3 Unconventional Ways to Keep Your Employees Motivated

Picture this: you walk into the office at 9AM, ready to clock in. The guy to your left has his feet up on his desk and greets you with a nod while swiping through his phone. The one to the right is slowly stirring his cup of coffee, completely checked out. Your manager is sitting in the corner staring at her computer screen, watching YouTube clips with her headphones in. The first thing you do is switch on your computer and go make yourself the first coffee of the day, with the promise of three or four more to come.

Now, imagine: you walk into the office at 9AM, ready to clock in, and everyone at your desks wishes you good morning. The guy to your left smiles and asks how your night was, while the guy to your right is drinking his coffee and talking cheerfully to a customer on the phone. Your manager is sorting out the work assignments for the day. You set your bags down, turn on your computer, and grab a coffee from the canteen. Maybe even offer to make one for your workmates.

Which office scenario is the one you’d prefer to be in?

Most people would likely pick the happy version. Heading to a workplace with happy, and motivated coworkers makes it infinitely more easy and pleasurable to finish your work, do a good job, and then maybe head out with some of your coworkers after the day.

Motivated employees lead to an overall sense of workplace happiness and balance. Studies have also shown that when employees are truly motivated to do well in their work. By just one statistic, inspired employees lead to 50% higher profits than disengaged workers. They’re also more engaged - meaning they’ll produce better work - and quicker. Your engaged employees will help to drive your company forward.

How to Motivate a Team

There are many different ways to increase workplace motivation: rewarding high performing employees, providing financial incentives, investing in an employee’s personal development… the list goes on. If you’ve tried many of these tactics before, perhaps it’s time to take a more unconventional route. Try these three outside-the-box tactics to boost motivation in your office.

1. Team Building Days

You often hear horror stories about teams being forced out to do something “fun” that they don’t want to do. We’re not talking about trust falls, but taking your group outside the office park for some real fun can make a big difference. Team building days are about more than a day out of the office.

When you take your team out of the office environment, you’ll start to get to know them as a person, not just an employee. A key element to planning an offsite is setting the right expectations. As Harvard Business Review puts it, “Don’t force anyone to sing, or even to have to listen to, karaoke. ‘Trust falls’ and singing Kumbaya are also best avoided, since trust falls can end badly, and very few people really want to sing Kumbaya. These kinds of activities can create the perfect storm of irony and cynicism among participants.”

Spend the day doing things you think your team would genuinely enjoy, whether taking a leap off an obstacle course, solving an escape room, or simply having a nice picnic. It's amazing how effective new environments and group activities can be in helping the team work better together when you return to the office.

2. Start the Weekend Sooner

Showing your team you appreciate them can have great impact on their motivation level. Though it may seem counterintuitive to productivity to give your employees a long weekend, letting your team leave early can have two huge benefits. First, the team will work harder during the week (and use their time more efficiently) to try to complete their assignments early. Secondly, it’s a perk that keeps on giving. The gift of time is a great retention tool. By letting employees take off all day or half-day Fridays, you’re giving them true work-life balance that can be hard to find in many US companies.

Plus, who really works on Friday afternoons? One survey found that workers are at their least productive on Fridays after 2:40PM. So, cut your losses, boost morale, and keep motivation levels on the up.

3. Weekly Quizzes with Trophy Prizes

Organising a weekly quiz lets your staff show their creative side, exercise their brains, and get competitive in a fairly controlled environment. This can also be a training tool to see who’s keeping up with company news!

A key element to weekly quizzes: prizes. Gamification in the workplace is proven to lead to higher levels of motivation. Give the winner of the quiz a trophy to proudly display for a week and some other perk, like a nice dinner for two or an Amazon gift card. (Make sure the award does not feel like an obligation — that means no coffee with the boss or worse, free timesheet templates.)

Look for ways to build an atmosphere of healthy competition, which can be a positive motivator. Employee competition can be nurtured into something more &mdsash perhaps something to keep employees motivated to outperform their colleagues. Besides just creating a better work environment, keeping positive, healthy competition part of regular workplace life can lead your employees to take on leadership roles, build the brand, and more.