HOW TO MOTIVIATE EMPLOYEES

Resource Center » How to Motivate Employees

A look at the different methods that can be used to motivate employees.

A successful business depends on employee motivation. If an employee is not motivated to do his best, then productivity and customer satisfaction will decrease. There are several strategies to motivate an employee, but keep in mind that people respond differently to each method! Employing a variety of strategies on a regular basis almost guarantees that something will work for each employee.

Fun

Most people are motivated by fun experiences; this can be accomplished by throwing regular office parties or having some form of celebration for major and even for minor events. Another way to make the workplace more fun is to implement a casual Friday, which would allow people to enjoy a more relaxed environment once a week. Company picnics, ball games, and contests also create a more cohesive and exciting environment.

Review

Quarterly or yearly reviews are great motivation tools. Reviews can be used to highlight what the employee is doing well and what may be unsatisfactory. Goals can be set by the employee to help them reach the new objectives and strategies can be discussed to help them succeed. During the next review progress should be noted to motivate employees to continue improving themselves. A follow-up that makes note of any new accomplishments is necessary for this strategy to be effective. Without the positive reinforcement, regular reviews can decrease motivation.

Incentives

Employee incentives are excellent motivation methods if the employer has the resources to implement such a strategy. Incentives could be a special parking space, a restaurant gift card, a special award, and even business-related promotional products or prizes. To determine who receives the various incentives, you could either hold a contest or give the gifts based strictly on performance goals. The actual recognition will probably mean more to employees than the incentive itself, so any type of gift could have the potential to motivate!

Stick Versus Carrot

The stick-versus-carrot analogy may help employers revise their motivation plans. The carrot represents all strategies that involve some sort of positive reinforcement to achieve a desired result (in other words, the carrot is a reward and not a punishment). The stick represents a negative consequence for a behavior or a lack of productivity (so, the stick is a punishment and not a reward). Most people are more easily motivated by a carrot strategy, however, there are some employees that will respond only to negative consequences. For these types of people it is necessary to devise some sort of punitive measure for undesirable behavior. This can motivate a person to change his behavior and become a better employee. You could give him fewer or less desirable hours, lower pay, poor reviews, or eventually terminate him. This type of motivation should only be used as a last resort! As mentioned before, most people respond very well to any form of positive reinforcement to good behavior. While it may be tempting to try and motivate an employee by threatening a negative consequence, it is easier and quicker to help them enjoy their work environment and to encourage them with incentives to improve their performance.

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