Better than money: 10 exciting things to motivate your employees

You don’t always need to cough up a raise to keep your staff happy.

By Craig Falck for Africa Report
Photograph: © Dennis Owusu-ansah | Dreamstime.com

Sure, nothing beats some extra money in your salary (especially during this economic slowdown), but sometimes it’s the little things in the workplace that make your staff happiest. Here’s how to motivate your troops without necessarily giving them salary increases:

1. Give your team time off after a particularly stressful project. They’ll need a break to recharge their batteries, and you’d be surprised at how much the occasional Friday off means to them.

2. When your team starts coming in early and leaving late, it’s time to think about flexitime. If they come in early, let them leave early. If they come in later, let them leave later. As long as their work is done properly and they meet their objectives, hours can be arrange to suit the employee.

3. Share options: This is mostly for big companies, but since it works for a company like Apple, it can work for you too. If an employee goes above and beyond the call of duty and achieves tremendous success with a project or a group of projects that are vital to the business, give them share options. They are worth money in themselves and cost you nothing to give it to them.

4. At least once a month, take the company away from the office on a Friday. Even if you stay in the office, introduce something new and exciting, like a catered lunch or breakfast and a relaxed atmosphere where all the different departments can sit and chat with one another and get to meet other employees.

5. Take staff to meet their suppliers or on customer lunches where they are able to put a face to the voice that they only know over the phone. It’ll make them feel more important and build a better relationship with the other party.

6. It’s not always easy or viable, but if your staff perform well, let them choose which projects they want to do. They may have a keen interest in one that wouldn’t normally be their role in the office, so you might find that they excel beyond your imagination.

7. Nothing motivates staff like being recognised for their good work and achievements. Even if it’s just a morning announcement or a small sentence in the office mailer, this kind of recognition does wonders for individual confidence and group cohesion.

8. Training: By sending staff on courses and new projects. You not only motivate them to perform better because they’ve been nominated, but you also get the added benefit of giving them more experience and training.

9.When an employee is assigned to a new project, give them more tasks than normal. They will feel like they have a bigger responsibility and that you trust them enough to get the important jobs done.

10. Company or department parties are a great way to keep staff happy and eager to work. We’re not talking about blowing every bit of money you have; just enough to have a good time.

You can motivate your staff without increasing your salary bill. Remember that they’re people and like you, there are small things in the workplace that cheer them up and egg them on to do better for you and the enterprise.