Motivating without money

During good times, companies can rely on monetary rewards to motivate staff. Now, with the need to cut costs, managers need to come up with different ways to incentivise staff.

Make recognition personal
Individuals differ significantly in what they value and this makes managing motivation particularly difficult.  While an all-expenses-paid golf trip may be seen as a rewarding for some individuals, others would prefer time off with their families as recognition for overtime.  Tough economic times alter the value people place on different forms of recognition and financial rewards often become more important, because money is in short supply.  A shopping voucher may be considered more useful than an expensive dinner out with the boss, for example.  Find out what’s driving your employees and get creative about compensation.

Communicate
Difficult economic times can pit employees against managers, who may need to drive unpopular changes in the company such as cost-cutting.  The best way to prevent a deteriorating relationship is to be as honest as possible about the company’s situations as well as a recovery plan and communicate this to staff.  People are likely to be more forgiving of problems that are caused outside the organisation.  Avoid using the recession though as an excuse to implement other difficult changes, as employees are likely to see through it.  

Take a long-term view
Some managers think that an unmotivated workforce isn’t a problem, because jobs are scarce in this environment.  But this

is short-sighted.  Top talent will always have a place to go and although they may be less mobile in a downturn, they’re likely to be scouting for opportunities when the uptick happens.  Motivating them now, will build their commitment and loyalty so you’re less likely to lose them to a competitor.

Offer new challenges
While money is an easy way to motivate people, what most employees crave is recognition, praise and the opportunity to learn. There may seem fewer people to get the job done after layoffs, but remember that good employees want opportunities to advance, to learn new skills, and to take on new challenges that lead to bigger and better jobs in the future. You can motivate these employees by offering them assignments that will stretch their skills and where they can take on new challenges. The trick is not to overwhelm them with too much work, but to give them enough to allow them to grow.  This builds morale and commitment if employees know that what they are doing in this time of crisis is important for the future of the organisation. 

Make employees feel secure
Retrenchments can leave those left behind feeling insecure about their future at the company.  If they feel they survived the layoffs by pure luck, they’re likely to spend their time looking for other jobs or paralysed by fear.  Improving morale in this situation means creating an environment where each employee feels that they can contribute individually to the future growth of the company.  They’re only likely to put effort and energy into the task if they think they’ll be around for the foreseeable future.  Ensure that you have communicated your plans, goals and targets for the business and what role you can see they can play in achieving these.

A simple thank-you
Take time to acknowledge staff for the hard work they’ve put into the company. Managers often underestimate how far a simple thank you can go.