How to Motivate Employees – The Complete Guide
Inspire Your Team to Do Their Best Work, and Take Your Org to the Next Level
In the past, the topic of how to motivate employees was a non-starter with most business leaders. Managers held a position of power, and getting the most out of their workforce was relatively simple:
Get results, or get fired.
After all, the logic went, why should you have to motivate employees to do their jobs? It’s their job. They’re getting paid, aren’t they?
But ask just about any business leader or HR pro today, and they’ll tell you – it’s just not that simple.
For starters, in a recovering economy, top talent is in high demand, so the threat of firing no longer meant what it once did. (Not to mention the deeper issue that creating a culture of fear will hurt your business in the long run… and make your life a whole lot less enjoyable.)
Furthermore, your employees are human, and human beings are motivated by an intricate network of variables, compensation being just one of many factors.
Compensation is only 1 of many factors that motivate employees
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In fact, for most people, there’s a limit to money’s ability to motivate. An oft-cited study by Princeton economist Angus Deaton and psychologist Daniel Kahneman demonstrated that beyond the $75k threshold, money does not have a significant impact on our day-to-day contentment, and is therefore not a powerful motivator beyond this benchmark.
So what does motivate employees?
Unsurprisingly, the answer is complex. Human beings are motivated by a myriad of emotional, psychological, and material factors, and this is as true in the workplace as anywhere else.
The best businesses understand the importance of employee motivation and know that it’s better to accept this fact than to fight it.
It may seem daunting, but fret not. You don’t need a PhD in psychology – nor a mountain of cash – to motivate your employees to do their best work and take your org to the next level.
We’ve put together this Complete Guide to help you do just that.
In each of the below chapters, we’ve outlined a critical element of employee motivation, and provided you with recommended content to further your understanding of the topic, as well as the best blog and influencer to follow.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this guide to motivating employees (click any of the links below to jump to that chapter):
Chapter 1 | Harness The Power of Rewards & Incentives
Chapter 2 | Motivate Through Personal Growth & Development
Chapter 3 | The Power of Purpose
Chapter 4 | Autonomy as a Pathway to Breakthroughs
Chapter 5 | Ignite Employee Passion
Chapter 6 | Trust in Leadership
Chapter 7 | Happiness
Chapter 8 | Case Studies, Strategy Tips, and Motivational Techniques in Action
Chapter 1: Harness the Power of Rewards & Incentives
As previously mentioned, monetary incentives have their limits, but that’s not to say that there aren’t effective (and budget-friendly) ways to incentivize your employees to do their best work.
The key is to create incentives that activate the emotional and psychological connection between the individual and the team. Small prizes like gift cards, certificates, or mere recognition can have a serious impact on morale. Seemingly small gestures like these let employees know they’re appreciated, and inspire them to stay on task and push themselves.
The motivating power of recognition knows no bounds. (Photo courtesy of Brady Murphy)
Another effective strategy is to offer rewards that give people back their most precious and irreplaceable asset – their time. Give star performers a half or whole day off, or the gift of services like Washio to free up their time on the weekends.
Here’s another tactic to consider: gamification.
Humans are hardwired for competition. Turn your weekly, monthly, or even quarterly goals into a team-wide competition, with prizes or trophies for the winners.
We use this tactic all the time here at SnackNation. One sales group even has a championship belt that is awarded to the rep with the best numbers for the week.
Fun, simple ways like this will create a sense of camaraderie, while motivating employees to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable.
Use gamification to motivate your team to achieve their goals
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Offsites are another great incentive. Reward your team with a day away from the office for completing big goals. Double the value by incorporating team bonding or brainstorming to the agenda. Putting your people in a new environment will be sure to get their creative juices flowing.
The SnackNation team on an offsite in Venice, CA
There are no shortage of simple, thoughtful gestures to let your team know they are cared for and appreciated, which will in turn motivate them to put in the extra effort for your company.
