Small firms fail to motivate staff

Half of UK bosses admit they don’t do enough to recognise their staff’s achievements, resulting in an undervalued and de-motivated workforce, new research from Nectar Business has found.

Despite this lack of employee recognition, 81% of business managers believe recognising and rewarding their staff is directly linked to a highly motivated and successful workforce. What’s more, 84% agree that when hard work goes unnoticed staff feel undervalued.

Although 36% of UK bosses regard money as the top motivator, a quarter of those surveyed recognised that the office environment can be just as important to staff. From the office lay out and décor to team spirit amongst staff to rewards for hard work - all can make the work environment more conducive to higher levels of productivity.

The research also shows that only 23% of small and medium sized businesses implement any kind of reward and recognition scheme for employees and 60% agree that motivational practices haven’t changed in the last 25 years.

HR expert Jan Hills, director of HR with Guts, and a partner in Orion Partners comments: “Acknowledging staff achievements is not just a small business issue, even companies with large HR departments can struggle with recognising successes adequately. We tend to notice when things aren’t done or are done badly rather than saying well done when something goes well.”

Hill says even the simplest methods of rewarding good work can often be the most effective. “One piece of advice I always give to my clients is to keep a record of how many pieces of positive feedback they give in a day. It is easy to do: just put a tick in your notebook or diary every time you give a positive piece of feedback.”

The Nectar Business survey also reveals that companies don’t necessarily have to think big to motivate staff. Aside from verbal communication with staff, rewards can be as simple as team days out, flexi-time benefits or ‘employee of the month’ initiatives.

Charlie Humphreys, head of Nectar Business, commented: “team days out rank very highly as a motivational tactic. It’s a great way to bring staff closer together and enabling them to take part in different kinds of activities can really highlight how well they work as a team.”

© Crimson Business Ltd.