Boosting Business Success: The Benefits of Highly Motivated Employees

Benefits of highly motivated employees

Every business owner should strive to have a highly motivated workforce. A company that focuses on motivating its employees and enhancing the employee experience will see several benefits from doing so.  

Increased employee engagement

High levels of employee motivation can be linked to high levels of engagement, and a highly engaged workforce can do wonders for your bottom line. If an employee feels motivated to complete a specific task, they’re also likely to feel more engaged while completing said task.

There are three levels of employee engagement: 

1. Engaged: The employee works with passion.
2. Not engaged: The employee feels “checked out.”
3. Actively disengaged: The employee is unhappy and acting out.

Unfortunately, employee engagement has been declining in recent years. A Gallup report found that only 33 percent of workers are engaged, and not engaged or actively disengaged employees account for approximately $1.9 trillion in lost productivity.

It can be helpful to understand each employee’s level of engagement to identify their motivation — and eventually improve both. For example, if an employee is not engaged with their work because they feel they aren’t being recognized or valued, you might motivate them extrinsically through an employee recognition program. That, in turn, could make them become reengaged with the company.

“Recognition triggers dopamine, the brain’s feel-good chemical,” Edel Holliday-Quinn, chief leadership psychologist at the Centre for Leadership Psychology, told us. “Whether it’s a shoutout in a meeting or a bonus, simple acts of acknowledgment have an outsized impact on engagement.”

>> Read next: Your Employees Feel Underappreciated – Here’s What You Can Do to Fix It

Higher productivity and performance

Highly motivated employees are often more productive and better performers than their unmotivated colleagues. They tend to work harder and focus on completing their tasks to the best of their abilities, which results in better output for their organizations. 

“Neuroscience tells us that motivation activates the brain’s reward centers, boosting energy and perseverance,” said Holliday-Quinn. “In short, when people care, they perform.”

When you understand the reason behind an employee’s actions, you can use that insight to motivate them and, ultimately, improve business productivity, performance and efficiency.

>>Read next: The Small Business Productivity Guide: 10 Tips to Boost Your Output

Great company culture

Although company culture can help you retain employees long-term, a recent Gallup poll found that only two in 10 employees feel connected to their company’s culture. Employee motivation is great for driving collaboration and company culture. 

“Highly motivated employees are more likely to volunteer to help out when someone needs help, they are highly collaborative and cheer their fellow coworkers on,” said Jennifer Recla, a leadership coach and trainer at Recla Coaching & Consulting.

When employees feel motivated and connected to their jobs and the company, their positivity and hard work can also rub off on their co-workers. This is a great way to build a positive company culture full of employees who feel motivated to perform well and work together to reach company goals.

>>Read next: Creating a Strong Company Culture: How to Do It Right

Greater levels of creativity and innovation

Motivated employees handle uncertainty more easily, are better problem-solvers and have higher levels of innovation and creativity. When an employee is motivated to achieve a certain goal, they won’t let an obstacle stop them. Instead, they willingly think outside the box to create a new solution. 

“When people feel invested in their work, they think creatively,” said Holliday-Quinn. “Motivation sparks the kind of risk-taking and idea-sharing that drive progress — a trait every competitive business needs.”

A flexible workforce that rolls with the punches is key to a successful company, especially for fast-paced small businesses and startups, since employees tend to wear many hats. A team that’s motivated is going to be more likely to innovate.

>> Read next: 9 Steps to Harnessing the Power of Your People to Innovate

Improved manager-employee relationships

As many as seven in 10 workers would leave a job if they had a bad manager, according to LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey. So, if you want to retain your employees long term, you need to foster positive manager-employee relationships throughout your organization. Managers can build positive relationships by learning what motivates their team members and offering them work opportunities based on those motivators. This not only encourages employees to work harder, but it also demonstrates that their managers truly care about their needs, which can lead to better relationships and retention.

“When employees are motivated, they foster a more cooperative and encouraging environment at work,” said Damien Filiatrault, founder and CEO of software staffing agency Scalable Path. “They tend to develop better bonds with colleagues, support team objectives more actively and have positive relationships with their superiors.”

>> Read next: How to Improve Relations Between Your Managers and Employees

Better customer service

When an employee is motivated to perform well in a customer-facing role, it often translates to better customer service. This can create higher levels of customer satisfaction and ultimately increase sales down the line. In an era where customer satisfaction and online reviews are paramount, it’s crucial to maintain a positive customer experience. Highly motivated employees can help you achieve that.

“Employees who are well-motivated are even willing to do extra work to please clients,” said Filiatrault. “They are always willing to contribute positively and strive for distinction, which in turn leads to better engagements, better analysis of customers’ issues and quick turnaround.”

