Ten Inexpensive but Effective Ways to Motivate Your Staff

Even within the most renowned companies, work can become very stressful or even humdrum at times. Below we've listed ten tried and tested ways to keep your team motivated.

Taking your team out for lunch is a great way to lift morale and cultivate good group dynamics. Giving staff something to look forward to, such as pizza, is something that should be planned at least one week in advance.

Be relentless in praising the efforts of your staff. We all like praise for a job well done, and taking the time to sincerely thank a staff member in front of their peers will boost their self-esteem.

There’s good reason that a drink after work is the traditional way to bond your team. However, there are many ways for co-workers to have fun together that need not involve consuming copious amounts of alcohol: an ‘Away Day' skiing, paintballing or bowling, for example. If you must drink, don't get drunk in front of your team – it looks unprofessional.

Providing people with the opportunity to attend an external training course is a great means of stimulation and simultaneously shows that you are prepared to invest in their development. After they return, encourage them to outline what they've learned to the rest of your team.

Work doesn’t have to feel like work all the time, and every hard working team needs a little downtime. Once a month, a Friday afternoon is often a great time to do something different that keeps people motivated for the following month. Team prizes that combine humour with public recognition will be well received. 

Learn to recognize when a member of your team wants and is ready for additional responsibility. Smart people often crave opportunities for development, figuring that the additional skills they pick up make them more marketable.

It costs nothing to upgrade a title but may mean a great deal to your employee personally and to the way they are perceived within the workplace.

Nothing destroys team morale and cohesiveness faster than a boss no one trusts, particularly one who plays team members against each other. You must be prepared to demonstrate integrity and stand up for your staff at all times.

Sometimes staff members may have to take time off unexpectedly. Try to be gracious and accommodating about such requests. In return, staff will often work exceedingly hard to make up for lost effort. Indeed, when happy, we're all more productive.

People need clear goals for the short and medium term at work. Do your best to provide those objectives and steer staff toward meeting them.

Are these motivation techniques not enough to keep some of your employees happy? Check out these top tips for retaining staff.