5 Helpful Non-Financial Ways To Motivate Employees

When you talk to the employees about what they want from a job, money is often at the top of the list. If you ask them what would make them work harder, they will often respond by saying more money. Bonuses, raises and other financial incentives have been used to motivate employees for a long time and can be effective, but they are not eh only tools that a business has.

Using money as an incentive has its limitations. There are times when people will think the money being offered is not enough to make them want to do something. There are times when it is not practical to offer money as incentive and there are times when employees are not looking for money. While a business should not exclude the idea of using financial incentives to motivate employees, they also need to make sure that they are doing other things to help keep their employees motivate. Learning a few other motivational tools can help a business succeed and can improve the way the employees feel about a business.

Words can be a Powerful Motivator

The power of words should not be forgotten. As young children, the praise received from parents and other adults is all that is needed to give the maximum effort. A smart business will learn some tools that can help them use words to keep their employees motivated.

• Reviews – When employees get a raise, the raise should be accompanied by a review of the employees work. Many businesses have these reviews in place, but they are done as an afterthought. This is a big mistake. The review should be done carefully. It should include what the employee does well to help the business and what they need to improve on. Both the employee and the reviewer should create a plan for the employee moving forward that includes specific goals. All of this should be written down to make this more than just words that are spoken. They can become a commitment from both the employee and the business and can motivate both to reach the stated goals.
• Motivational Speakers – Bringing in conference speakers that specialize in motivational exercises can help boost everyone’s morale. It can make them think in different ways and is a very powerful tool for motivation. The speakers can address any size group and can be effectively used throughout the year for a business.

Other Tools

Words are only some of the motivational tools that are not financial that can be utilized by a business. The biggest problem with words is that they may not be used often enough or they may not be heard by all of the employees. Adding a few more tools to motivate employees can help everyone involved.

• Scheduling – One of the best ways to keep employees motivated is to allow them to control their work schedule. Many businesses are offering their employees flexible hours that allow the employees to do things they want or need to do outside of work. Allowing employees to work from home is another way to keep employees happy and working harder. Providing for more time off of work is another incentive to consider. It may require extra effort to make sure that the business is always covered and that the needs of the business are being met, but when it can be accomplished, employees benefit and will be more motivated.
• Regular Recognition – Everyone enjoys being recognized for the things they have accomplished. Many businesses will thank an employee for doing a great job, but they do it in private. That type of recognition should be done in public. The more that this is done, the more likely other employees will begin to strive for that recognition.
• Create a Good Work Environment – One of the greatest tools for motivation is removing any toxic poisons that are in the workplace. If there is one employee that is never happy and is never putting forth an effort, that employee can have a negative effect on all of the other employees. Removing the toxic employee is not always the easiest thing to do, but it can make everyone else happy, more productive and motivated to work for a business that cares about them.

People have to work to support themselves and their family. That is a fact of life. While most people want to make as much money as they can, they would rather work in an environment that made them feel better and in an environment in which they feel they are important. The successful businesses are the ones that realize the importance of employee morale and work to find any way they can to improve the workplace. That includes doing things that are not based on money.

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