Boost Employee Motivation With These 10 Tricks 

Many employers know that employee motivation is crucial for a productive workplace and, consequently, for business success. In this article, you will find out the results of multiple research that show how essential it is to motivate your employees.  

Furthermore, you will learn how to motivate your employees and reap all the benefits of elevated employee motivation for your business. 

💡 Before we start, learn about another important driver of business success – employee recognition! Find out how employee recognition impacts your organization. 

What Is Employee Motivation 

Simply put, employee motivation is perceived as the enthusiasm, commitment and energy that employees exhibit at work. In general, motivation is a hard concept to grasp and can be difficult to measure. However, motivated employees are more dedicated to their work, which is then seen in their elevated productivity. 

There are two types of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic. It is important for employers to distinguish them, so they know how to incentivize their employees. 

Intrinsic employee motivation 

Intrinsic employee motivation refers to behavior that is driven by internal satisfaction. In other words, employees are motivated to do certain tasks because they derive pleasure from them. When your employees’ values are aligned with your organizations’ and when they are aware of how their work contributes to a larger team’s success, they are awarded internally by the feeling of purpose. 

Extrinsic employee motivation 

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation relates to behavior that is driven by external rewards. Your employees are motivated to do their jobs better if they are rewarded for their work. The reward itself does not have to be a monetary one – receiving recognition is also a very powerful motivator. 

💡 Check out our employee recognition ideas your employees will love. 

10 Ways to Motivate Your Employees 

As we explained earlier, employers can motivate their employees in many ways. A variety of monetary and non-monetary incentives is at every employer’s disposal. Depending on outcomes you wish to achieve, you can implement many strategies to motivate your employees to do their best work. 

However, employee motivation is just one aspect of your employees’ experience. HR Professionals usually implement programs that influence more elements that comprise employee experience, like employee productivity, company culture and employee retention. 

Furthermore, a couple of basic requirements need to be fulfilled if you want to see results from your employee motivation strategy. Many employers forget that rightful wages, decent work conditions and a solid work atmosphere cannot be compensated for. If your workplace lacks any of those, it is extremely hard to motivate your employees to go the extra miles. 

1. Appreciate your employees’ work 

As discussed earlier, employee recognition is the most powerful motivator of all. By thanking your colleagues or subordinates for their contribution, you incite feelings of happiness and pride in their work. 

You can start by simply saying “Thank you” to your employees. Furthermore, by implementing an employee recognition program, you can centralize your recognition efforts and track the results in your appreciation culture. 

💡 Find out which steps you should follow to implement an employee recognition program.

2. Give meaningful feedback 

When you give meaningful feedback to your employees, you spark their intrinsic motivation for work. Both re-directive and positive feedback have the power to make your employees feel that you value their work and want them to succeed. 

Therefore, try implementing some of the best employee evaluation practices. This can improve your employees’ motivation and incite the feedback culture in your company. 

3. Celebrate employee milestones 

Apart from recognizing your employees’ everyday contributions, you should celebrate their milestones. Your employees’ anniversaries are important events that mark your employees’ commitment to your company. Therefore, appreciating your employees’ loyalty motivates them to continue being a part of your company. 

Check out how you can recognize your employees’ achievements and celebrate milestones with our Recognition and Rewards Platform JobPts. 

4. Give monetary incentives 

Monetary incentives like bonuses or cash prizes are standard motivators and are becoming a part of employee incentives norm. 65% of employees prefer bonuses to be based on personal performance, and it is because they can control meeting their goals best when working alone on a project. However, if you want to incentivize teamwork, try linking monetary incentives to team project outcomes. 

5. Offer flexible work options 

A vast majority of 99% employees would like to work remotely at least some of the time. Allowing your employees to work remotely is a great way to motivate them since it offers them possibility to commute less and achieve better work-life balance. Besides, having remote work option is a great employee retention tactic. 

6. Provide growth opportunities 

If your employees don’t feel like their efforts lead to a career advancement, they are demotivated to do their best. This is especially true for younger employees – 52% of Millennials believe that opportunities for career advancement make company an attractive employer. 

7. Make your employees’ work more meaningful 

Employees who find work meaningful experience significantly greater job satisfaction, which correlates with increased productivity. Try making your employees’ work more meaningful by aligning it with your company’s core values. Moreover, explain to your employees how their work fits into the bigger picture or broader organizational goals. 

