How to Inspire Your Employees And Enhance Their Performance

Intro

Stress-inducing bosses promoting and fostering a cut-throat hustle culture are straight up bad for the heart!

We don't say so; the numbers do.

As per a study, the results of over 3000 employees say that a stressful workplace accounts for over 50% of expenditure on health. In contrast, inspired employees are relaxed and perform better.

Sure, punishments and rewards are one way to get things. However, this approach has a very short lifespan. As a leader, you need to inspire employees to perform.

This article focuses on the ways to achieve an inspired workforce. Before that, let's nose-dive into the importance of inspiring employees on their performance.

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The impact of employee inspiration on performance

Managers often don’t realize the importance of employee inspiration and how it ensures organizational future success. They may believe extrinsic factors such as competitive salary packages and incentives are enough to inspire the employees; however, these are only short-term strategies to keep them engaged.

Intrinsic motivators are a more robust indicator of employee performance. A study suggests that inspired employees were 250 percent more productive than their satisfied counterparts. How?

They produce high-quality work

Inspired employees are driven by a genuine passion for work and go beyond their expected job responsibilities. This drive accounts for organizational success. Establishing an employee rewards program can further nurture this passion by recognizing and celebrating the extra effort employees put in, reinforcing their motivation and commitment to the company’s goals.

Employee inspiration leads to customer satisfaction

Inspired employees = satisfied customers.

The equation is as simple.

One can easily get an evaluation of a company from its high-value customers. And to retain such high-value customers, you need employees who are motivated and happy. It’s no rocket science to understand that happy employees serve customers better!

It increases employees’ work-life quality

Unlike the traditional 9-5 mindset, inspired employees’ genuine thrive on producing good work leads to an overall increase in quality of life. As they feel engaged and valued at work, they bring this positivity into their personal lives, making it more holistic.

Now let’s get to the how and look at four ways to keep your employees inspired and improve their performance.

1. Ensure smooth business travel with TravelPerk

So you have an awaited business meeting with a stakeholder in another country, and one of the business attendees (your employee) misses their flight, or the airline mislaid their baggage.

What now?

Travel hiccups are as much a part of a journey as the destination. Worse, you can't predict them. But you surely can minimize them so employees can focus better on their professional responsibilities. TravelPerk, a leader in corporate travel solutions, understands this. It makes the journey seamless for employees, which helps them feel at ease and focused. Let's know how a corporate travel agency directly impacts employee performance.

It makes navigating the overall trip easy for employees

Taking services from corporate travel solutions ensures that employees seamlessly navigate their business trips. From booking tickets and hotel rooms to cab services, they take care of every detail, allowing employees to reach their destinations refreshed and ready to work.

Fosters a sense of care and consideration for employees

When employers prioritize seamless business travel, employees feel cared for. This creates a positive association with the employer and boosts productivity.

Employees return to the workplace more charged up

Even corporate travel can be tedious in the absence of efficient management. An employee facing many obstacles will return from the trip more tired, resulting in less productivity. While they return with an enhanced drive toward work with timely and efficient trip management.

When you ensure smooth business travel, you secretly tell your employees, "We care for your well-being." If you still need to leverage the benefits of such an agency, it's high time you do so!

2. Get creative with conducting performance reviews

Every meeting is an opportunity to increase employee engagement. It's up to you to leverage the resources and ideas to make them more engaging.

When employees think about "what to expect in a performance review," they typically think of their quarterly or annual feedback on their performance and areas of improvement. However, to take the review meetings to a different level, go beyond traditional meetings. A few ways mentioned below should help.

Incorporate a 360-degree feedback system

Gather comprehensive feedback from peers, managers, direct reports, and subordinates to fully understand an employee’s strengths and identify areas for development. A 360 feedback review offers a detailed portrayal of an employee’s performance and behavior at work. This feedback clarifies the skills that need enhancement and highlights the qualities that are often valued by direct reports, peers, managers, and other colleagues.

Conduct strength-based reviews

If you want employees to look forward to reviewing meetings, keep their strengths at the core of the meeting. Discuss ways you can leverage their strengths.