Additional Resources:
30 Time-Saving Employee Rewards | You Earned It
101 Super Effective Ways to Reward Your Employees | Inc.
Offsites that Work | Harvard Business Review
Read this blog: GloboForce
Follow this influencer: Jane McGonical (gamification expert)
Chapter 2: Motivate through Personal Growth & Development
Growth is a fundamental driver of human behavior, and can be harnessed to motivate your employees to do their best work. Mastery – our innate desire to achieve proficiency and hone skills – motivates individuals to challenge themselves, work through problems, and in the process, add value to the organization.
In their book The Alliance, LinkedIn CEO Reid Hoffman and entrepreneur and writer Ben Casnocha argue that the companies have an obligation to provide individuals with opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Here’s a SlideShare summary of The Alliance:
In enlightened companies, there exists an informal compact between the employee and employer stating that in exchange for a dedicated “tour of duty” – a 3-5 year period of commitment and service to the organization – the employer will provide the individual with skills and experience that will help them experience personal and professional breakthroughs.
Both the employee and the employer are enriched by the experience, and at the end of the tour the individual can choose to either move on to another company (and elevated role) or stay and sign on for another tour.
There are many ways you can apply this concept in a real world context.
At SnackNation, we have a program called the Sensei Session, a weekly personal development session in which both senior leadership and rank and file employees present on various development related topics. It’s a great way for the organization to enhance their knowledge base, while simultaneously helping the presenter gain valuable public speaking skills.
But you don’t need a full blown personal development program in order to see the fruits of development. This can be done one on one with managers and their direct reporters.
Managers should sit down with their team members and get to know their personal and professional goals. It’s cliche, but ask them where they see themselves in five years? Ten?
Once those goals are clarified, they can work on outlining a pathway to achieve them, and see where the company can support them along the way.
Clif bar does this with their employes, working with them one on one to develop personal values and discovering ways the company can enable them to live those values at work. (And if their 97% retention rate is any measure, this tactic seems to be working).
Once the pathway is determined, conduct weekly, monthly, or quarterly check-ins to measure the progress of employee goals and iterate the process if needed.
Additional Resources:
How to Create a Culture of Rapid Personal Growth | The Awesome Office Show
How to Offer a Transformational ‘Tour of Duty’ | Inc.
12 Tips for Personal Career Growth | Xerox
How Personal Growth Affects You at Work | OfficeVibe
Read this blog: MichaelHyatt.com
Follow this influencer: Ben Casnocha
Chapter 3: The Power of Purpose
Purpose is another powerful motivator, and something you can use to activate your employees’ inner drive.
To be clear, your company’s purpose is separate from things like revenue targets or shareholder returns. Purpose is something much deeper. It’s the particular problem you’re trying to solve, the community you are trying to serve, or the mission that inspires your employees to get up every day to try and fulfill it.
Your company’s purpose is separate from things like revenue targets or shareholder returns
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More than ever, employees are longing to connect their working lives to something greater than themselves. They’re no longer satisfied merely collecting a paycheck.
Modern workers (many of them Millennials) recognize that the world faces an onslaught of complex social, environmental, and economic challenges, and demand that their work life is spent at least in part addressing these issues.
The good news is, you’re already halfway there. Because whether you realize it or not, your company has a purpose.
Go back to your core values. Why do you do what you do?
Tap into this spirit. Think about who your customers are and how you add value to their lives or businesses. This is your purpose. Make this the foundation of your culture, and reflect it in your core values.
Perhaps the best expression of this idea is found in Simon Sinek’s popular TED Talk and subsequent book, Start with Why.
In it, he breaks down how the best companies start by identifying their purpose, and then use that to guide what they create and how they operate.
Another way to galvanize your team around your purpose is to select charitable activities or volunteer days that align with your company’s purpose. Giving back helps employees step back from the day to day and put things in perspective.
This enhanced sense of purpose will carry over and be a motivating force in their work.
Additional Resources:
It all starts with purpose: How to find your company’s guiding principle | Crew Blog
Why Businesses That Are Purpose-Driven Come Out on Top | Inc.
