The Secret to Maintaining Employee Motivation

Some people are motivated by money or materialistic things, but in my experience this form of motivation usually only lasts a short time. Once the individual has become accustomed to their pay rise or the company car, they have now set a new comfort zone for themselves. However, if working conditions or poor management skills from immediate bosses have not been addressed or improved you will see employee motivation return to where it once was. They will do just enough to keep the bosses happy.

I was once asked by the CEO of a company what he could do to motivate his staff. I explained that not one motivational technique will work for everyone. Everybody is motivated by different things and in different ways. After interviewing each individual member of his staff, I discovered that there was an overriding feeling that they were not appreciated by the company or their immediate bosses.

Have you ever caught yourself or had this said to you, "You'd better do that or else!" "You better tidy your room or else!" "That report had better be on my desk in the morning or else!" These threats get us into a 'have to' motivation mode and we will do just enough to get the person threatening us off our back. No more and no less.

In a work environment if you are told 'do it or else!' You will only do enough to get your boss off your back and not an inch more. This is no way to inspire people. This is also called fear motivation. You never get the most out of people if you try and motivate them by fear. People will only do enough to quell the threat.

For the managers and supervisors out there, I am going to give you the secret to employee motivation and it doesn't mean providing child minding facilities or giving everyone a gym membership or a yearly flu injection. It is so simple and costs absolutely nothing. Are you ready? Here it is..

Simple acts that genuinely and sincerely recognise individuals for their effort and contribution to the company will motivate people.

I know, it seems so simple - but it works and you would be amazed at the results achieved by doing this. It's only natural to seek acknowledgment for a job well done. Often staff will work harder and continue a high level of work output if they know that their efforts are genuinely acknowledged and appreciated. Just a simple and genuine 'thankyou' can go along way.

It's important to note that these simple acts of recognising individuals for their efforts must be done genuinely and sincerely. If they are used too often they can come across as insincere and will have a negative effect.

To get people achieving and working towards their goals, positive motivation is needed not fear motivation.

Damien Clarke has been delivering Personal and Professional Change Management programs to businesses for over 12 years. His own ebook The Truth About Goal Setting is proving a real success with people all over the world. Keep uptodate and follow Damien's Blog for ongoing motivation.