By David Crary
According to a recent study, organizations with highly engaged employees achieve twice the annual net income of organizations with low employee engagement. We all know that engaging and motivating our employees is essential to making our green industry businesses the best and most profitable they can be. But how do we get there? How do we motivate our employees and get them engaged in their work? Below I’ve listed 5 tips to get your people motivated, along with practical application to your green industry business:
1. Bonuses
Money motivates. Set up goals that employees will have to work at to achieve but that are also realistic and attainable. Reward progress. Also, you can set up a rewards system based on employee performance- the better their performance, the higher the reward. This can be done individually, in teams or both.
How can you apply this? Landscapers, set up two teams before you go out to do a big trimming job. Then, have them race and/or compete to see which team’s shrubs look better. Reward the winning team, but don’t forget a consolation prize for the losing team. You can also pay varying bonuses based on how productive each employee is. For you snow-removal companies, set a goal for how many complaints, accidents or sod mishaps you will have in a month or season; if your people keep the numbers low enough, they get a party, a bonus or something else you know they’d like.
2. Relationship
Get your people together for meetings or activities that make you feel more like a big happy family. We’ve all stayed at a job that was otherwise a drag just because we liked the people we were working with. Make the culture of your company enjoyable and friendly. See what your employees’ interests are and plan teambuilding events to draw everyone together around their shared interests. This could be soccer, mini golf, bowling, movies, boating or just eating. If your workers like working for you, they will do a better job. Make sure you are listening to your employees well because being heard makes them feel like you care about them.
3. Focus on purpose
Answer the question “why” for your workers long before they ask. Show them the big picture. Let them see how satisfied the customers are and how that is affecting your bottom line and growth. Give them some space to find ways to fix problems and have control over things they can reasonably handle themselves. Allow them to do a project from start to finish so they can see the end result and feel proud of what they’ve accomplished. This will make them feel more invested in the company and will motivate them to perform better.
4. Build employee trust
Make sure you are always honest with your employees and help them feel secure in their job. Don’t threaten their job or fly off the handle at you workers. Be calm and considerate. Always give yourself time to cool off before handling a frustrating situation. Instead of telling workers they’re fired when you’re angry, tell them that they need to go home or on their lunch break while you cool off and get help finding a reasonable response. When your employees know they can trust you, they will do their jobs better.
5. Communicate goals and progress
You need to set goals to have a successful business. To meet those goals, you need to tell your people what you want to see happen. Set individual goals that will support and lead to the overall goals for the company. Encourage your workers when they are taking the right steps. Review their progress and praise their success, both as individuals and teams. When overall goals are met, celebrate together and then communicate the new goal. When your people can see they are improving and appreciated, they will be motivated to do their best.
Motivating your green industry employees will take planning and effort, but the rewards of a fully invested team will totally pay off. Don’t necessarily try to implement all of these ideas at once. Maybe just try one or two to start out and then work the rest into the plan later. If you see improvement in your workers’ motivation, it may encourage you to keep putting in the effort too. Then not only will you be motivating your workers and making your business succeed, but they will be motivating you too.
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