Guest blogger Dean Burgess
If you’re a manager or company leader, you want to get the best out of your employees. Their work is what keeps your company running, day in and day out. Unmotivated employees can hurt your business. People can lose motivation at work for various reasons, from lack of caring to insufficient skills. Another major reason employees may lack motivation is if they’re underused, causing them to feel literally useless. Find out what you can do as a manager or company leader to deal with underused employees by checking out these tips and resources, courtesy of Summit Success.
Hold one-on-one meetings to create plans for progress
The first step in determining why employees aren’t realizing their full potential is to hold a one-on-one meeting to discuss their goals, what skills they’d like to learn, and whether there are different tasks they want to take on. Managers can help employees set purposeful goals by considering how individuals’ goals might align with company goals. For example, say you want to start a company newsletter. If you have an employee who wants to get into graphic design, they might design the newsletter. Once goals are set, outline how to achieve them
Give individual workers more responsibility
Once you know what direction employees want to take their careers in, it will be easier to assign them new responsibilities that align with their interests – and your company’s needs. Inside 6Q provides tips for providing employees with more responsibility, for example, by providing a clear vision, outlining what success looks like, and encouraging instead of criticizing as they learn the new task. Make sure to reward workers accordingly so that they know the additional work is worth it.
Provide employees with extra training
Sometimes, employees may be scared to take on more responsibility due to a lack of knowledge. Additional training can help. For example, a business degree can teach accounting, leadership, communications, and more. Online programs let individuals work full-time while they keep up with school. You can also provide additional training through work.
Use infographics to make new information easy to understand. After all, not everyone learns the same way, so appealing to your employees using multiple different types of approaches is a great way to make sure you’re covering all your bases. As an added benefit, an infographic builds your brand by combining brevity with eye-catching graphics, and there are plenty of free tools and templates available to help you get started.
Hold regular get-togethers to maintain communication
As you assign employees more responsibility, check in regularly. Continue to hold one-on-one meetings to make sure they aren’t feeling overwhelmed. More casual team get-togethers can also be an opportunity to assess workers’ satisfaction. For example, company lunches are a great way to get the conversation flowing freely.
Create an innovation-friendly workplace
When someone starts a new task they’ve never done before, odds are they won’t be perfect at it. In general, people are more likely to take on new responsibilities if they feel like they aren’t going to be punished for getting things wrong. Fostering a culture of innovation can help make workers feel more comfortable trying new things. Innovation Asset offers tips for creating an open-minded workplace, like giving employees purpose, avoiding micromanagement, and embracing failure.
Underused employees don’t serve your company’s purpose – besides, they’re likely to lose motivation. This hurts your business and your employees. The above guide has some ideas on how to tap into the full potential of underused workers, from providing additional training to improving communication. Try these hacks for a more fulfilling and productive workplace.
Summit Success provides Executives, Business Leaders & Professionals with the tools they need to live rich, full and balanced lives. For general inquiries and information, please contact us at [email protected].