As an employer, keeping your workforce motivated should be a top priority. A happy employee is a productive one, and what more could you want than a happy and productive workforce? Happiness at work is a key factor in the retention and attraction of existing and potential employees. If an employer makes the workplace a fun place to be, then people are more likely to stay within your company, meaning experience and knowledge will flourish.
There are hundreds of ways to motivate your employees, but overall you’ll need to implement things that fit with your company (i.e. don’t have a ‘dog-at-work-day’ if someone in your office has a phobia of dogs, or don’t build a multimillion pound fun office if your company has only just kicked-off). Below I have listed 5 things that every company, small or large, can implement to make your company a more fun place to work. Minimal expense needed!
1) A flexible working calendar:
In recent years, many companies have been embracing a flexible attitude to their work. One of the most famous companies doing this is Virgin, who’s policy allows any employee to take as many days holiday as they wish! Although you may not want to take flexible working hours so literally a la Branson, you can still implement a more flexible working calendar for colleagues. You could introduce flexi-days, allow colleagues to work from home, or allocate a ‘long lunch’ day (perfect for team lunches!). Allowing this type of flexible working has become popular in recent years, mainly due to the changes in the ways in which we work. Allowing employees to have a flexible working calendar demonstrates your trust in them.
2) A Friday afternoon beer:
This is a simple and pretty popular way to give back to your employees – finish Friday’s with a chilled beer and relax. It’s been proven that productivity declines on a Friday afternoon from 2:45pm, so why not use this time to stop doing work and get to know your employees a bit better? As well as being a pretty sweet perk, it also works as a small token of recognition. “You’ve worked hard all week, now let’s chill!”. Employees will feel appreciated and therefore work harder during normal working hours.
3) 20 Minutes of your time:
An important part of a productive and happy workplace is communication. You should always make time for your employees in order to hear about their own experiences. Organise a monthly meeting with individuals one on one, and ask employees for their honest opinions on whats going well and what’s not in the office, what they think should change or what they think is working well. This way, everyone has their say. There’s nothing worse than leaving your employees feeling powerless at work, so doing this reinstates the importance of communication, and the importance of each employees opinions.
4) A round of applause:
This is a simple point that you wont spend a penny on, but it’s very motivating! When an employee has completed something really worthwhile or difficult, then get your whole team to applause them (literally) at your next team meeting. It’s a great feeling to now that your hard work has been noticed, and therefore will spur employees on to work as hard as they can.
5) A bacon sandwich:
Another simple but thoughtful gesture is providing a free breakfast for everyone. Not only is breakfast one of the most important meals of the day, it’s also a great time for building relationships with your team. Sitting down and eating breakfast together is typically done with your family, so eating breakfast with your team will instill the team aspect of work. It’s also a great way to start off a busy day – positive, full-up, and eager to go!
Do you use any other methods of motivation? Tweet your motivation-on-a-budget tips to @UndercoverRec
