Motivating and managing your team is a key part of getting better results from your HMO business. Whether you have office-based or remote staff, it’s crucial to have certain elements in place to get the best results from everybody
You may be asking yourself what exactly do I need to do to keep my employees motivated and enthused day-to-day? But don’t worry, we’ll provide some simple solutions for what you can do on a granular level as a business owner.
In this blog post, we’ll cover the importance of effectively motivating the staff of your HMO property business and tips on how to do this. Read first-hand advice from me and my good friend, advisor and mentor John Paul below or listen to the full episode on The HMO Podcast.
The Importance of Motivating Staff
Motivating staff is all about ensuring people enjoy their job, are happy and fulfilled and feel like they have purpose within their position and the business. Without any motivation, staff members will simply not want to do the job you’ve employed them to do.
On the other hand, effectively motivating staff allows you to get consistent work from them on an ongoing basis. This can also improve their productivity and make them want to stay for longer. Ultimately, this will then allow you to create a more efficient and scalable business.
How to Effectively Motivate Staff
Whether you already have multiple employees or are looking to make your first hire, here’s some advice on how to actively manage and motivate your staff to get results and grow your business.
1. It’s Not All About Money
Money is important, but there’s so much more to keeping your staff motivated than that. Some people think that just putting higher commission in place or paying staff a little more is going to guarantee better results.
However, finance in isolation is never going to give you the ultimate motivational strategy you need. I’m not saying that financially incentivising staff isn’t a part of motivating them, but it’s not the be-all and end-all.
2. Put Progression Schemes in Place
Staff need to know that there’s progression within your business. Progression is not just about climbing the corporate ladder. This is all about staff improving and achieving goals and moving along their own personal ladder.
A bonus scheme can be used as a reward for staff surpassing their targets. Give your staff recognition when they are going above and beyond and improving in their job.
3. Think About the Little Things
It’s the little things that can really motivate people and make staff feel like they have a purpose within the business. Find little ways to show your appreciation. Some examples are setting up monthly and yearly employee awards, hosting an annual general meeting and planning other events that allow the team to get to know each other better outside of the workplace.
4. Consider the Culture You Want to Create
When you develop the right culture for your business, you can get more out of your staff, create a more productive work environment and have less churn among staff members. Company culture is never set from day one. It develops over time and can always change.
If you get even one toxic employee in the business, it can really change the business culture quickly. A hands-on manager should be able to identify it quickly and stamp it out. This is really important to do as fast as possible, because it can negatively impact your team and business as a whole.
5. Hire the Right Staff Members
Employing staff and picking the right person for a position is difficult. There is definitely an art to this. You’re never going to get it right every time, but naturally people want to work with colleagues who are pleasant and get their work done. So focus on finding staff members that fit within your company culture and values.
It can be hard when you only have a 30-minute interview to get to know a prospective hire. Take your time to review them and their application and maybe even check out their online presence.
6. Develop Structure and Procedures
Implement structure into your business even before hiring your very first employee. Right from the onboarding process give new staff the training they need. Implement processes for new staff members and provide them with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) alongside their training.
SOPs are effectively a list of what your staff do and how they do it. It establishes a routine and gives them the knowledge that when they come in on a Monday morning, they know exactly what to do.
7. Undertake Appraisals Regularly
Undertaking appraisals gives you time to provide constructive feedback on the performance of each member of staff. Evaluate their performance across all areas of the business. Make sure every staff member has measurable targets that they know they’re working towards. This can keep staff motivated and enthusiastic about what they’re doing.
Appraisals also give staff protected time to raise any issues they may have. Having conversations in a safe environment with them can be a bonding experience, and you can learn so much more about your staff and be able to better support them.
Motivating staff is essential, whether you’re just hiring your very first staff member or you already have dozens of employees within your business. If you can get this piece right and get everyone on board, then it’s so much easier to run a successful HMO property business.
For more hands-on advice and in-depth lessons to help you start, scale and systemise your HMO business, become a member of The HMO Roadmap today!
About the Author:
Andy Graham is the founder and the lead trainer at The HMO Roadmap! He is also the co-founder of The HMO Mastermind and Smart Property, a specialist HMO property investment and management company. He writes as a regular columnist in different magazines about a variety of HMO topics and is the host of The HMO Podcast! Follow Andy on Instagram!