Posted on 7 October, 2016

You can’t understate the importance of motivation in creating a productive, successful workplace. Not only do you as a business leader have to be motivated to succeed – you also need to know how to motivate your employees.

Keeping your team satisfied and driven is the key to business success, so let’s take a look at five simple ways you can boost motivation in the workplace.

 

1. Remember that money is not everything.

We all work for money, sure. But to most people, money isn’t everything. The majority of people want to work in a job they enjoy; a job they look forward to showing up at each morning – not a job they work for money alone.

Therefore, you shouldn’t view money as the main way of motivating your employees. Yes, a well-deserved pay rise can be a nice way to show someone your appreciation for their hard work, but money shouldn’t be the only thing you use as a motivational tool.

2. Be an inspiring leader.

Great leaders motivate people to stay in jobs. By boosting morale, encouraging individuals, and generally setting a positive, inspiring example, they’re the key source of motivation for their employees.

You can be this kind of leader too. If the passion and drive you have for your work is evident to your employees, it will be reflected in their motivation and output as well.

3. Break down barriers created by job titles.

If you think you can’t have a project without a project manager – think again! Rather than assigning concrete role titles to every employee, focus on encouraging everyone to work together as a team more often. Keeping everyone on a relatively equal level will dispel potential power scuffles and boost everyone’s motivation to achieve great things as a team.

You can still designate leaders, however – and it’s good to do so, in order to set high standards and encourage your employees to be examples to one another. Just don’t let stuffy titles and pigeonholes get in the way of productivity and motivation.

4. Remember the value of praise, recognition and rewards.

Praise and positive reinforcement are the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to boosting employee motivation. Everyone wants to hear that they’ve done a good job; everyone wants to be recognised and appreciated for their hard work and achievements. A simple positive comment can go a long way for an employee’s confidence and motivation.

Don’t restrict your praise to a one-on-one situation. if someone has achieved something great, comment on it in a team meeting or other situation in which fellow employees can hear and appreciate that person’s work. This will motivate everyone to reach the same level of accomplishment.

Small rewards, while they obviously can’t be as ubiquitous as verbal praise, are also a great way to boost motivation. Think vouchers, small tokens or bonuses for high achievers. You can also make things fun and turn certain tasks or goals into in-house competitions, in which the winners receive a reward.

5. Allow for flexibility wherever possible.

No worker enjoys being chained to their desk indefinitely, following the same dull nine-to-five routine for their entire working life. Some of your employees may be yearning for that extra little bit of freedom and flexibility. And if you give it to them, you’ll be going a long way towards boosting their motivation, job satisfaction and productivity.

There are a few ways you can grant employees extra flexibility. One key change, which is sweeping the business world due to the rise of mobile technologies, is allowing employees to work from home. This doesn’t have to be a complete turnaround; you can start by granting a few employees permission to work from home one or two days a week, and see how things go.

Thanks to mobile and cloud-based technologies such as Skype (for communications) and Web24 (for cloud and VPS services), allowing employees to work from home has never been easier. Granting this flexibility will show that you’re dedicated to your employees’ satisfaction, and in turn will boost their motivation and productivity greatly.

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Try these five tips for boosting motivation and watch your employees thrive!