What motivates an employee to work: some philosophy and reflections

The work of salespeople is quite similar: a daily flow of people, routine tasks such as selling goods, communicating with customers, and making calls. Therefore, sooner or later, the motivation of the organization's staff may decrease.

The biggest frustration of business owners is that people are not motivated by money. In order not to delve into the philosophical considerations and arguments of psychologists for a long time, just accept the fact that it is not only money that motivates staff at work. But this does not mean that you can cut salaries to the minimum and confidently talk about other benefits that you have in your company.

However, the main thing is to strike a balance between tangible and intangible incentives for staff. Everything should be in moderation. High salaries do not guarantee that you will have the best employees. 

According to statistics, about half of employees are ready to change jobs with a decent salary if they do not receive any other "nourishment" besides money.

In this article, we talk about effective methods of motivation. They can be implemented individually, but it is better to use them in combination, adapting them to your business. 

How to increase staff motivation? 

Let's look at 10 ways to increase employee motivation. 

Meaning and purpose

There is no better motivator than achieving a common goal. It can be called different things, but in business, it is commonly referred to as the company's mission. To understand it for yourself, ask yourself the question: "Why are you doing business?".

Answers can vary. Someone sets a philosophical goal: "We are making this world a better place," someone bets on superiority: "We will prove that we are better than others," and someone on humanity: "Only we cook for you with love." What matters is not how you formulate your goal, but that your staff believes in the idea and is ready to invest in it to the maximum. This is the basis of non-financial motivation, and even small companies should try this approach.

Training

Train your staff in general sales, and in sales of your product in particular. This not only allows the employee to see that they are ready to invest in it, but also increases their faith in the product. One interesting technique is to take an employee through all the stages of product sales so that he or she sees the entire huge business mechanism in which he or she is a part and feels that he or she is involved in creating something global. 

If possible, donate/sell your services or goods at a significant discount to your staff, let them test the product, let them try it out.

Competition

This method of motivation can be either tangible or intangible, depending on the prize in the final.

The goal is to create conditions in which you can prove yourself and defeat your rivals. The contest should not be too long: 2 weeks to a month, and the prize should be mysterious. It is best to choose the growth of sagging sales indicators as the goal: average check, sales of stale goods, conversion of visitors to the site, etc. At the same time, the goal should be transparent and achievable for everyone, otherwise weak employees will give up before they even start.

The result of such a competition is not only a prize for the winner, an increase in the company's profit, but also the equalization of the performance of the entire team.

Career ladder

Everyone associates career growth with upward mobility. It's a classic of the genre, and it's good if you can implement it in your business, as this method is both a tangible and intangible type of motivation. But what should small companies do when they have a full staff and no prospects for upward mobility? How can you increase employee motivation?

It's simple, in this case, you need to create a career ladder in width. For example, you can divide a sales position into 2–3 categories, with each step offering a higher salary and additional privileges. But in order for this to work, you need a transparent step-by-step plan for reaching this level. For example, a certain length of service, fulfillment of a personal plan for 3 months in a row, sales of a certain category of goods, etc.

Competition of changes

If the number of staff allows, they should be divided into groups of 3-5 people for additional motivation. Usually, in a store, such groups are formed automatically from shifts.

Groups are needed to create cohesive mini-teams that know each other's strengths and weaknesses. The point is that when the team is divided into groups, healthy competition is created, changes compete with each other, but within the group, it is easier for participants to help and support each other.

This method of motivation is included in the additional option "Payroll and staff motivation system".

Ideally, each employee has an overall sales plan and personal sales plans. The groups work together and help to fulfill both personal and joint sales plans, and the senior salesperson helps all groups fulfill the overall plan. Everyone "pushes" their friend to do well, although everyone is working for themselves.

Podarunki

Gifts can be given with or without a reason. It is commonplace to give gifts for birthdays, March 8, and New Year. You can also "pamper" your staff with unexpected gifts in the form of cakes, pizzas, or other little things to celebrate a successful month, day, etc.

You shouldn't save money on this, but include the costs in the calculation of bonuses. Of course, the team should not know about this.

Events

Joint feasts or team building, where everyone competes with each other playfully, are a great way to increase employee motivation. Ideally, you should use both.

However, if employees don't overlap much at work, such joint events should be prepared in advance so that instead of uniting the team, they don't end up dividing it. It's better not to do them at all if you feel that the format won't work for your team.

Smart robots

It's simple: you need to create working conditions that will be an added value for the employee when they are hired. For example, lunches, free transportation, medical assistance, mobile phone payments, etc.

Naturally, the conditions include the arrangement of the workplace. If you provide comfortable chairs for your employees or are sympathetic to the need for staff to relax and set up a cozy corner for them to rest, this will undoubtedly make a positive impression.

You can also include a convenient work schedule, regular salary payments, official employment, and insurance.

Renaming positions

Such non-financial motivation may seem ridiculous, but it works. Try renaming the employee's position to a more pleasant one that would please their inner self. For example, not a cleaner, but a cleaning manager, not a secretary, but an office manager. You can rename not only positions but also entire departments.

The effect will not be long in coming, because people are pleased when their work is important.

Personal

Most likely, you already know about this method of non-financial motivation. But it's worth reminding you that you need to use it consciously.

Personal human communication can be manifested in different ways: shaking hands, praising for some small work, asking if an employee is doing well. The closer a manager communicates with lower-level employees, the thinner the "wall" between them becomes. But you shouldn't go overboard and invade an employee's personal space, as this violates the chain of command.

In short

Any non-financial motivation is based on the owner's ordinary observations and experience of communicating with his employees.

All the methods we have described in this article can be used, adapted, changed, combined, periodically reviewed and modernized. And that's okay.

A team that is built not only on money, but also on values, will help a business get through any crisis.