Going on what has come before on this course;
Autonomy – the chance to be self-directed and independent at work
Mastery – the chance to be good at what they do, overcoming challenges and finding creative solutions
Purpose – the chance to feel they are contributing to the greater good-to be driven from within to work toward a larger group goal
The alternate unmotivated, disengaged workers, can damage an otherwise healthy organisation so care should be taken of these individuals. However, in the same breath, efforts should be made via diversity to getting them on side and moving forward.
1. Create a Mission-Driven Organisation
Inspire people/users with purpose. This change has to be from the top down with complete buy-in. The company should also make its common values and mission clear to every user, employee and manager. They should all view their work as pushing the business forward and into areas that go well beyond mere financial goals.
2. Foster Personal Growth and Career Development from within
This is usually pure BAU Management really, but can be a factor in change, so trying to know employees personal goals and interests is very beneficial.
Try giving them greater responsibility in their roles. Find out what motivates them individually. We need, as Change Managers, to provide or create motivation tailored to individual workers needs and their interests. If this is not addressed and identified, changes can and will fail.
3. Award Recognition on a Regular Basis
It is important to recognise the employees individual and team contributions, both publicly and privately. Waiting till the programme or project is finished, or another large event happens, try to make recognition a regular monthly and yearly events. Employee of the month or year is a good idea.
As an ex-Brigadier I had the pleasure of working under once said, 5 minutes praise during the heat of battle, is far better than a medal at the end of the War. I always praise individually where possible, but via communications can also deliver the same praise during a complex change.
4. Listen to Employee Comments, Complaints and Ideas
It is always good to let everyone have their say. Whether in a meeting or casual conversation, via use cases or user stories, and take employees comments seriously. These may bring up things that you hadn’t thought of, yet. After all, these are the ones that currently conduct the role. More importantly, this can create a team member feeling by letting them know that they are part of the process and that their voices and opinions matter. Employees are more motivated when they feel needed, appreciated, and valued. If not they tend to walk.
5. Encourage Employees to be Self-Directed
With the advent of AGILE and software programmes like JIRA, self tasking can assist in this area. It can encourage creativity, brainstorming, and self-directed teams and individuals. JIRA can assist in increasing all employees levels of self-direction and independence which can be highly motivating. Giving workers the choice of what tasks to do and what team to work with, will encourages them to learn and master different skill sets and tasks, which in turn increases their productivity, motivation and expertise.
I think that’s it for now..