We all know how it feels to have a job that you aren’t enthused by. It can be detrimental to your mental health and overall wellbeing. It could even get to be so bad that at the end of the day – you don’t even want to return. Even if you’re in a profession of your choosing. Something that you want to do with all your heart, there can still be days where it’s hard to get up and go to work in the morning. So, how do we as fitness professionals keep our employees feeling motivated? Here are a few simple to implement tips that, in theory, will help curb that unmotivated feeling.
Share Your Vision With Your Employees
Look back on a time in your life where you last felt truly empowered? Was it when you were part of a group edging toward the same shared goal? If that answer is yes it’s because you were part of something bigger than yourself. When you let your employees get a glimpse behind the curtain, understand your vision and understand the pivotal role they’re playing in bringing it to life: The results are immeasurable. Your team will have a much grander sense of purpose, in turn making them more loyal and empowered to do their job well.
Define Your Expectations
Despite what you might have been told, boundaries are a beautiful thing. They allow your staff to freely act within pre-approved parameters. Think of placing boundaries for your staff like the bumpers in a bowling alley. They still get to the desired goal but the possibility of them crashing and burning is neutralized.
That being said: No one likes to be micromanaged. In fact, that can lead to the exact opposite result that we’re looking for. Clearly defining your long and short term goals and expectations for your staff and giving them reasonable boundaries in which they’re free to do what they do best is a surefire way to put a fire under your team. By doing this you’ll effectively give your staff permission to act while still ensuring the decisions they make lie within your overall business plan.
Feedback Is Important: Take Your Time With It
Everyone loves to know how they’re doing. Even if the result isn’t positive, if you never tell your staff something is wrong nothing will ever change. While a short & sweet “great job!” would make your staff feel good in the moment, a constructive piece of criticism is hands down the way to go. By giving yourself the time to think about how to properly communicate with your staff while delivering feedback & criticism you will in turn be more considerate of your staffs’ feelings and emotions. Once more, this will give your employees something to consider about their performance for the long haul as opposed to a fleeting moment.
Reward Your Staff
At the end of the day, we all work for money. But the active employees, ones that are focused on the big picture of the company, as opposed to just collecting a paycheck – those are the ones you want to look out for and reward for their hard work. This goes hand in hand with constructive criticism and feedback. Whatever their accomplishments (staying late to collate member data or a stellar customer service review) showing them that you appreciate them and their actions will encourage continued quality work, as well as make for happy, thoughtful employees.
Delegate! Delegate! Delegate!
We all know how it goes: You started this business. You feel you should run it. But obviously, you’re not Superman. You can’t do it all on your own otherwise you wouldn’t have hired a staff in the first place. When thinking of delegating your work – don’t spring for the busy work. Your staff will recognize it as such and overall moral will begin to dip. Envision it as an opportunity to more effectively empower your employees. Give them a feeling of ownership. You’re still the business owner at the end of the day; but allowing your staff to feel like a stakeholder will not only make your life easier but the life of your employees that much richer.
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