What can kill employee motivation and how to tackle it

Recruiting high-performing candidates is a challenge but how do you keep staff motivated once they are settled within a company? Take a look at these 10 toxic elements that reduce employee motivation and kill high-achieving spirit.

1. Mismanaging mistakes

It’s human nature to make mistakes yet a company that can’t tolerate any mistakes and instills fear of failure will kill any entrepreneurial thinking. Giving chances and supporting colleagues through difficult work projects will encourage loyalty and with the right encouragement, employees can turn their mistakes into useful work lessons.

2. Low pay

Although not a deal-breaker for everyone, not paying the market rate can increase job dissatisfaction. Research competitor rates to see if you’re monetarily undervaluing the position and adjust accordingly. If you can’t afford significant pay rises then look to increase employee perks to keep staff happy and appreciated. Be transparent if you can only afford a smaller yearly increase so the gesture is not devalued.

3. Ignoring achievements

Morale is a difficult thing to measure but one way to show appreciation is to celebrate success – whether it be a verbal thank you in front of colleagues or a social event to wrap up a project. Encourage support within teams and across the company to create a strong foundation for team building.

4. Toxic company culture

Sometimes it can only take one or two bad apples to turn a positive company culture into a toxic environment. Intelligent, highly skilled employees are not going to stay in a company that doesn’t tackle this problem head on. Appreciation should come from the top down so that it sets expectation for company culture for the rest of the managers and staff. 360 feedback performance reviews can highlight potential areas for growth for individuals, as well as the company as a whole.

5. Micro-management

Having a supportive manager is work’s greatest gift. Having an unpleasant boss or, worse still, one that aggressively monitors every work move you make can things extremely stressful. Give your employees some free rein to prove their abilities without fear of reprisal. High-performing employees will want to prove their worth so give them the chance to own their mistakes as well as their achievements.

6. Laissez-faire managers

Lazy and uninvolved managers can lose the organisation important opportunities through their lack people skills. Their poor crisis-handling can put off even the most enthusiastic employee who will become demotivated and unappreciated. Good managers have to walk a tightrope between micromanagement and mis-management – engaging with their teams without becoming overbearing. It’s tricky but training management in soft skills can benefit the whole of the company as it is money invested in long-term performance growth.

7. Lack of personal interest

Everyone wants to feel appreciated and part of a bigger picture so what happens when a high-achiever is recruited but there’s minimum onboarding, few team introductions and a general lack of enthusiasm? If the newly recruited employee doesn’t bond with their colleagues then it’s unlikely they will stay for any length of time. Create a robust onboarding process that is followed for all new recruits and make sure that there are regular team socials to create personal connections.

8. Lack of opportunities

Intelligent and ambitious workers want to prove their mettle and see that they can climb up the ranks. Create opportunities and let your high-flyers display their worth and show there is corporate ladder to climb from within. Create a mentor scheme so younger employees can learn from experienced brains and when the time is right they can teach the new recruits. All your employees are company assets so encourage them to interact and learn from each other.

9. Bad communication

Endless meetings, excessive zoom calls and unnecessary group emails can make employees feel they are treading water against a tide of non-information. What employees want is clear communication on subjects that are relevant to them and their role. Reduce the number of messages and the number of words used in those messages so every communication is clear, relevant and succinct.

10. Lack of flexibility

One of employees’ biggest grievances is poor work-life balance. The now in the past pandemic has finally created the acceptance of a flexible and digital workforce. The lack of commuting has increased people’s free time by hours and yet some companies still insist that you can’t function long-term unless staff are sitting at a certain desk for a set amount of hours. Create a dynamic workplace so that there is a mixture of office and home-working (where possible) so employees can spend less time commuting. As Erin L. Davies once said, ‘A happy employee is a productive employee.’