How Motivating Your Team Leads to Business Success

No person is self-sufficient; everyone relies on others. The same can surely be said for your company. Whether you're a startup finding your footing in the industry or a multinational brand established decades ago, you paved the road to success with a few – or teams of – helping hands.

However, motivating your team to work together towards the same goal is not always easy. There will be challenges when running a business, which means subjecting employees to all the stress and uncertainty that can impact their drive and morale.

According to Mercer's 2022 Global Talent Trends Study, The Rise of the Relatable Organisation, one in five Singaporeans feel de-energised at work, with another one in two intending to leave their jobs within a year. Some reasons include not feeling sufficiently rewarded for their efforts, being overloaded, and feeling uncertain about changes not communicated clearly.

These days, what Singaporean workers want is simple. According to What Jobseekers Wish Employees Knew (Future of Recruitment), a report by JobStreet, the Network, and the Boston Consulting Group, 69% prefer stability with the assurance of work-life balance. Employees in Singapore also want the option to work remotely or on a hybrid setup.

Keeping up with the evolving employee expectations of work should include knowing and retaining what motivates them. For instance, the same JobStreet study found that Singaporeans are motivated by the opportunity to progress to a leadership position.

Why is team motivation important? Your organisation stands to gain a lot when every worker is inspired to give their best every time. But to prioritise the activities that will motivate your team, you should first learn what works for them.

Know them – and yourself – well enough Even in the workplace, every person is different, including their motivations. For example, monetary rewards sway some employees to take on new tasks or projects; for others, inspiring words encourage them to pick themselves up and do better next time.

However, you should know how to motivate yourself, too. Helping your team is your focus as a leader, but you may struggle, or your words may fall on deaf ears if you don't know your own. It's better to lead by example and show the behaviour and attitude you want them to exhibit.

So, take the time to know your team – and yourself – to determine what kind of motivation is effective for everyone.

Share your organisation's values and goals

Team values are beliefs that define how members operate and help them understand company goals. They guide employees in realising what's vital to the business, impacting actions and attitudes, and ensuring discipline.

According to Mike William Krzyzewski, or Coach K., who has won the most games in men's college basketball in the US, when leaders use values to unite and motivate their teams, it promotes better engagement, decision-making, productivity, and job satisfaction.

As for your company goals, communicate these to your team and get their buy-in. Be clear about what they must achieve, so they can focus on what they must do and what is expected of them.

Foster a supportive work environment

When the team encounters roadblocks, it can be easier to feel demotivated. Make them realise that challenges will always abound, but you must also be proactive in anticipating those to find a solution and provide the necessary tools or training.

It would also help to foster a supportive team from the onset. When you work in an environment that promotes communication and collaboration, members encourage each other to strive to be better. At the same time, they help each other in times of trouble.

Keep in mind that motivating your employees ultimately benefits your organisation in the long run, helping you expand your bottom line and find success. Different studies have proven that motivated employees are more productive than unmotivated ones and that the high engagement levels they experience give them high job satisfaction in return.

As an employer, you may see low turnover and improved retention rates because of a perceived high level of organisational support among workers.

Offer incentives. Perhaps the simplest and most popular way to motivate your team is to give rewards when they achieve something significant or a milestone. Aside from material or monetary incentives, you can promote people who deserve it. Align your incentives with your goals and give them out fairly.

Recognise and appreciate their contributions. Aside from tangible appreciation through incentives, timely recognition of small and big wins can inspire some of your members, too. Even a tiny gesture can make them feel appreciated and valued. Do not underestimate the power of acknowledgement in encouraging them to keep working hard.

According to the What Jobseekers Wish Employees Knew report, Singaporeans are motivated by prospective leadership roles – it’s the reason they work so hard. They want to be recognised for their efforts and quality of work and for them, there is no bigger reward than a well-deserved promotion. 

Support their wellbeing. The Mercer Global Talent Trends Study shows that 85 per cent of Singaporeans were at risk of burnout last year. When workers are burnt out, they won't have the energy to perform. Thus, continue fostering a positive culture in your business, such as having a supportive environment or employee assistance programmes that can help them improve their physical and mental wellbeing.

Promote work-life balance. This coincides with supporting employee wellbeing because being burnt out or overworked means not having enough time to focus on their personal lives. Ensure that your team isn't struggling to juggle work and personal endeavours so they can continue giving their all on both.

As of 2023, eight out of 10 companies in Singapore have provided some form of remote working support to their employees to help with work-life balance, but other than that, you can also offer flexible schedules, hybrid working setups, or more paid time off. 

Nurture creativity and innovation. JobStreet’s Future of Recruitment paper shows that Singaporeans are much more open to accepting professional challenges compared to other Southeast Asian countries. When employees aren't driven enough, they may not have the energy to use their creative and innovative thinking skills to find solutions to the team's challenges. Allow them to voice their ideas and encourage open dialogue. When you and your team try to act on those ideas, you help them become innovators and think out of the box. They can be more motivated and invested in working on something they started.

Assist in their development. Your team members likely have their own career goals that they want to achieve, but often, they need to upskill to do that. Provide them with the career development they need to increase their motivation. Adopt training/self-learning programmes to enhance your workers in different areas. According to JobStreet’s Compensation & Benefits report, 49 per cent of Singaporean companies already have training plans in place, while 12 per cent intend to do so this year. 

Provide regular feedback. It's essential to give positive and constructive feedback, the former to let them know what they should continue doing and the latter to show them where growth and development are needed. As your employees are different, the words of encouragement that motivate them also are, so let them know what they're doing well and what to improve on.

Organise team-building activities. Team members must know how to work well together to deliver desired results, but it's not something that happens overnight. Thus, you must strengthen the team while improving the company culture and maintaining motivation. One of the simplest and most fun ways is through team-building activities. Employees who feel connected with their colleagues and valued within their teams will be more driven to work to achieve their shared goals. 

Make sure salaries are fair. Some employees may be more motivated to work if they know they are compensated fairly for their contributions. So, review your company's salary ranges regularly and offer increases if needed. Some companies in Singapore have given a five to 10 per cent increase in salaries across all levels in the last 12 months, but you can offer more or less, as long as you align the increase with your workers' living expenses and changing responsibilities.

Allow flexibility. These days, employers need to be more agile with the needs of their workers. For example, a third of Singaporean employers plan to implement a hybrid arrangement this year. It allows them to have more opportunities to achieve their much-desired work-life balance. Trust that your team would deliver – and deliver well – even when you don’t physically motivate them.

Keeping your workers motivated is part of fostering organisational success. However, it's best to think of motivation as something that will make employees feel good about work for it to be more effective. There is no stronger motivation than seeing that their work matters to someone or something other than company revenue.

Visit our Employers Insights page to learn how to adapt to the ever-changing employee expectations that will help your business reach greater heights. If you want to get inside the head of jobseekers, download our report What Jobseekers Wish Employers Knew: Unlocking the Future of Recruitment. Are you a hirer looking for suitable recruits? Register to JobStreet now.