From time-to-time, your fleet staff might need extra motivation to get out of the rut of the day-to-day. Employees can become bored with their position or the work, and this can cause them to become complacent and less productive.
To combat this, fleet operations need to find ways to motivate their employees. Motivated employees tend to be more optimistic at work, and more productive as they strive to take on new responsibilities and roles.
Use these tips for how to motivate your fleet staff.
Employees can be more motivated to be productive and to work for an operation long-term if there is a positive work culture. This creates an environment an individual wants to work in, as he or she is surrounded by co-workers who have similar philosophies regarding work.
On the other hand, a negative work culture can cause employees to want to leave the operation. A Randstad survey found that 58 percent of professionals would leave their job due to negative office politics.
When employees accomplish something that’s important to the fleet operation or go above-and-beyond their normal job duties, it’s important to acknowledge them for these feats. This encourages employees to keep performing at that level, and it shows that you noticed their efforts.
Employees are the ones who perform the day-to-day job tasks, and therefore can have the most knowledge of what processes work and which ones need to be improved. It’s important to listen and consider their ideas. This shows that you respect their opinion and value their input.
It’s important to be honest with your employees and be as transparent as possible with them. While some information will need to be kept confidential, telling details to employees that can be shared can help them feel more connected to the fleet operation and can encourage them to work harder.
One sure way to motivate employees is through incentives. These can be awarded to individual employees for their performances, or given to the entire operation if staff-wide goals are met. Some examples can include performance bonuses, additional vacation days, or non-cash incentives like a reserved parking spot, company-provided lunches, dress code leniency and other perks that can be important to your staff.
Another way to motivate employees is to promote friendly competition amongst the staff. If employees want to beat out a teammate for a promotion or an incentive, they can be more motivated to get the job done better and faster.
To keep employees working towards something, it’s important to set goals for them. This can help the operation get more out of the employee as he or she strives to meet certain goals for the year. It can also encourage the employee to learn new skills. According to a Randstad survey, 69 percent of professionals would be more satisfied if their employers used their skills and abilities better.
Helping employees define their career path is another way to help them stay motivated and hungry. Having a position or a career to work towards can help staff members stay engaged, be willing to learn new skills, take on more work, and dedicate themselves to the operation if they can see potential to grow their careers there. Without having a career path, there is a chance employees will leave. According to Randstad, 58 percent of workers don’t think their current companies have enough potential for career growth for them to stay there long-term. Helping employees see how they can progress at your operation can help keep employees longer.