Ensuring worker productivity through motivation can be a tough balancing act. On one side, you want to make sure your hard-working employees will have something worthwhile to look forward to so they can keep performing at their best capacity. On the other hand, you also want to avoid giving them too much to the point that the rewards end up being taken for granted.
Many business leaders think that motivation is merely about promising employees with more cash. While cash bonuses are a common option, it won’t get you big results if not accompanied by the right approach to team management and fostering a solid employer-employee relationship. Proper employee motivation revolves around these three major points:
Use the Right Rewards
Simply throwing more money at your workers won’t always do the trick. In fact, in many cases, a combination of monetary and non-monetary rewards tend to be more effective at keeping employees motivated. For example, employees could appreciate some free time for themselves, so you may consider rewarding them with more days off or a sponsored vacation for their efforts.
Of course, promised rewards won’t matter much if they’re not getting them at all. This is why it’s highly recommended to use an intelligent compensation management tool to accurately track each member’s performance and to make sure the right rewards go to the right people. The last thing you want to happen is for you to mistakenly give more significant rewards to less deserving employees. Also, make sure rewards are given at the right time—punctual delivery of compensation will help reinforce your employee’s trust in your company.
Foster a Relationship Between You and Your Workforce
Yet another reason why just providing cash incentives isn’t always the best solution is because having such a generic reward gives your employees the impression that you, as an employer, can’t be really bothered that much to actually care about them. This is bound to weaken the bond between you and your employees, which means one less reason to stay in case a more attractive offer from another company comes by.
To prevent this from happening, make sure that you show you actually care. Schedule personal meetings with each employee, and check on them regularly to see how well they are doing and if they have any concerns. The more meaningful interactions you have with your employees, the more they will see that you actually have a stake in their personal career growth. Let them know that you want them to be successful and that their success also benefits you.
Don’t Overwork Them
Better performance means better rewards for your employees, but that should never be an excuse to force them to work too hard. In fact, you should consider taking this one step further and actively avoid situations where employees have to stay for extra hours just to get that incentive. Job burnouts are a real threat to the employee’s morale and health, and the last thing you want in your workforce is an employee that can’t function properly.
Encourage your employees to strive for a healthy work-life balance. Single out employees that are known to stay beyond office hours, and work with them to find a way to improve their productivity in a way that would not take away their rest time. Remind people to maximize their allotted vacation leaves. Some employees tend to “save up” unused vacation leaves if they can be converted to extra pay, so making these leaves non-convertible can actually be a good thing.
While an employer has many options when it comes to motivating their workforce, the best picks are those that touch on all three of these major points. Keep these big three in mind, and you’re bound to have a workforce that will always be happy to give their best performance and ensure consistently high productivity
