As the COVID-19 situation is progressing and the Government guidance continues to change, individuals may be feeling anxious, tired and fed up. Mental Health support during times like these are paramount, which is why Care first have worked tirelessly to ensure our services remain available 24/7 throughout the pandemic to provide emotional and practical support and ensure we have every aspect of your overall wellbeing covered.
Whether you are a key worker who has worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or you have been working remotely, it is vital that colleagues keep motivation and staff morale as high as possible. This article and accompanying webinar looks at some tips that may help managers with keeping staff motivated.
Tips for keeping staff motivated
- Be Available – As a manager or team leader it is important to be available to talk to your staff members. No matter how busy you may be, try to schedule in some time where you have availability to speak to your team members. It can be very demotivating and frustrating if a staff member can never speak to a manager for advice or approval.
- Recognise good work and effort – Complimenting good work or effort costs nothing and can make a big impact on your team members. Employees want to know they are doing their job well and they are appreciated. Sometimes just taking a few moments to thank someone for all their hard work can really help with their motivation.
- Communication – Regular communication with employees is very important to keep them updated and to check in with them. When communicating with employees it is also key to keep them in the picture with the overall vision of the organisation and any wider news. Also remember to ask their views and feelings, although you may not be able to make changes to the organisations overall strategy based onone employees views, it can help as you have asked and considered their thoughts. It may be that you hear similar views from multiple employees which you can then feedback to the organisation. As a manager you are the link between your team and your organisation.
- Trust and Flexibility – It is important to have trust within your team. Every individual is having to make changes following the guidance from the government and this guidance may still change again. Give your team the trust and flexibility to make the correct informed decisions from your guidance. Flexibility with working hours and days may be important in keeping everyone motivated and productivity high.
- Be kind – When we practice kindness either to other people, or towards ourselves we can experience positive mental and physical changes through lowering stress levels and increasing the body’s production of feel-good hormones such as dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. Whether it’s a smile, or a thank you, acts of kindness and generosity can improve your mental wellbeing and help your team’s motivation levels. Be kind and encourage your team to do the same.
How can Care first help?
If you feel you may need some emotional or practical support, you can contact Care first on the Freephone number. Care first is a leading provider of confidential, professional counselling, information and advice services. Whilst our BACP accredited Counsellors are available 24/7 to provide support with emotional issues, our expertly trained Information Specialists are available 8am-8pm Monday-Friday to provide advice on any practical issues that may be causing you a stress or worry and help you feel more in control of a situation.
All employees are eligible to use Care first, our services include; telephone counselling, information services and online support. Call Care first on the Freephone number provided by your organisation and you can speak to a professional in confidence.
If you would like to view the Webinar on ‘Tips for managers to keep staff motivated?” This is being delivered live on Wednesday 30th June at 12pm, please use the below link to register for this session –
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6485186078142268944
If you are unable to join the webinar live, a recording of the session can be accessed using the same link above after the webinar has taken place.