How Can I Motivate My Team on a Budget?

Our Top 10 Tips for Motivating Your Team

Are unmotivated employees bleeding your business dry?

As an employer, one of your toughest jobs is keeping your team motivated.  It’s common to assume that the only way to motivate people is to provide performance bonuses.  Of course, this is an excellent method of getting results, but also expensive.

We Have the Answer
If you want to rev up your team without breaking the bank, read on for our ‘Top 10 Tips for Motivating Your Team’.

1.  Give recognition before it’s asked for
Nothing boosts morale like a simple ‘well done’, but it has to be timely.  As soon as something has gone well make sure you give your team recognition.  You don’t want to be seen as someone who only notices when things go wrong.  However, don’t congratulate people so often that it loses all meaning – try to strike a balance.

2.  Treat your team
Small treats are cost effective and make work a happier place.  These can be anything from sharing a box of chocolates or ordering a fruit basket to taking your team out bowling.

3.  Communicate
Of course it’s vital to keep your team informed of your future plans for the business but it’s also important to listen as well.  Create a system that allows people to put forward their ideas for the business no matter how big or small.

4.  Have a blame-free culture
Sometimes things go wrong and it’s easy in the heat of the moment to play the blame game.  This results in loss of confidence for the employee involved and can turn into a downward spiral.  Don’t forget, mistakes are training opportunities in disguise.  Give the employee a chance to put a corrective action in place so everyone can avoid making the same mistake in the future.

5.  Rejuvenate your workspace
Create an office your team look forward to coming into on a Monday morning.  Fresh paint, modern artwork and well-maintained facilities work wonders to boost the mood in your workplace.

6.  Let go of the reigns
New starters often need a lot of supervision and support, but it’s important to know when to take a step back and allow them to work independently.  This will increase their confidence and your faith in them will boost their motivation.

7.  Career progression
Nothing motivates some people more than the prospect of promotion.  Make sure your people know exactly what is expected of them in order to move on to the next step in their career and watch them exceed your expectations.

8.  Training opportunities
Providing training opportunities shows your team that you see them as a long-term investment. Training gives your team the tools to improve their performance and widen their experience, keeping their role fresh and exciting, boosting motivation and morale.  Utilising cross-training within your organisation is a highly cost effective way of providing CPD, and can even benefit you during holiday season.

9.  Weed out poor managers
Poor managers come in many forms, but one thing they all have in common is an unhappy team and a high staff-turnover.  If you have struggling managers, now is the time to offer support and additional training; and if that doesn’t work it may be time to look for a replacement.