According to a paper published in Psychological Science, so-called “temporal landmarks” – specific dates and days – are more likely to encourage us to set goals when they make us think of new beginnings. Mondays and January 1st really are apparently the best days for setting new goals.

I know that some people who don’t making New Year’s resolutions for a whole variety of reasons – and some people who are so anti the concept completely! – but as this article goes on to state these ‘temporal landmarks’ actually keep coming around all year, so even people initially fail, they may subsequently succeed on another occasion. I think this is the most logical way to look at the idea of resolutions, be they at New Year or at any other time. But I also think that the key to keeping and fulfilling any resolution or goal, is about being motivated.

Motivation is an employee’s inner enthusiasm and drive to accomplish activities. This internal drive causes an individual to take action.

In their lives, every employee has activities, events, people and goals that they find motivating. There’s no such thing as unmotivated people – just unmotivated workers!

The trick is to figure out how to tap into that motivation and inspire employee motivation at work.

So how motivated are your people?

Here are 5 Top Tips on the questions to ask them:-

1.Goals

What are the primary goals of our organisation?

Many employees have surprisingly little idea about the direction and strategy of their organisation – might they may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business? Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your organisation’s primary principles, priorities and mission. What do these things actually mean for them in their day to day roles?

2. Motivators

What really motivates your employees?

It is often assumed that all people are motivated by the same things. Wrong! Actually, we are all motivated by a whole range of factors. Ask questions to elicit what really fires up your employees – what is really important to them? Are they motivated by financial rewards, status, praise and acknowledgement, competition, job security, public recognition, fear, perfectionism, results etc.?

3.Change

How have changes affected your employees?

If your organisation has restructured, made redundancies, imposed a recruitment freeze or lost a number of key people, this will have an effect on motivation. Ask employees about their fears, their thoughts and concerns relating to these events. Even if they are unfounded, always treat their views with respect and honesty. What can you learn better at introducing and managing change?

4.Alignment

Are employee goals aligned with company goals?

First, your organisation needs to establish how it wants individuals to spend their time based on what is most valuable. Secondly, you need to compare this with how individuals actually do spend their time. You may find that employees are highly motivated – but about the wrong priorities.

5.Involvement

How involved are employees in new developments?

How much should they know about future developments? How much do they actually know? Do they feel listened to and heard? Are they consulted? And, if they are consulted, are their opinions taken seriously? Are there regular opportunities for them to give feedback?

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