How To Motivate Your Employees Everyday

When you’ve worked somewhere for a while, things can get pretty routine. You know what to expect, you know how to do your job, and you rarely run into significant surprises. For your employees, this routine helps them excel at their job. But does it keep them motivated?

Motivation is one of the most important things each of your employees can have at work. It keeps them working hard and keeps them asking if things are exceeding customer expectations and making your organization better. And it comes and goes on a daily basis. So how do you get to the root of what motivates your employees, and what makes them want to do their best work every single day they show up?

Show them you appreciate their work

What’s the best way to de-motivate an employee? Act like their work is expected or average. Everyone in the world wants to feel noticed and recognized, so if you want to get at the heart of motivating your employees, a lot of it lies in how you address their work.

Usually, you wait until an employee has gone above and beyond their duties to express your thanks. But thanking them in a special way every day that they do their job well. As often as you can, pull your employees aside to let them know that they’re rocking it, and that you appreciate them.

Empower them

There’s nothing worse than trying to do your job and having your supervisor swoop in, taking over because they think they can do it better. Managers that do this send a condescending message and de-value the hard work their employees put forward.

So many employees are eager to do more, to take on more responsibility and to show their full potential. In many cases, you’ll find that adding more responsibility to a staff member’s plate will help them prioritize and push themselves. And empowering them to help in new or different ways is a great way to motivate them. You’ll show you trust your staff and hold their work in high esteem when it comes to their role in your company.

Offer random incentives

We’ve talked several times about how offering incentives can be a great tool for motivating employees. The funny thing is, when they’re specifically outlined, and when your staff sees them coming, incentives actually become a less effective motivation tool.

Instead, try employing something like a “spot bonus.” Every third, fourth or tenth time that your employee does something great, offer them a small financial bonus or other incentive. The point is to offer these incentives at random intervals so your staff knows they’re possible, but isn’t expecting them at every turn. It’s a great way to add a fun, unexpected bonus to your employee’s day while showing they’ve done a great job.

Create a fun environment

Maybe more important than all of these tips is your ability to provide a work environment that’s fun and pleasant to be in. After all, there are few things more motivating than knowing you’re working at a place that’s awesome to be at. And when you love where you work, you put your best foot forward, you contribute to the team, and you stay motivated because you want to make your company the best place it can be.

Offer parties for employees, encourage them to be social and support each other, and promote a casual, laid-back environment to tone down the stress of work. These are all fun ways to make sure your employees stay motivated day after day, bringing their best work.

JD Spinoza

JD enjoys teaching people how to use ZoomShift to save time spent on scheduling. He’s curious, likes learning new things everyday and playing the guitar (although it’s a work in progress).