7 Tips to Motivate Your Team
People are the most important asset enrollment leaders have during challenging times like these. Your team has the power to keep a strong connection with future students while providing answers and information. When you are no longer with your team in an office, it’s important to make extra efforts to keep them happy and motivated.
1: CONSIDER THEIR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
The design of an office has a huge impact on people’s moods, their engagement levels, and productivity. This is even more true when working remotely. If an employee has a home office but prefers to work on their back porch, allow for it. Also, make sure remote workers have all the tools they need at home to work effectively. A good leader will invest in supplies their team » needs to do their job successfully and comfortably.
2: HIGHLIGHT THE VALUE OF SMALL WINS
Most managers don’t focus on the value of progress when trying to motivate their employees. Outlining clear goals, recognizing good work, and offering support are less traditional effective unless you nourish progress as well. Research has shown that workers who feel like they’ve made progress are also more likely to report being in a good mood.1 The emotions that stem from lack of progress also lead to apathy and lower motivation.
There are lots of ways to highlight small wins when working with remote teams. Every time you host a remote meeting, you can take a few minutes to go through each person’s accomplishments for the day (no matter how small). Remote collaboration tools like Asana, Trello, and Slack will also help you to break down projects into small tasks. Employees can check off each task throughout the day, giving them a feeling of accomplishment each time.
3: PLAY TO EMPLOYEE STRENGTHS
Most leaders don’t take full advantage of the skills and expertise of their teams. Employees have a variety of tasks to work on—some they’re good at, and some they’re not. If you want to motivate employees and maximize their productivity, allow them to focus on their strengths.
For remote teams, start by detailing what each person works on throughout the day. Which tasks are the most tedious for them? Which tasks make them exasperated? Which tasks do they consider to be easy? Once you answer these questions for each employee, find ways when possible to reallocate responsibilities to allow each person to focus on what they do best.
4: SHOW PEOPLE THAT THEIR WORK MATTERS
When people think their work matters, they are happier, more productive, and more motivated to help your office succeed. Vice Presidents and Directors have a lot of influence over how employees feel about their work role. Research has shown that certain traits can help a leader show employees that their work matters.2 The best leaders are: (1) curious and inquisitive, (2) challenging and relentless, (3) able to align employees to values and office culture, and (4) able to trust people.
Managing your admissions team remotely gives you a lot of opportunities to show your staff that their work matters. One of the best ways to be curious and inquisitive while showing that you trust your team is giving them » the freedom to work how they want independently. Right now, the majority of admissions teams are trying to do their jobs from home for the first time. Give your employees the freedom to try their own approach to this instead of micro-managing the transition from far away.
5: HELP EMPLOYEES CONNECT WITH THEIR WORK
One of the biggest problems in general, and with remote work in particular, is a sense of disconnection. Counselors can go through the paces of their job without actually thinking about the impact their work has on students. Reminding your recruiters of the human impact of their work on students can give them a sense of purpose and increase motivation.
The best way to do this is through storytelling. Find real-world incidents that illustrate how their work has helped people directly. Then, take the time to share these anecdotes with your remote teams. People can’t see the impact of their work within the four walls of their homes. Leaders can bring that to them through effective storytelling.
6: ENCOURAGE FOCUS
Research shows that managing ongoing communication and distractions in the workplace negatively impacts memory, attention, and concentration.3 Most remote workers are set up in an environment that encourages these kinds of stressors. As a leader, there’s actually a lot you can do to help employees focus in a remote work environment.
Instead of assigning weekly deadlines, give employees a small number of daily tasks to focus on. The next thing you can do is limit business communication to what is necessary. Emailing employees regularly throughout the day or having them video call with others while working reduces focus and increases stress. Encourage employees to limit technology use and schedule time for strategic work.
7: TAKE STEPS TO AVOID BURNOUT
According to The Happiness Track, 50% of people across professions feel burned out.4 More people are exhausted at work than ever, which correlates highly with feelings of loneliness.
The most important thing you can do as the leader to assist your staff in avoiding burnout is maintaining the right kind of relationships. Being friendly, warm and understanding is key, especially in a remote work environment. Remember, your staff might now have unavoidable distractions in their home environment. Be understanding. Lastly, host and stimulate activities that allow your team to gain emotional support from each other. Encourage them to work together and make connections throughout the day to build closeness and camaraderie.
All tips were compiled from the HBR Guide to Motivating People, available at HBR.org.
1. HBR Guide to Motivating People (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019), page 84
2. HBR Guide to Motivating People (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019), pages 105–110
3. HBR Guide to Motivating People (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019), page 186
4. HBR Guide to Motivating People (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019), page 204
