If you’re a business owner or manager, you’re likely self-motivated by your own career goals and ambitions. However, employee motivation can be more of a challenge if your employees don’t have a vested interest in the company or don’t truly value their roles in the business. Regardless of what industry you’re in, here’s how to motivate employees and some tried-and-true rewards for employees to motivate them for both personal and company-wide gain.
The Importance of Motivation in the Workplace
Not only are motivated employees more pleasant to work with, but they are also essential to boosting productivity and maximizing your business’ revenue. By using effective ways to motivate employees, you can create a more positive workplace environment and sustain your employees’ loyalty and commitment for the long-term. Many employees working for you likely have excellent ideas about how to help your business succeed, so it is also beneficial to ask for ongoing feedback and suggestions about ways to improve company processes and protocols.
Proven Ways to Motivate Employees
Communication is always the key to a successful business, so every great employee motivation plan starts with communicating more often. Owners and managers must serve as good examples of how to work hard, get excited about company goals, and stay focused. Your moods and reactions trickle down to employees at every level, so make sure to lead by example in everything you do.
It’s also a good idea to set small, frequent goals in addition to the larger and more intangible goals that your company has. This helps employees focus on how important their role in the company is and gives employees a sense of purpose. Being transparent about high-level company happenings and soliciting employees’ open and honest feedback are also great ways to boost motivation in the workplace.
Rewards for Employees to Motivate Them
One of the most effective ways to motivate employees is to gamify certain aspects of performance to make earning rewards more fun and competitive. Incentives for doing a job well don’t have to be expensive or distracting. In fact, employees greatly appreciate everything from gift cards to event tickets and small cash bonuses to recognize their above-and-beyond efforts. Consider rewarding employees who maintain high levels of motivation and do great work with a quarterly bonus, leadership responsibilities, or a commission structure that makes sense for your business.
Fun rewards for employees to motivate them include a nice lunch out with the boss, an outdoor picnic for the whole team, gifts of branded company apparel, and a VIP parking spot for the month. An impromptu afternoon off work, an unexpected work-from-home day, or a bring-your-dog-to-work day are also fun ways to motivate employees and remind them about what a great company they work for.
How Your Office Space Affects Employee Motivation
Something that many business owners and managers don’t think about is how their office space affects employee motivation. However, an employee’s physical work environment has a huge impact on how that employee will perform and stay committed to assigned tasks.
An outdated, cluttered, or bland workspace can make employees feel less excited to do their jobs to the fullest extent. That’s why many companies work with NYC Office Suites to provide their employees with stylish, professional, and accommodating office spaces and meeting rooms. In addition to these top-notch Manhattan work spaces, it can also be motivating to occasionally switch up your workplace setting and host meetings at local coffee shops or outdoor venues when the weather is nice.
Boosting employee motivation can feel like hard work, but it’s always worth the effort to show your employees how much you value them and also to maximize your bottom line!