How to Create a Sense of Purpose at Work | Levo
Why is Purpose Important in the Workplace | The Association of Business Psychologists
Millennials Want To Work At Organizations That Focus On Purpose, Not Just Profit | Fast Co. Exist
Read this blog: Start With Why
Follow this influencer: Simon Sinek
Chapter 4: Autonomy as a Pathway to Breakthroughs
Have you ever heard someone say that they enjoy being micro-managed?
I’d bet money you haven’t.
Well, there’s a reason for that. In his book Drive, Daniel Pink makes a strong case that employee motivation can be broken down into three main categories. Two of those categories we’ve covered – mastery and purpose. The third helps explain our seemingly inherent aversion to micro managers – autonomy.
Autonomy simply refers to our innate desire to be in control of our own destiny. In the workplace, this means being trusted and empowered to make decisions and work independently.
Trust and empower your team to make decisions and work independently
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You can easily give your employees a sense of autonomy by clearly defining roles and objectives, and training your managers to take a step back. They should still set firm deadlines and expectations, but should check-in only as needed.
If an employee is consistently meeting deadlines and achieving results, there’s no need for a manager to constantly insert his or herself into the process. Employees will feel a sense of ownership and be more motivated to perform.
There are other ways to create a sense of ownership. Something as simple as a relaxed dress code sends a message that employees are allowed to be their true selves at work, and give them a sense of agency.
Allow teams to pick a mascot and decorate their desks or offices to a theme. Doing so will give employees a motivating sense of identity and independence.
Ricardo Semler’s Semco Partners represents this concept taken to the extreme. At Semco employees are given almost unfettered trust and freedom, and aren’t required to track things like expenses, sick time, or vacation days. They can also work from wherever they want – at one of the company’s many locations in Brazil – or from home if they choose.
Surprisingly, Ricardo’s experiments in industrial democracy have proven extremely effective, and under his leadership, revenue at Semco grew from $4 million in 1982 to $212 million in 2003.
Remember to give your employees space and empower them to own their roles. You’ll be pleased with how your employees will rise to the challenge.
Additional Resources:
The Motivation Trifecta: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose | Delivering Happiness
How to run a company with (almost) no rules | Ricardo Semler’s TEDTalk
5 Ways to Give Workers More Autonomy (and Why It’s Important) | Intuit Blog
The Compelling Case for Giving Employees More Freedom | Inc.
Listen to this podcast: Office Hours
Follow this influencer: Daniel Pink
Chapter 5: Ignite Your Passion
We all have one –
The one task that we can do for hours, the skill that we’re most proud of, that gives us energy when we pursue it. The thing that we lose ourselves in, that when we do it, hours feel like seconds.
This is your passion, and tapping into your employees’ passions will motivate them to be more engaged and productive in their work.
Tapping into their passions will motivate your team to be more engaged and productive in their work
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But how do you this?
It starts by listening to your employees. Sit down with them, and along with their goals and values, help them identify their unique ability. Work with them to identify how they can exercise this ability within their role.
Another tactic is to allow your employees to complete rotations within your company, to discover the work they love. Many employees haven’t found their passion simply because they haven’t been exposed to it yet. It could be waiting for them just down the hall.
You’ll be surprised at what you discover. When you connect their work to the thing they love, the result will be a more productive, more engaged, and profoundly motivated workforce.
Additional Resources:
101 Empowering and Motivational Quotes for Employees | SnackNation
9 Questions to Unlock Your Unique Ability | Freedom Education
A Passion for Work | Gallup
7 Tips for Loving Your Career and Working with Passion | Inc.com
Listen to this podcast: EOFire
Follow this influencer: Catherine Nomura (author of Unique Ability)
Chapter 6: Trust in Leadership
Trust is a necessity in any relationship – and the employer-employee relationship is no different.
As a leader, the impetus is on you to honor the trust your employees place in you.
It may sound overly simple, but the only way to cultivate trust is to be trustworthy. Make sure you follow through with your promises. Whether they realize it or not, your employees keep a mental scorecard of your words and your actions.
If for some reason the company can’t make good on a promise, own up to it. Explain the situation, and express regret. Most often, your employees will understand.
The key lies in communication. Do it frequently and, above all, authentically.
