It is not possible for every company to monetarily reward their employees every time. Thus, the question arises: How do you motivate employees without money, or at least inexpensively? You will be pleased to hear that it is not rocket science. Others have done it, so can you. Plan your employee motivational strategy keeping these in mind:
APPRECIATION WORKS
Congratulating your employees and saying a simple thank you for a job well done is not only good manners, it also happens to be a very effective motivational strategy. Surveys across companies have shown that most employees consider appreciation as an important ingredient to their job satisfaction. You could go about this in a variety of ways. It could be a hand-written note or maybe it’s getting thanked in front of the group. There are infinite ways in which you can show appreciation; just use your imagination.
RECOGNISING EFFORTS
Your employees are the engine that drives your organisation. They put in hard hours to make sure that the company’s objectives are achieved. Just letting them know that you are aware that they are working hard is always a good strategy. The fact is, almost everybody likes to be recognised for what they have done. Tell them that you liked what you saw. Again, there are various ways in which you could do so including publishing their achievement in the company newsletter or intranet.
BREAK THE MONOTONY
Often repetition and boredom are the root cause of any slump in performance. Try giving a new assignment that fits an employee’s areas of interest and skill, even if those skills are different than their normal work-related ones. This might just be a timely break, post which they could return to their top levels of efficiency.
RESPECT THEIR OPINION
There is no harm in asking your employees for suggestions and even implementing them if they are worth it. This makes your employees feel wanted.
INCLUSIVE WORK ENVIRONMENT
Employees on average spend around 10 hours of their daily lives inside the office. Make sure the place is worth working in. This does not mean that you have to paint the walls red or have video games inside your office. All that is well and good but the most important thing is creating an energetic and inclusive environment. Give everyone a paid day off on their birthday. Have a game of football between different departments on a working day when there is less workload.
These ideas don’t cost a lot but all would be appreciated and appreciation equals motivation.