11 Effective Low-Cost Employee Motivation Methods

11 Effective Low-Cost Employee Motivation Methods

When it comes to how to motivate subordinates, many managers, especially middle-level managers, often complain: I have not promoted my subordinates. I have the right to be promoted, but I don’t have the money to give my subordinates salary increases or bonuses. How do you want me to motivate my subordinates? How can I just talk?

Even though some managers still cling to tradition While incentives are still being used, some accomplished managers have creatively summarized many effective low-cost or even zero-cost soft incentive methods in practice.

1. Continuous recognition

Jack Welch said: My business theory is to make everyone feel their contribution, and this contribution is visible. It can be touched and counted clearly. ?When an employee completes a certain job, what he or she needs most is recognition from his or her boss. The boss's recognition is the greatest affirmation of his or her work performance. Recognition from managers and supervisors is a secret weapon, but the timeliness of the recognition is the most critical.

If used too much, the value will decrease. If used only for special occasions and rare achievements, the value will increase. This could be done by sending an email to the employee, making a personal phone call to congratulate the employee on his/her achievements, or shaking hands in public and expressing appreciation for him/her.

Business management consultant Smith pointed out that if every employee's good performance, no matter how small, can be recognized, it will have a motivating effect. Patting an employee on the shoulder and writing a brief note of thanks—informal recognition—may be more effective than the company’s grand annual model employee recognition meeting.

「Case」Supervisor who doesn’t know how to motivate

An employee completed the task well and said happily to the supervisor: I have good news. I have been following him for two months. That customer finally agreed to sign the contract today, and the order amount will be 20% more than we expected. This will be our largest order value this quarter. ?But the supervisor's response to the employee's excellent performance was very cold,?Really?Why are you late for work today?The employee said:?There is a traffic jam on the Second Ring Road. ?At this time, the supervisor said sternly: ?How can you still do business in a company like yours if you are late and looking for excuses?? The employee replied dejectedly: ?I will pay attention to it in the future. ?The frustrated employee weakly left the supervisor's office.

Through the above example, it can be seen that when the employee sought motivation from the supervisor, not only did he not receive any praise from the supervisor, but he was subjectively and arbitrarily severely reprimanded just because the employee was occasionally late. An employee who should be praised. As a result, the employee's positive emotions were greatly dampened, and his psychological needs for recognition and recognition were not met. In fact, it is not difficult for managers to motivate. Recognizing employees through words or expressions can satisfy employees' needs to be valued and recognized, thereby achieving a motivating effect.

2. Sincere praise

This is a form of recognizing employees. Most of our managers are shy about praising employees for how well they're doing, and some attribute this to a lack of necessary skills. In fact, praising employees is not complicated. There is no need to consider time and place at all. You can praise employees anywhere and at any time. For example, at a meeting or social gathering hosted by the company, at a luncheon or in the office, you can give a word of praise at the end of the shift, before the shift, or at any time during the shift, and you can achieve unexpected incentives. Effect.

When achievements are still new in employees’ minds, praising employees will have a very unique effect. The most effective way is to go among your subordinates and tell them: This is an order. Exciting creativity!? You did a great job. Work harder to set our company's Guinness record. At that time, I will hold a celebration party for you. Seize any immediate praise that can have a positive impact. Chance.

Bob Nelson, author of the best-selling book "One Thousand and One Ways to Reward Employees" said: "A sincere thank you from the right person at the right time is more effective for employees than A salary increase, a formal award or numerous qualifications and medals are more meaningful.

Part of what makes such rewards powerful is that managers notice the employee's accomplishments immediately and reward them personally in a timely manner. ?

The best way to impress people is sincere appreciation and kind praise. A janitor of a large company in South Korea was originally the most ignored and looked down upon. However, just such a person, when the company safe was stolen one night, he fought to the death with the thief.

Afterwards, when someone asked him for credit and asked about his motives, the answer was unexpected. He said: When the general manager of the company passes by him, he always praises him from time to time: "You swept the floor so clean." You see, with just such a simple word, this employee was moved and committed himself. This is also in line with an old Chinese saying: A scholar will die for his confidant.

"Case"? Employee affirmation plan?

