Motivating Your Team

Pay and benefits were always the two factors thought to motivate employees. These are known as external or extrinsic factors because 

they are outside of the job itself. However, employers need to recognise that while these factors are clearly important, intrinsic (psychological) rewards are also crucial. 

Extrinsic motivators include financial rewards like wages, bonus and commission, and benefits like pension contributions, holiday allowances, paid holidays and healthcare. Sometimes it is not the salary that is the motivator as so much is given over to tax, so a better motivator may be five weeks' of paid holiday leave.

Employees obtain psychological benefits from doing meaningful work and performing it well. This gives them job and personal satisfaction. 

Employees who are committed to their jobs make positive contributions to the business. 

So what are these intrinsic motivators? They come from a feeling that an employee has: 

•  Purpose – a sense of being able to accomplish something of value 

•  Choice – clear ownership and a feeling of responsibility for the outcome 

•  Progress – as an individual, feeling and seeing evidence of moving things forward (both from a personal growth point of view and from seeing the progression/improvement of a task) 

•  Competence – pride in the job and job satisfaction

Herzberg states in his Two Factor Theory that there are specific things that motivate staff and other things that demotivate them and cause dissatisfaction. Eliminate these factors from your 

workplace before addressing how to motivate 

your team: 

•  Supervision – Ensure there is a culture of respect and fairness in your organisation and make sure there is clear communication, support, direction and encouragement, poor supervision with a lack of direction and poor communication causes a lot of confusion and frustration. Employees are happier knowing what is expected of them. 

•  Relationship with Management & Colleagues – encourage respect in the workplace and resolve issues professionally and quickly, encourage team bonding and open communication. Ensure all team members are treated and valued equally. 

•  Salary – ensure it is competitive 

•  Status – build this by providing meaningful work for all jobs 

•  Job Security – employees need to feel their job is secure 

•  Work Conditions – this can be anything from a policy that isn't working that needs updating to poor hygiene in the work place or a need for a fresh coat of paint 

Just because someone is not dissatisfied doesn't mean they are satisfied – here is how to create satisfaction in the workplace:

•  Recognition – give credit where it is due for a job well done or initiative used

•  Work – try to ensure that the work itself is rewarding to the individual and matches their skills and abilities, it is imperative you make these 

considerations at recruitment and observe and communicate with your team as they grow within your organisation 

•  Advancement – offer training and development to motivate and develop your team, this is imperative if you want to retain your employees as well. This can be anything from training in new skills/treatments to development in other areas such as management/

finance/marketing etc. offering opportunities for internal promotions. 

Provide learning opportunities, mentoring and coaching – this can be 

done from senior to junior team member. 

•  Responsibility – give each team member as much responsibility as possible 

•  Growth – provide opportunities to allow your team to grow and achieve. Praise their achievements. 

There are a number of other things you can do to foster a better work environment for your team, which in turn will benefit your customer 

service and therefore your business results.

•  Clear Purpose – ensure you have a clear vision for your business, that each team member understands where they fit in to achieve that purpose and that they are given clear goals and expectations from 

the beginning – this is usually done via their job description. 

•  Communication – Do performance appraisals on a regular basis to 

communicate and give feedback to team members about their successes and their opportunities for growth. These are also a great opportunity to get feedback from team members as to their needs and direction. 

•  Culture – encourage strong teamworkand consistent behaviours, open communication and a sharing of knowledge and information.