Your employees are the heartbeat of your company. Employees who are motivated churn out the best work and help keep your processes flowing. So just how do you keep employees engaged?

Here are a few tips to ward off complacency in the workplace from the best of staffing agencies in Houston.

Offer recognition for great work.

Praise works on children, but it works on adults, too. Our brains are wired with a reward system. Taking time to recognize an employee’s hard work is one of the most important things you can do to boost employee motivation. Although a bonus at the end of the year would never be turned down, it’s not necessarily the best way to say “I see what you do and I appreciate your hard work.” In word and deed, show your employees that you value their place on your team.

Set goals to achieve.

We are all motivated to do more when we see progress. Help your employees see progress by setting smaller, measurable goals. This can be particularly helpful on long projects. Visibly seeing progress helps employees know that what they are spending their time on is making a difference. Celebrate each milestone achievement on the way toward your end goal.

Stay positive.

If you want your employees to be motivated and engaged, you must stay positive. Whether you’re facing particular challenges that are making the task at hand difficult to accomplish, or if you need to approach an employee with some negative feedback, find a way to communicate things in a positive light. Although criticism is necessary at times, direct the majority of your focus on the things your employees are doing right. Happiness and positivity in the workplace play a big role in success, motivation and engagement.

Take breaks.

Are you sensing the burnout? Give your employees a break. Whether it’s taking a five-minute break every few hours when you’re trying to hammer out a pressing project, or letting employees go home early one day (and still paying them for a full day’s work), find ways to give your valuable team members time to refresh and recalibrate their minds.

Encourage health.

Staying healthy is key to each of our success in the workplace, whether you’re the employer or the employee. Are you giving employees the time they need to take care of their physical and mental health? Is exercise and fitness encouraged? Do employees feel they can take time off to go to a doctor’s appointment? Are the healthcare benefits you offer employees relieving some of their financial burden? Don’t be stingy with vacation time and PTO. You can’t afford for employees not to take time off work. Employees who are given (or take) little time off tend to be less productive.

Share your vision.

Help employees see the end goal. Motivation to do one’s work comes more readily when we can see how that work fits into the big picture. Ensure each of your team members understands how his or her efforts impact the overall organizational goals, and you are sure to see an increase in motivation and engagement, especially if your vision is something employees can get behind and believe in.

Build trust.

Transparency and open lines of communication are critical. Transparency fosters an atmosphere of trust that breeds motivation. It can also help keep everyone moving in the same direction as the more transparent you are with employees, the more you can avoid miscommunication or missed information.

Help employees find purpose.

Knowing that the work you’re doing is making a difference in some way — whether it’s making an impact on a client, the company or even the world — is a key factor in motivation. Help your employees see the greater good in the work they are doing and encourage participation in community involvement projects.

Give them freedom.

If micromanaging is your weakness as an employer, it’s time to loosen the reigns. Micromanaging only creates a stiff, monotonous environment, rather than one that encourages innovation and creativity. Allowing your employees to choose when and how they do their work can improve productivity and efficiency. Give employees as much freedom and control over their own work as possible.

Encourage teamwork.

Working in isolation can quickly deflate motivation. Encourage employees to work together as a team to accomplish one larger goal. Seeing others hard at work is motivation to increase one’s own efforts and collaboration increases problem solving and creativity.

Work is work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable at times. There’s no question that employees who look forward to going to work each day produce the highest quality work and are often also the most loyal. Find ways to incorporate these tips into the day-to-day in your workplace and you’re sure to see a boost in employee motivation and engagement.

If you are in the market for employees that will contribute to the goals of your company, contact Staff Force, the best of staffing agencies in Houston, today.