A1 Small Business

It may seem that it shouldn't matter how you treat your employees, or how much you pay them, they are there to work, and work they should - but it's an undisputable fact that badly motivated staff do not produce the same high results as a company where staff motivation is high.

There are a number of ways you can increase staff motivation.  One of these is to offer incentives that reward good reliable workers.  The incentives could be financial in terms of a certain % bonus each month, or they could be in terms of paid vacation entitlement - x number of days per target surpassed.

A less expensive way of increasing staff motivation is to address the workforce's basic needs.  What are the employees' facilities like?  Do they have a designated rest area?  Is this light and airy?  Do they have a staff restaurant or place they can buy food or snacks?  Are the restrooms clean and hygienic?  Is each member of staff given their own workspace, or are they constantly moving around with no fixed "home" base?  Are employees allowed a rest break?  Are the health and safety in the workplace laws enforced?  Are employee uniforms provided free of charge?

Another way to increase staff motivation is simply through communication.  Employees who are told to do a job but are not looked upon as part of a company team, often feel that this is just a job where they go and do the minimum and then go home again.  They aren't made to feel that they are an important part of the success of the company.  If the employees are given information about how the company is functioning, what is being planned for the future, what targets the company is aiming for, how the company is trying to outsell its competitors, and then they start to think like one of the team.  They want their team to win, and they will do whatever needs to be done to ensure that their piece of the puzzle is completed on or before time.

Finding the way to increase staff motivation in your workplace will undoubtedly result in a profit increase because a workforce that is motivated to work will always produce more than one which isn't.