Being a business owner or team leader is not an easy job. It requires effective supervision of employees, ensuring that business goals are being met, and among other things, meeting with key stakeholders. These responsibilities can become even more challenging when a crisis like a natural disaster, pandemic, or recession happens.
Continue reading for these 4 essential tips to motivate employees during a crisis situation.
Tip #1 – Work Towards Becoming a Great Leader
What differentiates an average leader from a great leader is how much they care about their team. In a crisis, leaders need to demonstrate that they are concerned regarding the well-being of their team. Some steps leaders can take include
- Calling a company-wide meeting to address any kind of employee concerns
- Have a suggestion box placed in the central location of the workplace.
Knowing your employee’s concerns and suggestions will give you a clear idea of what they need from you. Moreover, when you speak to employees regarding their well-being and address their fears, you become the “people’s leader.” Your employees will start to trust you and follow your lead and become more motivated to improve their performance.
Tip #2 – Encourage Constant Communication
When employees feel disconnected, they tend to get demotivated. In a crisis, employees who work remotely can be left out of meaningful discussions, making them feel demotivated. Therefore, business leaders need to encourage frequent communication, especially with remote-working employees.
Business owners and leaders need to make it a priority to schedule regular meetings with their team members via video call. Constant communication between remote employees improves productivity and boosts engagement, thereby increasing employee motivation.
Tip #3 – Establish Clear Goals and Expectations
In a crisis, many employees fail to deliver high-quality work because they don’t have a set of clearly defined goals and expectations. This is especially true while working with remote teams.
When employees don’t have a set of goals, they rely on guesswork to know what their supervisor needs from them. This leads to non-relevant, improper, or incorrect work and ultimately demotivated team members. To prevent this scenario, managers need to make an effort to set clear goals and expectations. These guidelines need to be communicated to employees via meetings, emails, or video calls.
Tip #4 – Appreciate the Hard Work of Employees
It’s always a great idea to acknowledge an employee’s accomplishments, which becomes even more important during a crisis.
Make sure to compliment and appreciate the dedication and resilience of employees, especially those who have been delivering excellent results. You should be rewarding them in some way for their added efforts and achievements. Lastly, you should also encourage other employees and team members to follow in their footsteps.
Last Few Words
It is no doubt very difficult to motivate employees during a crisis. What you need to remember during these challenging times is that every crisis comes to an end. Following these tips and guidelines, you will encourage your employees to perform better and emerge as a strong organization once the crisis is over.