>> Read next: 11 Essential Components of Excellent Customer Service

Positive company reputation

A workforce full of happy and motivated employees can improve your overall company reputation. Motivated employees are more likely to speak highly of your organization, which is great for attracting new talent. When employee motivation improves customer service, it can also improve your reputation in the eyes of your consumers.

“Satisfied clients are more loyal and likely to recommend the business to others, thus directly boosting reputation and revenue,” said Filiatrault.

>> Read next: Your Reputation Is Your Reality: How to Strengthen Your Company’s Public Image

Lower employee absenteeism and turnover

Motivated employees tend to show up to work on time and accomplish their tasks when they’re supposed to. Additionally, motivated employees usually stick with the organization longer, improving overall employee retention. 

“Employees who feel valued and driven are less likely to job-hop, saving companies the steep costs of turnover and creating a more stable, experienced workforce,” said Holliday-Quinn.

According to the United States Department of Labor, the cost of replacing an employee can be 30 percent of that employee’s first-year earnings, so it’s financially important to maintain low employee turnover.

>> Read next: 15 Reasons Employees Quit (and How to Prevent It)

Employee motivation defined

Motivation is the force that drives people to start, continue or stop certain behaviors to achieve a goal. Employee motivation is when your workforce is driven to perform tasks that help your organization reach its goals. Employees can be driven by intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: 

• Intrinsic motivation: Intrinsic motivation is the internal drive to perform a task because it is inherently rewarding or satisfying. This type of motivation is driven by personal interests, satisfaction or a sense of accomplishment derived from the activity itself. For example, an employee may work hard simply because they love their work and the feeling of accomplishing a goal.
• Extrinsic motivation: Extrinsic motivation is the drive to perform a task due to external factors, such as rewards, recognition or the avoidance of negative consequences. For example, an employee may be encouraged to work hard to meet a project deadline because they are promised bonus compensation. 

The science behind what drives motivation and engagement

The UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School broke down a white paper by Kimberly Schaufenbuel, then an executive development program director at the school, to explain how the science of motivation as it relates to the brain can be used to improve employee motivation.

Schaufenbuel highlighted the work of Harvard University professors Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysberg and Linda-Eling Lee, who studied the neuroscience behind motivation and how the brain can be “retrained to increase a person’s motivation for rewards.” That can lead to improvements in employee engagement, productivity and retention.

The research identified four behavioral drivers that influence human behavior: 

1. The drive to acquire
2. The drive to defend
3. The drive to bond 
4. The drive to learn

“When HR and talent managers understand what drives a person’s behavior in this context, they can design systems, policies, procedures and practices that will appeal to each driver,” Schaufenbuel said. 

Another expert Schaufenbuel referenced was David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, whose SCARF Model also examines motivational theory and neuroscience. SCARF (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, fairness) is a “framework for understanding how the brain responds to perceived threats and rewards,” she said.

According to Rock, “A job should not be viewed as a business transaction — do the work and get paid — but rather as a part of a social system in which the brain is rewarded (or punished) based on how well the business environment is meeting an employee’s need for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness.”

With all of this in mind, a company can aim to meet each need, or driver, to keep its employees motivated and engaged.

How to improve employee motivation

There are many strategies that experts recommend to improve employee engagement and motivation. If you’re looking to boost motivation at your organization, these strategies can get you started:

• Ask for (and act upon) employee feedback: One of the best ways to improve employee motivation is to simply ask for employee feedback on how you can make work more meaningful to them. Listen to your staff and use their feedback to modify their responsibilities and strategies to capitalize on what motivates them.
• Build positive manager-employee relationships: Not surprisingly, a major influencer on engagement and motivation is an employee’s manager. Consistent communication and feeling that managers are invested in them are linked to higher engagement. Have managers hold regular one-on-one meetings to form positive relationships with their subordinates and learn what motivates them.
• Set clear employee expectations: A lack of clarity can lead to greater frustration for employees, resulting in lower motivation over time. Instead, set and discuss clear employee expectations to eliminate those frustrations and improve motivation.
• Focus on strengths over weaknesses: Focus on each employee’s strengths instead of weaknesses to find a good job and organizational fit for them. This mindset helps employees grow and develop within their roles, and it encourages them to produce more and significantly better work.
• Recognize your employees: Recognition can be a great motivator for employees. Consider creating a formal employee recognition program, as well as establishing a culture that informally celebrates employee “wins” as they happen in real time.

By understanding the benefits of highly motivated employees and implementing specific strategies to make sure they stay that way, you’ll improve the culture of your business — as well as your bottom line.

Alison Napolitano contributed to this article.