6 Proven Team Motivation Hacks to End the Year Strong

As we enter the final months of 2022, managers face a unique challenge. While Q4 has the potential to be highly successful and profitable, reaching profitability will require a team that is motivated, engaged, and focused.

But how do you achieve this?

The following team motivation hacks will help establish the atmosphere and expectations to boost motivation and finish the year strong.

Create a Company Culture That Motivates

One of the most important considerations for every manager, especially this time of year, is to set the stage with a positive and encouraging company culture. This culture is your opportunity to introduce your team to the company’s mission and values, helping them to buy into the bigger picture.

While creating that positive company culture may seem easier for small business owners, those growing and scaling up their businesses often feel the challenge. The more team members are involved, the more intentional you must be with your efforts. This intentionality means bringing the entire company together with the same goals and mission.

The secret to building company culture is communication. This communication includes transparency regarding the company’s goals, allowing the team to buy into the bigger picture and sharing tips and tricks. Implementation requires both carefully planned team leadership meetings and one-on-one feedback.

Consider instituting an open-door policy, empowering all team members to feel like part of the greater business plan and decision-making process.

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Free Up Time by Automating Processes

One of the biggest frustrations many team members feel is they work hard all day only to fall short of checking off the items on their to-do list. While managers don’t have the time to take on the work of their team members, you can still take tasks off their plates by automating processes.

Many managers hesitate to put automation in place because they don’t want to give up control over the end product. And that’s understandable! But when you think about the tasks you can offload and do a little at a time, time opens up, and you can focus on other things that move the needle.

Assess which tasks and processes require a human touch and which are more repetitive. If you can automate a task, this will free up your team members to focus on their more challenging projects.

Take Steps to Reduce Stress

Another reason why many team members struggle in the weeks leading up to the holiday season is the amount of stress that they are experiencing. This stress is work-related and personal, with holiday plans around the corner.

You can reduce the stress in the workspace by encouraging your team members to be engaged and provide feedback on areas for improvement. No one knows what improvements are needed better than those hands-on in the workplace daily.

When you solicit honest feedback, it’s easier to understand what works well from your team’s experience. And with that feedback, you can build systems and processes that reduce your stress as a team leader and your team members’ stress.

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Encourage Team Members to Build Relationships

Open communication between the management team and the rest of the company isn’t the only communication you should prioritize at this time of year. In fact, with the holidays in mind, building a personal relationship is more important than ever in boosting motivation and performance.

Find ways to strengthen open communication and relationships between team members, including those working in the office in person and with remote workers and those that have embraced a hybrid work style. The better the communication, the more effectively your team can work together to accomplish important year-end goals.

Relationships between employees shouldn’t be your only priority. So often, team members fall into the trap of focusing on tying up sales efforts at the end of the year, neglecting to prioritize their efforts to connect with new prospects.

But, as the saying goes, “Prospecting never ends.” So always keep customer development front-and-center as a priority for your teams with that primary responsibility - especially during the holidays when people start to check out, and relationships are tougher to cultivate.

Customer development could come from solidifying pre-existing relationships or sending a cold pitch to get their foot in the door and kickstart the conversation.

“Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.”

Christopher Baggott Chief Executive Officerator of Medlinks Cost Containment, Inc. and Medlinks Staffing, LLC.

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Provide Your Team with the Right Tools

You put time and effort into hiring and onboarding the right people for your business. It’s time to ensure they have the tools to perform their job to the best of their abilities. Take note of the tasks taking the most time for your team to complete.

Are there tools that could help improve productivity and boost efficiency? When evaluating these tools, consider not only the cost, but also the learning curve. Even if a tool is cheap compared to its competitors, if the learning curve is too long, it may not be the right fit for your team. The opposite is true: If a tool is expensive but has a short learning curve, that may be a better fit, but is the cost justified?

These are important questions to ask yourself.

When you’ve made your decisions on cost and learning curve, consider implementing tools for project design, social media management, social listening, or email management. Some great options include Canva, Brandwatch, AgoraPulse, and a Gmail client account.

Celebrate All Wins (Even the Smaller Ones)

Don’t overlook the power of recognition and celebration. Make time to celebrate all wins within your team, both large and small. By rewarding your team members, you are showing them how important they are to the company. Studies have shown that people who feel appreciated in their workspace often perform better.

Plus, it’s a great way to build a positive, high-performing culture.

The goal as you work through Q4 is to find ways to show your team appreciation while also encouraging performance improvements. Often, the best way to do this is to put the pieces in place to help your team shine.

This framework includes encouraging company culture, tools to support their efforts, automation to take tasks off their to-do list, and open communication between themselves, other team members, management, and prospects.

When these proven team motivation hacks are all in place, you can position your company to end the year strong.

Author Bio:

This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.