Effective Motivation Techniques for the Workplace

Types of motivational techniques

Motivation techniques are internal or external influences that contribute to productivity, satisfaction at work and meaningful contribution to projects. When employees need to feel excited to work harder or believe in their value to the company, managers can use motivational tools to help encourage and inspire their teams.

Here are some techniques you can try in your own workplace:

1. Ask for employee input

Regularly survey employees for their satisfaction. Conduct anonymous polls to show employees that you care about their opinions and value their input. Ask for suggestions of ways that you can improve working conditions. You also have to take action after getting the results of your poll back.

This will show employees that you truly value their opinion, want them to be happy in their positions and will take the steps necessary to make that happen. It’ll also show that you’re loyal to them just as you want them to be loyal to you, which will go a long way toward motivating them to perform at their best.

2. Offer personal enrichment programs

Creating a personal enrichment program could mean that you offer tuition reimbursement or send employees to workshops and seminars where they can improve their skills. This will allow you to more easily promote from within. Look for opportunities to encourage employees to engage in professional development.

3. Validate good work

Help inspire the efforts of your team members by validating their good work. And show your appreciation in person—compliments or expressions of gratitude usually have the most impact in this fashion. Give specific examples of the things that they did that benefited the team, the organization or you personally. You may also want to consider taking the time to write a handwritten thank-you note on stationery, as this extra effort will have a bigger impact on the recipient.

If you’re speaking to someone in person, you might say something like, “I can tell you worked really hard on that presentation. You did a great job presenting it to the team and the effort you put into it really shows.”

4. Set intermittent goals

Smaller, measurable goals are a valuable way to stay motivated during work on a project. Whether your team has a system to keep track of completed work or you develop a tracking system of your own, helping your team to set goals that are reasonable and achievable can keep employees motivated and encouraged when they hit notable milestones. 

For example, if your team has been tasked with updating the office space of a client, you might encourage them to set smaller goals such as interviewing general contractor candidates, setting up a contract with the one they choose, meeting with architects and making design and finishing choices. Each of these tasks brings your employees closer to the finished office space and it can be rewarding to check these items off the larger list to show measurable progress.

5. Celebrate milestones and achievements

Particularly if a project has a long-term goal, celebrating smaller milestones along the course of the project can help everyone on the team stay connected to the work and focused on the larger goal. Gratitude and validation are an important part of recognizing those milestones, but tangible rewards can also help. Financial bonuses, a lunch party, time off or a gift certificate for meeting milestones can motivate everyone. 

6. Radiate positivity

Creating a positive culture is a great way to maintain the motivation of your employees. The easiest way to do this is to radiate positivity yourself. Play music, joke around, play games, laugh and just have fun. Research shows that happiness can significantly boost the productivity of your workplace.

7. Create a mentorship program

Create a mentorship program within your department where you pair more experienced employees with ones who have less experience to guide them along their career journey and offer words of advice and encouragement daily.

A good mentor can offer encouragement, advice and understanding about the trials and successes employees encounter. If your employees work in a specialized field that friends and family do not understand well, a mentor can be invaluable in helping them sort through concerns and appreciate their successes.

8. Create a comfortable and inspiring workspace

Establish an office environment that is both comfortable and inspirational. Add color to the walls and put up motivational posters. If your workplace uses cubicles, encourage your employees to decorate their own space in a way they enjoy. Also, encourage your team to keep their workspaces clean and tidy, as clutter can rapidly begin to feel chaotic. 

9. Encourage mindfulness 

Encourage employees to de-stress and take breaks during the workday. This could mean a brief walk outside on a nice day or a trip to a nearby coffee shop. You might consider offering yoga or meditation classes over a lunch break or encourage your team to participate in these activities when they feel stuck about the direction of a project or need to take a short break. Sometimes just taking a few moments of quiet can provide the motivation they need to meet tight deadlines. 

10. Share profits to improve performance

By offering a profit-sharing program, employees will recognize that they have a stake in the financial success of the organization. Profit-sharing gives employees a sense of pride in what they have accomplished and a feeling of accomplishment seeing their earnings increase. It can improve performance and reduce turnover as well.

11. Take benefits to the next level

Employees generally expect standard benefits like paid time off, health insurance and even flexibility. You can motivate employees by taking your benefits to the next level. Add game rooms to help employees de-stress throughout the day, a snack bar to keep energy levels up or even implement one mental health day each month. Providing childcare or remote work flexibility are other great ways to incentivize employees. These kinds of benefits boost health, increase team motivation and encourage people to stay with your company longer.

12. Offer an incentive program

Create an incentive program that rewards employees for consistently working hard—separate from celebrating milestones or successes. You could implement nonfinancial incentives like extra vacation days, compressed workweeks or a choice of parking spots. Your incentive program doesn’t even have to be connected to performance. For example, you could use it to encourage your team to participate in training programs—the team members who watch the most videos each week could receive a reward.