5 methods to motivate your staff for success this year

2017 is upon us. Rather than spreading January blues, there are plenty of ways managers can motivate the team to create positive vibes all round. We've come up with a few of the best. Read on to get the new year off to the best possible start for your business.

1. Meetings to motivate

Weeks pass by quickly. We often forget to catch up and see what's going well and what's not working. Holding a weekly meeting needn't be a heavy affair. Schedule it for a Friday afternoon when everyone's in wind down mode. Treat them to coffees and cakes. Whatever will create a casual, friendly mood.

Use this meeting to praise and thank staff for good work (it's easy to forget). Invite colleagues to share experiences of good working practice, successfully completed projects or new client wins. Ask if they'd care to share any stumbling blocks they're encountering in daily working life. Together, you may be able to rectify or resolve them.

Of course, some may prefer to confide in privacy. Indeed, creating an open door policy will encourage this. Yet you may well find the weekly lowdown will iron out many creases and motivate the team to spread the positivity.

2. Bring the fun

All work and no play makes for a gloomy workplace.

With this in mind, make sure there's always something to look forward to. It may be incentivised sales targets. Perhaps you could start a casual Friday. Once a month, you could set up a lunchtime curry club. You know your workforce the best, so find the best way to motivate through fun.

3. Share good and bad news

Communications coach Carmine Gallo says sharing good and bad news is key to creating an honest, transparent workplace. Ask your team for regular feedback, listen to concerns and use their insight to constantly improve.

If you eliminate the element of surprise from big company news, your staff will feel more involved at every stage. Plus, allowing the entire team to understand the bigger picture in terms of company growth and goals will undoubtedly ensure a higher buy-in rate.

4. Mark milestones

Celebrating birthdays is great. However, there's so much more going on in your employees' lives.

Weddings, babies, engagements, graduations, work anniversaries, sporting achievements. It doesn't have to be a huge party each time, but it's important to make your staff feel valued and recognised on both a professional and personal level.

5. Inspire growth

Everyone has their own personal goals and dreams. If you nurture those of your staff, it could be beneficial to you and your business, too.

Kick off 2017 by letting employees know you're supportive of any training, development or further education they want to pursue. Expanding their skillset and experience could benefit everyone.

Your support may come in the form of a financial contribution towards fees, or allowing flexible working to make time for training or studies. Either way, even if it doesn't impact on your business directly, happier staff who feel supported remain loyal and productive.

And on that note... here's to a successful 2017 all round!