Top 10 Ways To Motivate Employees

Ten Simple Tips
Here are 10 tips to keep good employees, and keep them motivated. I've personally tried and tested each one of them; in fact, I'm doing each of these in my business today. I'm sure you'll be able to apply them to your particular business, and maybe even improve on them.


1. Ask your employees what they want.

• Conduct a company survey.
• Listen to them. Hold weekly meetings for each department and monthly meetings for the whole company. Find out what's on their minds.
• Set up a suggestion box and, where appropriate, use their suggestions.

2. Pay them well.

• To keep the best people, you're going to have to pay the highest possible wages and commissions. Check out your competition to find out what they're offering.
• Give them opportunities for spiffs/perks. Put these in writing, and keep the plan simple.

3. Provide for them.

• Give your employees the best health insurance possible. Shop the insurance market and offer them options.
• Take care of their families. Offer health insurance options that include family coverage, and provide disability and life insurance protection.
• Let them enjoy vacations and holidays. Although you may want to limit vacations during peak seasons, make sure they get time away from work to unwind and recharge.

4. Show them a future.

• Outline employees' career paths with your company. Provide for internal growth as well as future change. Promote from within and, if possible, offer alternate opportunities to help employees find the right fit.
• Help them secure their retirement by offering a 401(k) or profit-sharing plan.

5. Make them part of a team.

• Be selective when hiring new employees. Have a written hiring plan and always be aware of the image of your company that you want employees to convey.
• Create opportunities for department goals that support team building. Make it fun, come up with team names, t-shirts, etc.

6. Reward them.

• Give your employees gifts for excellence. The gifts don't have to be extravagant. For example, give a new tool or movie tickets to the technician who has the cleanest vehicle, or who consistently turns in the neatest paperwork.
• Let them know their value. Take employees out for breakfast, or visit them in the field and treat them to lunch.
• Go above and beyond. Think up contests that can make work more interesting and fun. Sponsor company get-away trips, cookouts, etc.

7. Commend them.

• Create a "Wall of Fame" for employees' certificates, awards, and letters of thanks.
• Write about your employees in your company newsletters or on your website.
• Have an employee of the month and an employee of the year. This works particularly well if the winner is chosen by the other employees.

8. Thank them.

• Always acknowledge employees' anniversaries with an anniversary card and an announcement at a company meeting.
• Make a note of employees' birthdays and give them a card or gift.
• Give employees thank-you cards for suggestions they share at company meetings.
• Visit with employees in their offices or on jobsites to find out how things are going.

9. Challenge them.

• Use report boards to show employees "the numbers." Let them see how they stack up against others in key performance indicators (you can determine which indicators are most important at your company).
• Teach employees how to set goals. This can apply to company, department and individual goals. Make sure the goals are S.M.A.R.T.: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

10. Empower them.

• Set up committees for benefits, safety, and training. This allows employees to write their own procedures manuals, and cross-train each other.
• Don't make them be perfect. If you want employees to try new things, there are going to be failures as well as successes. Don't forget that both bring growth.

None of these tips are very complicated; in fact, most of them are very simple. The hardest part, ironically, may be convincing yourself that these steps will make a difference.
Just try a few things to start. Find out about your employees. What will motivate them? Try the things with the most impact first. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work all the time, with every employee. Over time, people in your company (and outside your company) will begin to notice a positive difference.