The famous management consultant Nielsen believes that in order to adapt to future trends, business operators should immediately design a plan based on the company's own conditions, goals and needs. A low-cost "employee affirmation plan". His view is that after completing an outstanding job, what employees often need most is gratitude from their boss, not just a salary increase. The following are the top ten ways to boost employee morale. Rules:

① Express gratitude to employees in person for their outstanding work performance, either one-on-one or in writing;

② Take time to listen to employees;

　③Provide clear feedback for outstanding performance of individuals, departments and organizations;

④Actively create an open, trusting and interesting working environment to encourage new ideas and positive initiatives;

⑤Let every employee understand the company's income and expenditure, the company's new products and market competition strategies, and discuss the role each employee plays in all the company's plans;

⑥Let Employees participate in decision-making, especially those that affect them;

⑦ Recognition, rewards and promotions should be based on individual work performance and work environment;

⑧ Strengthen Employees' sense of belonging to their work and working environment;

⑨ Provide employees with opportunities to learn new knowledge and grow, tell employees how managers can help them achieve their personal goals under the company's goals, and establish a relationship with each employee Partnership;

⑩Celebrate success? Whether it is the outstanding performance of the company, department or individual, a morale-boosting meeting or related activities should be held.

Nielsen particularly emphasizes that praising employees must comply with the principle of "immediateness". Managers should be able to spend a few minutes at the end of each day to write a note to praise employees for their good performance; use walk-through management to see employees and encourage them in a timely manner; take time to have lunch with employees, Drink a cup of coffee; publicly praise, privately reprimand, etc. As long as managers spend more effort, employees can be greatly inspired and their work effectiveness can be greatly improved.

3. Honors and titles

Awarding honorary titles to employees with outstanding work performance emphasizes the company’s recognition of their work, letting employees know that they are outstanding and motivating them to work enthusiasm.

Whether employees feel that they are valued in the company is a key factor in work attitude and employee morale. Managers need to be creative when using various job titles. Consider asking employees to come up with suggestions for them to take on these titles and become part of it. At its most basic, this is about achieving a sense of honor. Honor creates a positive attitude, and a positive attitude is the key to success.

For example, you can set up various honorary titles in your team, such as "Creative Angel", "Wisdom Master", "Thunderbolt Charge", "Perfect Beauty", etc., every month, every quarter, and every year. Once the selection is made, after the suitable candidates are selected, a proper and grand ceremony to award the honors must be held so that all team members can celebrate the honors.

4. Give one-on-one guidance

Guidance means employee development, and supervisors only spend time. But the message this time spent conveys to employees is that you care about them very much! Moreover, for employees, it does not matter how many work skills their superiors can teach them, but how much you pay attention to them. The emphasis is on positive feedback anytime, and this is especially true when coaching in public.

Recognizing and encouraging employees in public settings has a natural motivating effect on others nearby who can see and hear what is happening.

"Case" Welch's Note

Those who have read "The Autobiography of Jack Welch" must still have fresh memories of Welch's note-based management. In 1998, Welch wrote to Jeff: I really appreciate your work over the past year. Your ability to express accurately and your spirit of learning and dedication are outstanding. Do you need me to play any role? No matter what, just call me.

At the back of the book are notes from Welch to Jeff from 1998 to 2000. These notes played a huge role in improving Welch's management philosophy. These humane notes are so touching to inspire subordinates or friends. This kind of respect for dedication and affirmation of results has made many people sigh.

5. Leadership roles and empowerment

Giving employees leadership roles to reward their performance can not only effectively motivate employees, but also help identify future candidate talents. Let employees host short meetings; leverage employees' strengths and skills by organizing training meetings, and let one of the employees lead the training; when an employee participates in an outside seminar or inspection, assign him or her to be the leader of the training meeting and let him It is a good way for him to briefly explain the content and key points related to the seminar to other employees. You can also consider asking employees to lead a project team to improve internal procedures.

Authorization is a very effective way of motivating people. Authorization can make subordinates feel that they have a big responsibility, feel that they are valued and respected, feel that they are different, and feel that they are favored and valued by their bosses. Under this kind of psychological influence, authorized subordinates will naturally stimulate their potential abilities, and they will even go through life and death to do so.

6. Team gatherings

Irregular office gatherings can enhance cohesion and in turn help enhance team spirit, which will ultimately have an impact on the working environment and create a Positive working atmosphere. For example, parties on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, picnics before New Year's Day, mountain climbing on Double Ninth Festival, outings before March 8th, employees' birthday dinners, team celebrations, etc. These can successfully bring employees together to spend happy time.

At the same time, it is best to preserve these activities through picture display, DV shooting, etc., and put them on the company or team’s website or webpage, so that these beautiful memories can become eternal and give employees a warm feeling at all times. Experience the motivation of belonging to a team.