8. Empower your employees 

When you give your employees more responsibility and decision-making power, you increase the level of control they have over their tasks. Consequently, you motivate and equip your employees to better carry out those tasks. In other words, empowerment gives your employees autonomy and allows them to develop a sense of ownership over their work, which is motivating itself. 

9. Facilitate employee wellbeing 

Optimizing your employees’ mental and physical health has a direct effect on your employees’ motivation. 85% of companies that implemented a wellbeing program report that it increased their employee engagement as well.  

Namely, employee wellbeing initiative has the power to supply your employees with means to handle stress better or get in better physical shape. This shows employees that your company cares for their wellness which also motivates them in their daily job. 

10. Enable seamless communication 

One of the biggest struggles of teamwork is effective communication. It can be frustrating if communication between managers and subordinates or between peers is poor and ineffective. By facilitating smooth communication, you will remove one of the biggest productivity stoppers in employees’ opinion. 

Important Facts About Employee Motivation 

When employees are motivated, they are also more engaged in their work. Employee engagement is directly derived from employee motivation and satisfaction. There are numerous aspects of employee experience that affect employee motivation and vice versa. 

As we explained, employee motivation is hard to grasp and measure, but employees display their motivation with engagement. Intrinsic motivation directs employees in certain industries or job types, because they are personally more stimulated to do perform certain tasks than other. However, once they start working, external motivation is extremely important to keep employees satisfied and driven in their jobs. 

Employee motivation can come in many forms. However, there are certain aspects of workplace culture that prove to be powerful employee motivators. In return, employee motivation contributes to better business results in many ways. 

Employee recognition boosts employee motivation 

Workplace recognition provides a sense of accomplishment and makes employees feel valued for their work.  According to research, 93% of employees who feel valued by their employer are motivated to do their best work, while only 33% of those who do not feel valued are motivated to perform their best. 

Regular employee feedback increases employee motivation 

When they receive regular feedback, your employees are reassured that they are doing a good job and know which aspects of their work should be improved. Research shows that 67% of employees are fully engaged in their work when managers give them positive feedback. 

Employee motivation improves employee productivity 

When your employees are aligned with your company’s values and know how they contribute to your organizational goals, they are motivated to perform their best. This is evident in their higher engagement levels. Gallup’s research on employee engagement states that engaged employees are 17% more productive than disengaged employees.   

Employee motivation decreases absenteeism 

Giving your employees purpose and rewarding them for positive behaviour motivates them to be consistent in their work. When your employees connect their work experience with positive feelings, they are less likely to avoid coming to work. 

💡 More specifically, Gallup’s research shows that highly engaged workplaces saw 41% lower absenteeism. 

Employee motivation improves retention 

According to research, 68% of HR Professionals say that their employee recognition program positively affects retention in their company. This is because employees are motivated by recognition from their managers and peers. When recognized, employees feel more inclined to keep working at a company that values their contribution. 

Employee Motivation Survey Questions 

Every company’s employees are different – so you need to find out what motivates your employees to go the extra mile. In other words, before implementing any kind of recognition or feedback program, you need to measure the state of your employee motivation. That way, you will be able to estimate the effectiveness of your motivational efforts. 

💡 Use SurveyRocks to survey your employees and find out what motivates them. Check what your employees say are the obstacles to their best performance and listen to their suggestions.  

Ask your employees these questions to understand what motivates them. 

1. How important it is for you to be really good at what you do?
2. What inspires you about your work? 
3. How motivated would you say you feel in performing your everyday tasks? 
4. How much ownership do you feel over your work? 
5. How do you feel your job relates to our company’s goals? 
6. Do you feel your work is aligned with our company’s values? 
7. How can your manager help you gain more autonomy and independence in your work? 
8. How can your manager help you feel more aligned with company’s goals? 
9. Do you see yourself developing a career in this company? 
10. Do you feel like you have an opportunity for advancement in this company? 
11. Do you find your work stimulating and engaging? How? 
12. How motivated are you to go the extra mile at work? Why? 
13. How important is it for you to develop new skills at work? 
14. How appreciated do you feel for your work? 
15. How focused are you in performing your daily tasks? 
16. What motivates you to do your best work? 
17. What can your superior do to motivate you at work? 
18. What can our organization do to increase your motivation? 
19. Is there anything that causes you frustration in your work? What is it?  
20. What is the most meaningful part of your job?