Employee Engagement is more effective – 16 Ways to Motivate employees without Spending Money

 – Dr.S.Sundararajan

Associate Professor-SIMS

Nobody is willing to work for free, at least not forever. But money itself will not motivate our employees to consistently deliver high-quality work and go above and beyond for our business.

Sure, we need to pay our people, and pay them fairly-we’re not going to accomplish much if our staff feel like their compensation doesn’t reflect the fair market value of their work. But while lack of money can be a de-motivator, cash alone will not make employees do their best.

Frederick Herzberg’s classic study on employee motivation showed that being content at work isn’t the opposite of being discontent. Instead, the opposite of job satisfaction is job dissatisfaction, and the opposite of job dissatisfaction is no job dissatisfaction.

Herzberg identified a distinct set of intrinsic factors that led to contentedness, and extrinsic ones that influenced unhappiness. He identified certain factors like achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility, opportunities for growth and advancement as Motivators whereas factors like company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, salary, status, and security was identified as De-motivators. Poor wages will result in job dissatisfaction, but a fair salary can achieve is no job dissatisfaction says Herzberg. If we focus on Herzberg’s intrinsic factors we can keep our employees happy. We have to motivate our employees in such a way that their different needs, desires and goals are satisfied/ achieved.

Many of the leaders we work with assume that rewarding employees means an endless drain on their budgets. That doesn’t have to be true. Be creative and flexible, and it’s not hard to come up with inexpensive ways to motivate our people. In fact, it is possible to push people from average to exceptional performance without spending a rupee/money.

We have listed down sixteen ideas to motivate our people without compromising our organisational budget.

1. Set goals: Everyone wants to feel like they’ve achieved something. If we don’t mark our destination on our roadmap, how will we know when we get there? Hitting collective, company-wide objectives will make our employees feel like they’re part of something bigger.
2. Offer specific and sincere praise: There’s no such thing as too much recognition, as long as we’re acknowledging tangible accomplishments.
3. Get to know them as people: What are their hobbies and their interests? Do they have children or pets? Build personal relationships with our staff, and they’ll do their all not to let us down.
4. Listen intently when they’re talking: Remember that our staff is our eyes and ears with customers. By asking questions of our employees and paying attention to what they have to say, we might learn something that will help us run a more profitable business.
5. Tell people why: Explaining the thinking or reasons behind a task we’re assigning to someone builds their understanding of what they’re being asked to do, and will help them do it better.
6. Facilitate regular lively and informational meetings: Our employees want to know what is happening at the company where they work, and appreciate it when we fill them in.
7. Offer timely and constructive feedback: Our employees want to know how they are doing, good or bad. If we offer critiques constructively, they will listen and work to improve.
8. Celebrate successes: Always celebrate success of your people.
9. Treat them with respect: Respect begets respect, for we as managers and for what we’re trying to achieve with our business
10. Offer flexibility: Don’t get caught up with quibbling rules. Think about our purpose and the bigger picture, and modify the rules where it makes sense to.
11. Eat together: Food is a great motivator. We don’t have to cater a fancy lunch every day-the occasional potluck works just as well.
12. Play games: It’s easy to get carried away with office-wide extracurricular activities, but the occasional break for fun can produce big results. If it’s feasible, offer small prizes—a little competition can up the entertainment.
13. Volunteer together: Nothing brings a group closer than spending an afternoon together sorting canned goods at the local food bank.
14. Declare dress-up and dress-down days: Why restrict jeans to casual Fridays? If our business environment and customer base allows, changing up the dress code can be a lot of fun.
15. Allow for creativity in decorating the workspace. People like making things their “own,” so don’t insist on clutter-free desks unless we’re working in a hospital operating room. An artistic picture or poster, a vacation photograph of the friends can make a cubicle feel more like home.
16. Establish a stress-free zone: Sometimes even the best jobs can get a little crazy. Give people a space in which they can relax and unwind, even if it’s just a 10-15 minute daily break.