Keeping your employees motivated and looking after them is the only way to run a successful business. If they’re not invested in the company, they won’t work hard and your profits will really suffer for it. The most obvious way to keep people motivated is to pay them more, but it doesn’t always work.
In some cases, it could even make them less productive because they start to feel complacent in their work. If you’re having trouble with output in the office, upping everybody’s salary isn’t going to be the quick fix that you think it is. Instead, you should try some of these alternatives instead.
Improve Yourself
If you want everybody else to be proactive you should lead by example. Making the effort to learn things and improve yourself all of the time will inspire your employees to do the same. You can do all sorts of extra qualifications outside of work like a master of arts in leadership online. It’ll help you to improve your skills as a boss and learn how to better lead your team, as well as showing your employees that you’re motivated and that you’re making the effort to be the best that you can be.
Create A Positive Environment
People spend the majority of their day in the office so if the environment isn’t a positive one, it can really get people down. The office needs to be a comfortable place that people actually want to be, not somewhere that they dread going every morning. That’s why the last decade has seen a bit of a revolution in the way that offices are designed. The standard cubicle layout has been found to be counterproductive because it doesn’t create a good environment. You don’t need to create a new age office with all sleep pods and table tennis tables everywhere, but you could consider painting it in some brighter colours and creating some more flexible work spaces. Being stuck at the same desk every day can easily become monotonous for employees, you’d be surprised how much difference it will make if people can move around a little.
Reward Employees
If an employee works really hard all day and they don’t even get so much as a thank you, why would they put that effort in in the future? Small rewards like coupons or gift vouchers and an employee of the month scheme are all ways that you can recognize people’s hard work. It’s not about the value of the reward, it’s just about letting your employees know that you’re taking notice of their extra effort and you’re grateful for it.
Encourage Collaboration
Some people work well on their own but most people work better when they’ve got others to bounce ideas off. If your office has rigid desk rules and all employees are stuck at their desk working alone, they aren’t working at full potential. Instead, you should create spaces in the office where people can collaborate on projects.
These are all simple ways that you can encourage your employees and keep them motivated