How much does workplace demotivation cost your business?

In a famous article published in April 2015, the newspaper Le Monde sounded the alarm: professional demotivation not only comes at a high cost, but it also becomes increasingly difficult to combat. Indeed, neither raises nor career prospects seem sufficient today to engage even high-performing employees.

But how can you detect professional demotivation to avoid paying the price?

Professional Demotivation: a Factor that Will Cost You Dearly

Gallup’s survey figures are concerning: in 2015, the cost of employee demotivation amounted to 550 billion dollars per year in the United States.

And make no mistake, demotivation is not just a matter of personal attitude or a bad atmosphere in the workplace. In the long term, the disengagement of your employees can lead to numerous collateral damages, including:

• Sluggish sales performance;
• Dissatisfied customers;
• The loss of your top talent, who will certainly prefer to work under better conditions by giving in to competitors’ offers.

How to Detect Demotivation within your Team…

To prevent demotivation within your sales team, you must maintain an attitude of constant observation.

Consider leveraging informal discussions, outside of meetings or professional interviews, to ensure that your employees thrive within their team and company.

The symptoms of demotivation are difficult to detect, as they can take various forms depending on the personality and habits of each employee. Your sales staff will not change their behavior overnight, just as they will not suddenly become demotivated: it is a slow and often gradual process. You must therefore be on the lookout for small changes: unusual delays, a lack of concentration in an employee known for their rigor, a salesperson who withdraws into themselves… these are all “weak signals” to which you must pay attention.

Note: it only takes one demotivated employee to disengage an entire team. It is therefore essential to prevent professional demotivation, rather than having to cure it: here are some ways to reduce the cost of demotivation within your team.

And how to Combat it?

Granting more Autonomy to Demotivated Employees

By allowing them to arrange their work schedule, for example, or by offering them the opportunity to work on a project that interests them. Motivating an employee also means knowing how to give them the reins so that they can gain autonomy. In this way, you will encourage them to take initiatives while proving that you trust them.

Question Them about Their Core Motivations

If you have kept your notes on the recruitment of the demotivated employee, it might be time to take them out of the drawer: why did they want to join your company in the first place? If not, organize an individual interview to review the motivations of the demotivated salesperson.

Disengagement can stem from something unsaid: it’s up to you to get your employees to talk about what makes them want to get involved. It could be a financial increase, a simple change in schedule, or a career reorientation: once the problem is correctly identified, it will be much easier to solve.

Download our e-book and learn how to boost the engagement of your sales teams in a digitized world.