How do you motivate an employee to perform at their highest level? Is money a motivator? Is providing stimulating projects? How about employee praise?
Courtesy of thepeoplegroup.com
According to Gallup, motivating people can be boiled down to 12 elements. Although each of the elements are interesting, there were three that stood out for me. These three elements include employees “knowing what is expected,” being encouraged in their “development” and having “opportunities to learn and grow.” These three stood out because a firm that deploys resource management software can use it to support their employees in these three endeavors.
The main purpose behind resource management software is to ensure that you have the right resources working on the right projects. Using an online tool such as OpenAir, managers can see the resource requirement for projects in real time as the project develops, and respond appropriately. However, the tool has a secondary benefit. It can also be used for tracking employees to help them stay motivated and to keep performance at the highest levels.
Knowing What is Expected
As Gallup notes in their analysis, employees want some predictability in their life. This allows them to plan and prepare for the future. Resource management software can satisfy their desire for this predictability.
Resource management software like OpenAir allows managers to forecast the upcoming staffing needs of projects in the pipeline. By opening up these forecasts to employees, mangers can satisfy an employee’s need to know what they will be expected to perform today, tomorrow, and even months in the future.
Encouraging Development
Gallup also noted that employees need to be encouraged in their development. This means taking on new tasks, responsibilities, or leadership roles. Resource management software can also help managers facilitate development by providing an employee with opportunities to take on new responsibilities and thereby encourage development.
By using a tool like OpenAir, managers can give employees chances to learn on different projects that may be outside of their comfort zone. This could be done using the utilization tools to see what resources are available and then staffing these on projects outside of their usual areas while they have downtime. This will serve two purposes. It will increase overall utilization but it will also develop the resource in new and interesting way.
Courtesy of capital.org
Opportunities to Learn and Grow
Gallup notes that motivated employees need to be given opportunities to learn and grow. This means providing opportunities for employees to learn new skills and abilities.
OpenAir can also help with this task. Within OpenAir, firms have the ability to create resource profiles and capture an employee’s skills, interest, experience, language proficiency, and their work preferences. Although this is principally used to staff projects, it could alternatively be used to show an employee their skills gap and encourage them to develop skills that will take them to the next level.
Courtesy of articulate.com
For software and professional service firms, keeping staff motivated and working is necessary to keep the company rolling. Although it is difficult, it can be simplified through the use of resource management software. If your firm is looking for a better way to motivate your people, why not discuss your options with us?
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