5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees Without Higher Salary

Most often, when people think of motivating someone to do their job better, they readily think of a higher pay. But as the popular saying goes, “Money is really not everything”.

It’s quite simple to stimulate people without the need to pay them more. Once you figure out the “Feel Good” factor, everything else will fall in perfect place.

Below are simple steps you could take to easily get your staff to be more interested and happy with what they do. Thus increasing your company’s turnover.... Continue below.....

1. The game side of work.

Set up a fun system where employees battle it out to win a covetous award after a specified period of time, after which the lucky “winner” gets recognized in a way that every other employee will know.

For instance, you could have the “Employee of the Month” award scheme where you recognize the most hardworking person for the entire month by simply hanging a framed picture of the person in question at a place where all the other employees as well as customers (that is, in the case of direct customer contact ) will see it.

One key thing to be mindful of is how fair the system of determining the winner is. It should not seek to favour one particular person by hook or crook, but rather apply truthful observation.

This way, other employees will also strive to work hard every month with the view to being recognized accordingly, and more importantly, fairly.

2) Different strokes for different folks

Understand that no one incentive can motivate all manner of people, because each employee has a different need. What could be seen as a great way to stimulate one individual will not necessarily be same for another person. A good employer must therefore get to know the peculiar needs and concerns of each employee and fashion out incentives to suit them accordingly.

For instance, if an employee is in need of a car but does not have the ready means to get one, you may arrange for a flexible car loan for him with an employer guarantee. This can be a great way to stimulate employee performance.

3) Applaud good work openly.

One of the things that could easily boost your staff’s morale is when you let everyone else know they’ve done some good work and you appreciate it. This encourages the employee to give off his best at all times. It’s also a great source of enormous positive energy which your employee invests back into the company for greater returns.

It is important that you don’t praise someone when what they’ve done is not impressive enough, as this can appear as a form of bias and thus serve as a disincentive to other employees.

However, you should be mindful not to belittle important contributions from employees which deserve commendation, no matter how little they may seem. For instance, you could commend an employee for reporting to work early every day of the week.

4) Lead by example

You cannot expect employees to be super motivated when they don’t see your burning desire to make your company a better one.

For instance, a late arrival to work everyday of the working week could be a bad way of showing your enthusiasm for your company. If the energy you put into your company is worthy of emulation, your employees are more likely to follow suit. In other words, you must live the company’s brand if you want your employees to do same.

Always remember that, “Positivity breeds positivity.”

5) Encourage breaks.

Although most employers would typically wish their employees do not take their annual leave so as to safeguard their overall output in the company, it is also vital to understand the role of “taking a break” in an employee’s working life.

As a matter of fact, going on a break allows an individual to realize their full potential faster, because it helps them to subdue high stress levels which may affect their performance at work. What’s more, encouraging your employees to take a break also demonstrates your strong commitment to their wellbeing.

Going on vacations could also help them to work on their personal development, family ties and so many more, and this could greatly help in creating a positive atmosphere for them to work in.