Incorporate gamification

Include interactive elements such as a reward or point system to make the process more fun. You could integrate such aspects in your real-time feedback apps and build a friendly competition to motivate and engage employees.

Create visual dashboards

Dashboards represent performance metrics in an easily digestible format, making the review system more simplified and accessible. Plus, they stimulate specific and meaningful discussions.

3. Offer customized training programs

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Employee inspiration largely depends on employee engagement.

Employee engagement is a tangible metric that will give you insights into how inspired the employee feels. One easy way to keep them engaged is by conducting team-building activities. However, to foster a culture of learning, you need more than just that.

A curious employee will find ways to enhance their skill set. Conducting training programs however, is important to shape a learning culture. Plus, engaged employees are 87% less likely to resign from their companies. Ensure you create programs tailored to the specific employees' needs. Implementing the best access control system can help create a secure environment where employees feel safe to explore new skills and ideas.

Such programs not only push employees willing to upskill beyond their limits but also improve overall performance.

Tailor programs depending on employee needs

A heightened level of dedication translates into an increase in productivity. However, identify the specific needs of each employee. For example, employee X may benefit from soft skills training, while employee Y may benefit from technical training.

Leverage gamification in training methods

Gamification is easily one of the top trends of corporate training. It ensures the training is as interactive as possible and says goodbye to traditional learning methods like lectures and quizzes. Include methods such as role-playing or having employees work in groups to make learning fun!

Engaged employees experience job satisfaction

Lastly, when employees feel an internal spark to work better and harder, they're more likely to experience job satisfaction. This contributes to higher levels of employee retention as they're likely to be associated with the company long-term.

Give incentives to participants

To keep inspiring employees, you can also offer rewards such as unique benefits, including exclusive veggie meals discount code for health-conscious options, fostering a culture of wellness in addition to standard incentives. Incorporating such especial rewards showcases care towards employee well-being and dietary preferences, enhancing their work motivation.

Lastly, ensure training is up-to-date and incorporates the latest tech trends!

4. Develop and gauge employee inspiration metrics

A simple Google search query “I hate my job but can’t quit” gives about 3,74,00,000 results. Crazy, right?

You certainly don't want any of your employees to Google up such a query.

How do you measure how inspired the employee feels?

Fortunately, there are ways to make it tangible.

An employee's behavior is one of the solid indicators of employee inspiration. Below mentioned pointers will help you understand whether the employee feels inspired.

Look for sudden changes in days working from home

There's nothing wrong with employees working from home; however, if you observe a specific pattern, such as the working from home significantly increased in a short span, it calls for a conversation with the employee.

Look out for sudden absenteeism from work

Lack of inspiration often makes the employee not want to work as much as possible. If an employee suddenly has a lot of dental appointments or family obligations, there may be an underlying reason you may need to be made aware of.

Monitor the employees' behavior

Interacting with fellow mates requires a certain level of commitment. If the employee feels uninspired, they won't put energy into interacting with others.

If you spot any of these signs, schedule a meeting with the employee to determine why. However, to not let it happen in the first place, take the following measures:

• Conduct one-on-one meetings with employees to gather qualitative insights on the inspiration levels.
• Benchmark your organization against the company standards regularly.
• Use targeted & timely employee satisfaction survey questions to accurately gauge employee satisfaction insights.

Taking these measures will give you detailed and, most importantly, consistent insights into employee inspiration.

Time to build an inspired workforce

Take these strategies mentioned in the article as examples and not a bible. Inspiring employees, after all, isn't simply a management strategy but a cornerstone of your company's and their personal growth. Recognizing your employees strengths and contributions and fostering a positive work culture allows companies to unlock their employees’ full potential. Moreover, implementing initiatives like discovering the best diamond awards for outstanding performance can serve as tangible rewards that celebrate and incentivize exceptional contributions.

Employee inspiration may not be the sole factor for enhanced performance, but it catalyzes increased job satisfaction, productivity, and innovation. As you implement strategies that boost employee inspiration, you embark on a journey where employees feel motivated, valued, and empowered--all of which transcend into organizational growth.