The key lies in communication. Do it frequently and, above all, authentically.
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Don’t be afraid to talk about both good and bad news. If your company didn’t meet its revenue target or lost a big deal, don’t pretend like it didn’t happen.
Open a dialogue. Discuss ways to get better.
Your team are smart, and can spot spurious sentiment a mile away.
Leaders must practice what they preach. Hypocritical actions – even seemingly minor ones – can rapidly erode trust.
If your company creates a health and wellness program and says they care about your health, they better make time for you to participate, and your senior leadership better be front and center.
Likewise, cultivating trust means avoiding mixed messages.
For instance, if you tell your employees that you value work-life balance, but the unwritten rule is that you should be eating lunch at your desk and working 12 hour days, your company’s credibility is in danger.
Simply put, employees need to know that leaders have their best interests at heart. If they do, they’ll infinitely more motivated and willing to run through walls for you.
Additional Resources:
Why Building a Culture of Trust Will Boost Employee Performance—and Maybe Even Save Your Company | SodaRock
The Importance of Building Employee Trust: How to Create a Culture of Trust | Talent Space Blog
3 keys to building trust between managers and employees | Reliable Plant
Proven Ways to Earn Your Employees’ Trust | HBR
Read this blog: Talent Space
Follow this influencer: Carolyn O’Hara
Chapter 7: Happiness
There’s a revolution happening in business psychology right now.
At the root of it is an emotion most Americans don’t normally associate with work – happiness.
Positive psychologists like Harvard’s Shawn Achor and Stanford’s Emma Seppala, alongside business leaders like Zappos’ Tony Hsieh, are discovering that happiness fuels success, not the other way around.
Happiness fuels success, not the other way around
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Hsieh, for instance, realized that the experience of delivering happiness to Zappos’ customers is at the core of their business. With this as the starting point, he re-engineered the culture to promote happiness both internally and externally. This culture of joy and happiness is a big part of Zappos’ exceptional customer service and phenomenal success.
The simple fact is that happy employees are more motivated. They are more likely to be engaged, to be there for their colleagues, and to do the things that your business needs to go to the next level.
There are easy ways to create more happiness in the workplace. Simple things like expressing gratitude, encouraging high-fives, or making time for group activities like fitness classes, walks, or yoga will go a long way to improving moods and motivation.
Multiple studies have shown that exercise and healthy nutrition have a serious impact on mood, so make sure to take breaks, take walking meetings when you can, and to stock your breakroom with healthy snacks and beverages.
Remember that it all starts with leadership. Your top executives and managers set the emotional tone for the workplace, and if there’s a dark cloud following them, it will trickle down through the org chart.
Additional Resources:
11 Shocking Employee Happiness Statistics | SnackNation
Uniqlo Jumps on the Happy Employee Bandwagon | Huffington Post
The difference between employee happiness and employee engagement | Gethappy.com
7 Secrets To Employee Happiness | Entrepreneur
Read this blog: Delivering Happiness
Follow this influencer: Emma Seppala (author and Stanford happiness researcher)
Chapter 8: Case Studies & Action Steps
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, then you know that while we know strategy is important, ultimately it’s the execution that counts.
Here are some case studies that show employee motivation strategies in action:
Motivational theory in practice at Tesco | Business Case Studies
How to Motivate Your Team to do its Best Work | RecruiterBox
Seven Ways To Inspire Employees to Love their Jobs | Forbes
Employee Motivation A Short Case Study | Scribd
The Ten Companies Doing the Most to Make Their Employees Happy | Forbes
Conclusion
On the face of it, figuring out how to motivate your employees is a complex and murky topic. But it all comes down to acknowledging the value your team creates by giving back to them.
Give them ownership, autonomy, and tools to grow. Let them know they’re appreciated, keep them in the loop, and treat them as you would want to be treated. Connect their work to their aspirations and to a higher purpose.
If you do these things, your employees will stay motivated and productive, and there’s no stopping what they can do.
Who are your favorite thought leaders on this topic? Anyone we left out? Let us know in the comments!
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