FOUR THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES WITHOUT INCREASING YOUR BUDGET You can keep your employees motivated and eager to live strong, healthy, professional lives without spending a lot of money. The employee and the company will both profit from it, too. 1. Allow your employees to see your human side. Chances are, they are always a bit afraid when you are around. Show them through your words, attitude and expression that you are not an automaton, you are human and genuinely concerned about them. Get to know them as individuals, not just employees. Learn about their families, their hobbies and their interests. What you learn will surprise you, and could unlock hidden talents that will benefit both the company and the employee. 2. Take time to say "thanks" and "you're doing a good job." We all have a need to feel like our contributions matter, that the work we are doing is important. Take time to notice the work of all employees, tell them they are doing a good job. You'd be surprised how motivational that is. It's easy to overlook those who do good work consistently and it's easy to keep raising the levels of expectations for outstanding employees without making them feel their worth to the company. If a good employee is only approached when something goes wrong, it will create a negative atmosphere for that employee. Don't ignore them or they might go away... 3. Start a suggestion box, offer a prize for a suggestion that helps the company the most that month. Running a company, whether you are an owner or a manager, means you are constantly trouble-shooting. Sometimes the problems are big, sometimes minor, but they need to be solved in order for the company to achieve maximum productivity. Let the employees help. Those with experience in a given area have the expertise to solve problems if given the chance, often using a common sense approach that doesn't involve huge expenditures. You can encourage helpful suggestions by offering a prize for the best suggestion(s) each month. Something as simple as $10 and name recognition at a meeting or in the company newsletter will bring forth plenty of suggestions. These suggestions can also serve a second purpose - helping management to notice trends or problems they are unaware of. If you get a lot of suggestions regarding the improvement of employee morale, for example, that should signal to you that there is a problem. Sometimes the suggestions for improvement seem minor and not worth the effort, but if you can improve employee attitudes by doing something minor, it's worth it. Some managers are hesitant to do this because they are afraid they will weaken their authority or somehow look incompetent. That's not true. You hired those employees because of their expertise in a given area, so let them use it. You'll find that when employees take ownership of a problem, the solution will be found and implemented without all sorts of memos, official declarations and threats. If you are worried about the appearance of incompetence, how you phrase the question can make all the difference. "This is the situation...you work with it every day, Bob, what do you think?" Suggestion boxes can be a useful tool for problem solving if taken seriously by management and employees. 4. Host a contest. It can be something as simple as a chili cook off on a winter's day. Make it a "food day" by encouraging everyone to bring a dish or snack and then after eating, let people vote on their favorite chili. Award the winner a gift certificate, small cash award or some other prize of your choosing. The employees will love it. It will lighten the atmosphere and create a positive, enjoyable work environment. There are other options too, like a friendly, charitable contest. Which department can raise the most money for a Walk-a-thon? Who can produce the most canned food for the charity holiday baskets? Again, a modest prize and name recognition will be enough to motivate participants. This sort of community giving will help your business, also, by promoting a positive public image. Your employees are multi-faceted individuals. Often, you encourage employees to be active in the community because it will help your positive public image. Most employees who join civic groups or serve charities would do so regardless of your encouragement. Support those causes with time and money. By doing this, you are showing the employee that they matter and they are important. It's easier than many people think to keep employees motivated. These are only a few suggestions. If you think about it for a while, you'll be able to think of many more ways to "push the buttons" of your employees in a positive way. Home | About WebWizards | See Our Work | Articles | E-mail Us | What Clients Say