches that will cause them to be motivate. The problem of motivation goes much deeper, and for each of your employees it is a different formula for what does the trick.
Building a relationship with the employees you supervisors does not mean that you probe them for personal information and get involved in their personal business. However, it does mean you speak with them regularly, engage in real small talk and discuss what they do an their goals.
It means spending time with them individually, getting to know them at work, and discovering their likes and dislikes in the general course of a workplace relationship.
Once you begin to "profile" your employees in this positive way, you will learn what "turns them on" and you will think about how to develop resources or opportunities that motivate them to achieve more on the job.
Through this process, your employees will perceive that you care about them. You won't have to worry about whether they are thinking positive thoughts about you. They will. Your goal is to create an atmosphere where motivation flourishes.
Eventually you will get a strong feel for the ways each of your employees can be motivated, and you can plan opportunities and rewards that fit these unique aspects of their motivational profile and personality makeup.
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