7. Vacation

Implement a competition for vacation time. Employees will work as hard for a 15-minute or half-hour break as they would for a cash reward. In many cases, when employees are faced with the choice between cash and time off incentives, they choose time off. If a performance goal is achieved by the team or all employees, the most appropriate reward is time off.

8. Theme competition

Theme competition within the organization can not only promote the improvement of employee performance, but more importantly, this method helps maintain a positive environment. It has a very obvious effect on reducing employee turnover rate. Generally speaking, anniversaries, sports games and culture can be used as the themes of some competitions, as well as the discussion of the value of life, problems at work, value innovation, etc. as the themes. Regularly holding small or large sports games will undoubtedly bring happiness and a sense of teamwork to employees, and culture can also be used to create some theme competitions.

9. Role model

Benchmark learning is an important weapon for managers to lead a team. The power of role models is endless. By setting an example, each member of the group can be motivated to learn. Although this method is a bit old, it is very practical. A bad employee can teach others to be bad, and an excellent role model can also improve the work atmosphere of the group. There are many ways to set an example, including daily list, weekly list, monthly list, quarterly list, and annual list. You can also set up individual role models or comprehensive role models, such as innovation list, general manager special award, etc.

「Case」McDonald’s All-Star Game

McDonald’s holds an All-Star Game every year during the busiest season.

First, each store must select the first person for the position in its store. The workstations of McDonald's employees are divided into about a dozen. Among these workstations, 10 are selected, and the first person in each store is selected. Famous players will participate in regional competitions, and the first place in the region will participate in the company's competition. The entire competition is evaluated strictly in accordance with the working procedures of each McDonald's position. The most senior management members in the company serve as referees. They enforce the law impartially and make evaluations from the perspective of prospects on behalf of the entire company.

During the competition, employees arrive early and leave late to train actively, because if they can stand out through the All-Star Competition, then their personal growth will have a basic guarantee, and it will also lay the foundation for his future career development. the basis of.

On the day when the awards are given out, the most important people in the company will attend the awards ceremony. All store managers hope that miracles will appear in their stores. Many employees were very excited after receiving this award. In fact, the bonus is equivalent to one month's salary, but the honor gained from it is very great.

Of course, holding such a competition requires procedural and standardization work in advance, which means that this position must have measurable procedures and standards before the competition can be held.

10. Deliver Passion

Passionate man Jack Welch said when he became president of General Electric: I am very passionate. Infecting my team with my passion and making my team passionate is my true passion. Jack Welch clearly remembers that when he first came to General Electric, among the management team composed of dozens of general managers, none of them was selected by him. It was certainly difficult to get these managers to accept his ideas all of a sudden.

In order to infect the GM team with his passion, Jack Welch attaches great importance to communication, and among his many forms, he loves giving speeches the most. Every time he went to the branch on a business trip, he would spend an evening giving a speech to all the employees of the branch. In addition to his work expertise, he also told them how they viewed their careers and what they should have in their careers. attitude, how to prepare themselves, and improve their confidence. Every speech always makes the listeners excited and inspired.

11. N menus to motivate subordinates at zero cost or low cost

Table 4-1 Incentive menu

Serial number incentive menu

1 Say it sincerely? Thank you for your hard work!?

2 Say it sincerely? Thank you!?

3 Say it sincerely? You are awesome!?

　4 Say it sincerely? This is such a nice note!?

　5 Give your subordinate a strong pat on the shoulder (attention for women)

　6 A look of recognition and trust

7 A heartfelt hug when congratulating

8 A burst of laughter to share the success of subordinates

9 Write a note of encouragement or thank you letter to subordinates< /p>

　10 Reply to an email from a subordinate in a timely manner

　11 A phone call and a small gift for the subordinate’s anniversary

　12 A text message of blessings and greetings< /p>

　13 A carefree outing or team gathering

　14 A unique theme competition

　15 A certificate, a medal, a flower and a sincere heart

Although promotion and salary increase to subordinates are indispensable means and measures to motivate subordinates, money and positions are limited, but people’s desires are unlimited. Obviously, just Relying on salary increases and promotions cannot satisfy employees' desires. However, some of the motivation methods and techniques listed above that focus on people's mental and emotional aspects are not only low-cost or even zero-cost, but can also be used repeatedly and constantly innovated. If you are willing Want to give it a try? ;