It can be difficult to keep a well-motivated team that is able to work in productive ways. Your employees work in different ways, so what may work for one person may not work for another. However, asking the right questions and being approachable for your employees can benefit how your team will best work because you’ll understand what works best for them and you’ll be able to adapt to each individual's way of working to get the most out of their abilities. If you’re unsure how to do this, the questions should get you on your way to increase productivity in your office.

What Is Your Definition of Being Rewarded for Work?

The rewards an employee receives at work would, of course, depend on budgets and the size of the company. Some companies provide perks alongside their job while others may provide tangible rewards such as gift cards or shopping vouchers, just as an example. The problem with this is that the rewards employees receive aren’t necessarily the rewards they want because each employee will be driven by different things.

Determining how an employee can be motivated to do work can be as simple as asking the right question. Understand what they believe to be a reward for the work that they do and make sense of what drives them. These can range from little things like a casual dress day or recognition meetings to larger implementations like putting in a reward scheme or providing additional allowances for the employees with their holidays. If you gather an understanding of what they really want you may find that their motivation changes at work.

What’s the Best Way You Like to Work?

Some employees prefer to not be disturbed and like to get on with work by themselves, others may prefer a more casual working environment and like team cohesion with projects to get the best ideas. For example, in office environments, there can be music being played on the company stereo system because working in silence can be boring for some individuals. There’s also those who prefer complete silence so they can really concentrate on their work and have nothing to distract them.

It’s all dependent on company ethos and policy and the type of atmosphere you like to have. It can be difficult to accommodate every single person but having the correct conversation with the team will make you more aware of the majority’s best interests. Having a comfortable working environment will help them to produce their best work. You can try removing desks and having benches or sofas or allow work from home schedules where one day a week, employees work away from the office. Knowing what they like will help will help them produce better work.

Is There Anything About My Management Style You Don’t Like?

This can be a difficult question to ask, simply because it can be hard to hear the honest truth if an employee chooses to completely tear apart the methods you’ve trusted for so long. You should see it as constructive criticism though and more of a learning curve in adapting your management methods. You’re opening up the floor for your employee, to be honest, so let them be. You wouldn’t want an employee resenting information from you that could be a reason for them to possibly leave. Take in what they say, and try to give them the freedom that allows them to work best. There are many different management styles that bosses can take to benefit their employees.

What Can I Do to Help You and Your Job?

Having open-ended questions will provide all of your employees to put everything on the table. If there aren’t any specific points you can hone in on, just ask them in general what it is that you can do to help. This can be great for resolving any annoying factors that employees feel hinder their workflow or it can help with improving knowledge for others. For example, if there’s a process or internal training that the employees feel will improve their day-to-day performance, you can explore these avenues to help them work more productively—taking into consideration what they feel is and isn’t good about the systems you have in place already.

For the benefit of everyone in the office, try not to assume what you think works best for your employees and just simply ask them. From the feedback, you’ll know exactly what to do and it should improve the overall morale to make one successful and happy team.