How to Keep Your Employees Motivated

Work environment and organizational culture foster employee motivation and engagement. They receive frequent communication, are regarded with respect and treated with civility, and have input to every facet of the work they're hired to produce. They're encouraged to speak up about what they believe when participating in solving a problem for a customer. Ideally, the work culture consists of an environment in which employees are trusted, treated like the adults they are, and not micromanaged.

Demonstrate respect at work

To be treated with dignity and respect is the most common response to questions concerning what employees want from their workplace on a daily basis. Learn how you can show respect in your workplace—from watching your tone of voice and body language to delegating meaningful assignments to treating everyone with courtesy and kindness and encouraging the free expression of opinions and ideas.

Show appreciation

By simply asking them about their interests and activities outside the workplace, bringing in the occasional bag of bagels or coffee for the team to share, or taking them to lunch on a birthday or other special day can already show and make your employees feel appreciated for who they are in addition to valuing their contributions to the organization. Simple but genuine acts of kindness will do.

Make their day

In order to increase workplace motivation and morale, you have to understand that as your employees' manager, you're their passport to a boom or bust day. Words matter, but there's much more you can do to help employees get a handle on motivation and high morale, including setting high standards and clear expectations, focusing on their personal and professional development, and starting every day with a smile and a luminous attitude. Remember that happiness is contagious.

Provide employee recognition

Establish unequivocal, objective employee recognition criteria and communicate them to all employees to head off confusion, hurt feelings, and sapped morale. This means spelling out exactly the deliverables or behaviors employees will be recognized for and how they'll be recognized. It also means recognizing every employee who meets the criteria.

Provide opportunities to learn and grow

Although no workplace will ever give managers the perfect work environment and culture to support their efforts toward fostering employee motivation, you can still create an environment that motivates your employees and increases their level of satisfaction. Provide them with opportunities to grow their knowledge and skills and give them all the information they need to do their jobs effectively.