The success of any finance team is driven by motivated employees who want to be productive and focus on achieving key business goals. Every business experiences good times and tough times, and it is during the challenging times that team members might start to lose momentum and feel a bit disheartened by setbacks. If your finance team has stumbled upon a few challenges lately, here are some ideas to keep everyone inspired to push past the obstacles and stay focused on success.
Your clients look to their financial advisers for advice, so your finance team members should consistently keep their clients engaged and reassure them of their trust in them. Even when slumps happen, a little push can go a long way in helping your team members learn from their mistakes and get back on track.
6 Tips to Motivate and Inspire Your Finance Team
Below are some helpful ideas to inspire your finance team and keep them motivated to stay engaged and productive.
1. Foster collaboration
Schedule regular meetings to assess current projects, plan future projects and discuss the general state of your department. All team members should attend and be encouraged to participate. If you’re looking for fresh ideas, give your team a chance to pitch in. Encouraging your team to share their thoughts on strategic planning will foster a collaborative and inclusive environment. Team members will feel incentivized to put their thinking caps on and put their best foot forward. This also gives them a reason to take ownership which will push them to take accountability for their projects.
2. Recognize success
Recognition is key to making your team feel appreciated. Employees want to feel like their successes are being seen and that their hard work is cherished by their managers. A shout-out during the meeting or a care package are some ideas for showing your team members that you acknowledge a job done well. Make sure you learn about your team’s preferences beforehand in case some people don’t like to be recognized publicly all the time.
3. Reinforce objectives
Setting fresh goals and reinforcing team objectives is a great way to come out of a setback. By allowing the team to recharge and set goals – whether new or ongoing – team members will feel like they have a chance to recoup and will get motivated to achieve their ambitions. Again, you can make this a collaborative meeting and allow the team to work together on strategic planning and achieving their targets.
4. Focus on improvement
Something to keep in mind: everyone makes mistakes. You and your team members will make mistakes every now and then. The goal is to learn and improve from the mistakes made. Rather than dwell on what someone did wrong, focus on what can be learned from the error and how the process can be improved. By working constructively toward a solution, you will not only encourage your team to efficiently solve problems, but you will also give them the confidence to come to you during challenging times. The last thing you want is for your team members to start hiding mistakes that could create a bigger mess in the long run.
5. Offer support
To continue our earlier point, it’s important to lead with empathy and offer support to your team when needed. Your team needs to be able to trust you and will look to you as an example as they conduct their work. By being supportive you will help them continue to improve and keep them motivated to constantly do better – even if that means learning from mistakes.
6. Avoid micromanaging
Something that you don’t want to do is micromanage your team. Constant check-ins and keeping an overly watchful eye on your team members will eventually backfire because your team will feel like you don’t trust them. Keeping constant eyes on somebody will also put them on edge and will not allow them to unleash their full potential. Keep communication lines open and trust your team to do their work on time and efficiently. Focus on the quality of work and whether deadlines were met.
We all have moments when we feel like we’re stuck in a rut. These few tricks will foster a collaborative and supportive environment and keep your team members happy and productive with their work. Don’t forget to have a little fun in the office to give your team a break in between demanding projects.
If you are currently looking for a new position, contact one of our Ledgent Finance and Accounting recruiters today!
