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No matter what industry you belong to, if you have been given the task to lead a team, you will have recognised the need for motivation among your employees. Highly technical fields such as building service engineering require long off-site and on-site work hours. 

 

 

This can quickly get draining for team members if they do not have the right attitude or motivation for their work. Which, in turn, affects their productivity and the quality of their work. If you’re struggling to keep your team motivated, especially in the face of challenging projects, here are some tips on how to keep their spirits high. 

1. Communication Is Key

The first and most crucial factor in motivating your team is to listen to them. This is especially true in times of turmoil and during stressful projects. If you listen to your team, you will be able to pick out the hindrances they face in their job, and by addressing those, you will enable smooth workflow. 

What’s more, you will also help your employees take ownership of their job by making them feel heard. One-on-one interactions and team meetings can go a long way in helping your team develop trust and feel empowered in their role. 

However, it is also essential to be an active listener. As a leader, you should be mindful of your employee’s improvements and provide appreciation where it’s due. But you should also encouragingly offer constructive criticism to guide your team to the right goal. 

The building service engineering field is tough on its own, with gruelling work and numerous technicalities. Having a team leader that keeps track of the team’s progress, is responsive, and is open to communication can help to motivate employees. 

2. Set Goals

By setting goals, you will give your team members a meaningful task to achieve and the chance to prove themselves. You can take this one step further by providing incentives for the goal, even if it’s an award or recognition for their role. 

By setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals, you will give your team a clear picture of their expectations and how they can achieve this. As a result, your team can see its progress in a tangible manner and work effectively. 

For example, you can give your team the task of planning electrical and plumbing routes, set a submission date, and allow them to use different tools such as AI to provide you with the best results. 

By having a time-bound goal in mind, the team will know exactly what to deliver and when. Having a clear end goal in mind can genuinely help employees stay on track and push through during difficult times. 

3. Develop and Support Your Team

It is crucial that your team members feel that your company is helping them grow professionally and that they are not just working for a salary. You can provide support to employees through training and development programs. For example, you can offer trainees and new employees courses on using building service engineering-related software and improving management skills. 

Furthermore, on-boarding young employees on to large-scale building services projects for exposure can help improve their confidence. Not only will this help improve the quality of their work, but it will also motivate them to keep improving themselves and do more than what is expected of them. 

4. Be Flexible

One of the most critical factors to affect job satisfaction is the flexibility offered to team members. Although work hours and productivity are essential, your team will feel much more appreciative of their team leader if you can accommodate their needs. 

However, since building service engineering requires much on-site work, incorporating flexibility may be difficult, and most workers understand this. But, even understanding the team’s circumstances and providing any assistance possible can help improve team appreciation and keep them motivated to perform better.  

For example, something as simple as making an allowance for someone to pick up their children from school by scheduling lunch hours during that time can help them stay on track with the project while fulfilling their familial obligations.  

5. Encourage A Healthy Work-Environment

A healthy work environment is crucial for workers to do their job effectively and remain motivated. Teamwork, encouragement, and a culture of positivity can help alleviate some of the stress most business service engineers are afflicted with. 

You can improve your team’s overall work satisfaction by solving issues on time, listening to employees, providing support, and ensuring that everyone’s tasks and goals are well defined. When team members feel part of a positive and encouraging work environment, they feel encouraged to perform better. In addition, team-building exercises can be held to ensure that intra-team and inter-team bonding is cultivated.  

Conclusion

Getting the best from your team and encouraging them to perform better than expectations is indeed a challenging task. However, this is only achievable if you build motivation among your team. 

With skilled and specific teams such as a building service engineering team, pressures can surmount quickly during a project. Therefore, you must ensure that you are well-prepared to handle disgruntled and demotivated employees and create a sense of drive and passion in them. 

 

Danny Main is a co-owner & Director at Responsum Global. He has over 15 years’ experience matching the top building services engineering talent with the best employers. He has over 100 written success stories. He’s active on LinkedIn, is a host on The Building Services Podcast, and a regular writer on The Building Services Blog. He loves football, talking properties and owns a cat that is bigger than his dog.

 

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