Motivating employees by building and maintaining positive morale is critical to a productive workforce. One of management's responsibilities is to inspire their staff and encourage them to strive for excellence and remain motivated even during difficult times. While this is a challenging task, there are measures management can take to generate enthusiasm in any working environment. Although different desires, values, and goals drive people, there are a number of generally agreed-upon motivators to which most people respond.
Employees deserve a clear understanding of what behaviors and outcomes are expected of them. Management should be responsible for clearly defining all expectations. Starting on the first day of employment, there should be a thorough orientation. The orientation should teach the new employee about the history of the company and where the company is headed in the future. Revealing the future plans will show the employee that the company is striving to reach common goals. Management should demonstrate how each person plays a part in this process. When an employee feels that they are an integral part in reaching these goals they will feel a better sense of value to the company. .
Management should also keep employees updated on changes in the company. My previous employer's management team would rarely notify their employees of important changes happening in the company. Most employees would find out about these changes second hand. Finding out about these changes this way made the employees feel as if they weren't important enough to find out the information first hand. There were times, however, that the management would notify their employees of changes. These notifications would occur in the form of a staff meeting. It helps to keep the employee current on information so they can do their job effectively.
Employees should be personally congratulated for doing good work.