“Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

– Lou Holtz

You have hired the best and most competent hands you could find; what’s left is to keep them productive, and what better way to do this than to motivate them? Every business owner and manager knows motivated employees are more productive and do more quality work. Thus, keeping your employees motivated makes them feel excited to come to work every day.

Many employees are not always after the pay; they want to be happy doing what they do—to derive satisfaction and joy from what they do. They must have reasons to come to work each day—a nice, smiling boss who knows how to put their foot down, good working conditions, etc. What are you doing for them? Even your composure and attitude affect your performance.

There are many ways to keep your employees happy and motivated without raising their pay. Some of them include:

• Creating a pleasant work environment

Make sure the office looks nice. Lighting, temperature, and colour all affect how employees perform. Are you using a plain yellow lightbulb? Sometimes, it is tedious and draining—use soft lighting. Try to incorporate as much light as possible in the workplace, whether through skylights, windows, or desk lights. Offices that are too cold or too hot can also negatively affect productivity. Try to keep the office between 21 and 23 degrees at all times.

• Recognising the achievements of your employees

When your employees accomplish their goals or achieve something, take the time to appreciate them. Write an email or a personal thank you note for their accomplishments, and you can even give them a small gift or even praise them in front of everyone; just don’t make this too much so as not to cause strife. If a team achieves something, celebrate it. “We are all motivated by the keen desire for praise, and the better a man is, the more he is inspired by glory.”- Cicero.

• Genuinely caring for your employees.

Genuinely asking after their welfare helps. Giving constructive feedback is excellent. Nobody likes to be micro-managed. People prefer someone who will motivate them and lead them towards a goal. They don’t want to do something one way, only for you to come around, clearly upset, telling them they should collapse everything and start all over again. That is frustrating. Let them know from the onset what the goal is. If you notice that the performance of one of your employees is weaker than others, give them constructive feedback so he/she can also improve. Let your employees know that you care for them.

• Maintaining clear communication within the workplace

Transparency is key. You must be transparent when communicating with your employees. Even if the news is terrible, you should still clearly talk with your employees and explain to them what is happening within the company. Create time to listen to your employees’ concerns and do your best to solve them. Keep an open channel of communication and get their feedback when necessary.

Keeping your employees motivated might seem like hard work, especially if you aren’t getting as much as you expect, but motivate them you should. This would encourage them to be happier and better at their jobs. They would be willing to go the extra mile for an excellent boss who makes them happy than one who doesn’t.

What other ways of motivation do you use as an employer? Do share with us. What other ways do you, as an employee, wish you will be motivated to do more work? Please let us know in the comments section.