Simple ideas to help motivate employees

It is important that employees feel motivated whilst employed in order for them to feel valued and energised.  This includes all the normal sorts of things you would expect to see in any reputable company such as pay and benefits, progression opportunities but would also include some of the sorter things where leadership in the company could show appreciation.   Companies sometimes have some local appreciation methods that are formalised and could include additional financial incentives that are rewarded to people for going “above and beyond” the normal tasks.  Here are some other things that can be considered.

Virtual Party

There are lots of local restrictions in terms of covid that are preventing people to make face to face contact.  This includes in the workplace where there have now been increasing levels of people working from home where they can instead of travelling to work. This has different impacts on people, and it affects individuals very differently.  Some people are reacting very positively to this and they enjoy the difference with working form home whilst with others it has had some significant effects on their mental health. 

The lack of face to face interaction with people is something that can impact an individual quite significantly.  Hopefully, things will improve, however, in the meantime this is a developing pandemic and strict rules are for all our safety.  One of the things that could help motivate in the meantime is some sort of virtual party planning event.  This will allow people to connect in a fun sort of way and will help build better relationships.  These sorts of virtual parties can be hosted by a professional company and can be set along any theme or activity.  You could move from having a virtual disco to even a professionally hosted quiz!  Whatever it is you are looking for these companies will come up with all sorts of ideas at reputable prices. 

Dinner Party

If safe to do so in current times, there is the option of having a dinner party for your employees.  This would bring the team together in a convenient setting and allow people to connect on a more personal level.  The event could simply be dinner and drinks, or it could be aligned to a disco or other activity.  This sort of event does not need to cost an arm and a leg and for a large group of people, you could get a really good deal.  If this even goes ahead then you also need to consider a few things:

• Peoples food preferences – whether this is Italian, Indian, Chinese etc.  Make sure that you are accommodating the preference of the employees.
• Vegetarian / Gluten Free – There are more and more people either vegetarian or gluten free therefore this should be considered.  Also nut allergies are something to be aware of and consider.
• Alcoholic Drinks – It is probably standard that at these sorts of events, people will have some alcoholic drinks.  You could provide some for free as part of the event.  Make sure you keep an eye on this though as if people drink too much alcohol then it could lead to disaster.  People respond to alcohol in different ways and it could burst your bubble if too much is consumed.
• Location – Depending on type and area of your business and employees, make sure you consider a location that is easy to get to (with public transport links) and fair for the employees.  If this is off in the country somewhere then you may wish to provide transport links or similar.
• Ban work language – As this sort of event is to appreciate individuals in a company and bring them together you may wish to ban any reference to work.  Some people at events like this will set “rules” that people are not allowed to talk about day to day work.  This could help with relationship building as people connect on a more personal level.
• Work Pattern – If you have an organisation that has employees working 7 days a week then it could mean that people are left out.  Make sure that you consider this and try and be as fair as possible.  If you do not, with your agenda being to appreciate people and bring them together – it could backfire rapidly.

Award Ceremony

Having an award ceremony may sound a little cheesy but it is something that could be a well worth event.  Depending on the size and nature of your business, pulling the team together for some sort of awards night could really invoke some sort of positive vibes and energy.  These events could take a lot of setting up therefore to do it professionally it is best pulling on the support of a party planning company that has experience in this. 

The event could have all sorts of awards for people which could include things like “best customer focussed” or “employee of the month”.  Usually when companies run with these sorts of things, they will quite formal and formal dinner suits would be the ask. They would normally start off with a meal and drinks then followed by the ceremony.  There could also be a disco or DJ as part of this.  This is also the companies opportunity to actually make some speeches on the employees as part of the overall appreciation.  With the ceremony, it does not need to be like the Oscars where people take away some sort of statue.  You could reward the employees with maybe some gift cards or vouchers.  Similar to the dinner parties – some of these should be taken into consideration.

Summary

Employees are at their best when they feel appreciated and part of a team.  Appreciation is not all about giving people money but can take many forms.  Getting people together (virtually or face to face) is an awesome way to do this and brings the team together.  Hopefully, this has given you some food for thought.