Looking to Motivate your Employees? Try these Three Ways

It’s true that motivated employees are the dream of any employer. They work hard, they’re happy to be there, they have great ideas, and they help to boost the morale of other employees around them. If they were in school, they’d be receiving comments like, “A pleasure to have in class” on their report cards!

The truth is, if you’ve hired the right talent—they have the capability to be this type of model employee, if they aren’t already. And you can (and should!) take steps to help your workers aspire to be all they can be under your roof.

Three modes of motivation: reward, recognition, and growth

What encourages an employee to not just complete tasks, but excel at them? You must appeal to the following three areas of motivation:

1. Most people will step up their game if they know there’s some sort of incentive at the end of the tunnel. This could include a prize (e.g., cash reward, gift card, company merchandise, time off, money contributed to benefit premiums, etc.) or the promise of something good to come (e.g., promotion or job advancement). You can make the most of your employees’ quests for rewards by clearly outlining the tangible benefits of hard work with your company.
2. You can reinforce the behaviors you like to see when you recognize employees for doing them. This can be as simple as stopping by their desk to say thank you, leaving them a handwritten thank you card or sending them an email. You can take recognition a step further by honoring hard workers who have achieved a particular milestone with an award, or by mentioning them in the company newsletter or intranet. Gratitude and recognition can be extremely effective to inspire productivity.
3. If you’ve employed top talent, they probably won’t be satisfied with the status quo for too long. Highly skilled individuals with lots of potential will want to know their hard work will help them advance in their career. You can motivate your employees by meeting with them regularly to review job performance—what’s good, and what can be improved (with suggestions for how to make improvements). It also helps to offer training, in-services, tuition reimbursement, and other educational opportunities, plus promote from within.

Work with your recruiter

He or she may have suggestions for ways to inspire your employees, plus may offer training options to help them grow. To learn more, check with your recruiter about available services and resources.

In search of a staffing partner?

Check out Inter-Connect! We’ll work with you to understand your staffing needs and find qualified candidates who will excel at your company. To learn more, contact us today!