The ability to motivate and encourage their team members is a valuable skill for any maintenance manager. Leading a maintenance team is easier if your members have the drive, commitment, and energy to achieve team goals. In this article, we look into the ways a maintenance manager can motivate and encourage their team and the benefits of doing so.
Benefits of a Motivated Maintenance Team
Motivated team members provide several benefits to the company, including:
High Productivity and Performance
Motivated individuals are more productive and perform better because they have the focus and drive to accomplish their tasks. When a person is highly motivated in accomplishing their goals, they tend to work faster and more efficiently. They are also less likely to give up when facing obstacles to their goals.
Low Absenteeism and Employee Turnover
Related to performance, absenteeism is an indicator of an employee’s motivation level. A motivated person determined to accomplish their goals would not allow anything to keep them from going to work daily and on time. Employee turnover is also lower because motivated employees tend to stay longer with their companies.
More Innovation and Creativity
Motivation brings out a person’s critical thinking skills and creativity. Motivated people are open to innovative and creative ideas if these ideas can help solve problems and achieve set goals. They are also more likely to question and improve current processes when these are no longer effective in providing successful results.
Improved Interpersonal Relationships
Maintenance technicians and managers enjoy better relationships when they share the same sources of motivation. Sharing the same drive and determination allows the members to empathize with each other and work together as a unit. Also, a manager with insights into what motivates their team will know how to guide them into realizing these motivating factors.
Better Company Reputation
Motivated employees often have a positive perception of the company. Happy and content employees would talk more favorably about their company benefits, perks, etc. to their friends, family, and social network. This positive perception will attract more interest to your company, increasing visibility to new clients or potential employees.
Ways a Maintenance Manager Can Motivate and Encourage Their Team
A maintenance manager can motivate and encourage their team by:
Encouraging Employee Ownership
Employees having a sense of ownership can have a huge impact on their performance. They are more motivated to perform their assigned roles and even do more if they see the company as their own. Maintenance managers can foster ownership by training their technicians to make independent decisions, be confident in their capabilities, voice their opinions, and take accountability for their actions.
Welcoming Employee Feedback
Employees feel more valued if managers welcome their feedback and recommendations. This sense of value further encourages employee ownership and boosts performance. Maintenance managers must always solicit their members’ suggestions for improvements in scheduling work orders, assigning tasks, releasing parts and materials, etc. Sometimes, giving time to listen is enough. You can motivate your team members without necessarily implementing their suggestions if they aren’t a good fit.
Showing Reliance on Employees
Motivating employees can often be as simple as showing your reliance on the roles that they play. When employees feel that you depend on them in the workplace, they are more likely to perform their job better and be reluctant to miss a day off from work. Maintenance managers should constantly show verbally and through actions that they value every team member’s output.
Giving Compliments and Constructive Criticism
Compliments from managers motivate employees by rewarding them. Criticism also motivates employees by challenging and pushing them to improve. Employees who do not receive any of these from their managers will be complacent and not push themselves to grow. In some cases, they may even feel neglected and undervalued. Maintenance managers must learn to compliment their team for good performance or issue constructive criticism when necessary.
Investing in Workplace Improvements
Improvements in the workplace can be any form of change that make work easier and more efficient. These improvements can be:
- Hiring additional staff to lighten employee workload
- Training employees on new skills or work processes
- Buying new equipment or technology
- Renovating offices or workspaces
- Giving out incentives, bonuses, salary increases, etc.
- Offering room for growth in the company with promotions as technicians increase their skills
CMMS Support for Maintenance Managers
CMMS, or computerized maintenance management software, can help maintenance managers efficiently lead their teams. A CMMS like Redlist frees a huge amount of time in scheduling and planning work orders. More time means you can work more on your team-building tasks, such as motivating and encouraging your technicians. If you want to learn more about the benefits of Redlist’s all-in-one maintenance management system, schedule a free demo today!
