6 Ways to Motivate Your Business's Employees

Are your business's employees motivated? Lack of motivation is a major cause of lost productivity in the workplace. If an employee isn't motivated, he or she won't put forth their best effort. As a result, the employee's productivity will decrease, resulting in similar effects to your business's overall productivity. The good news is that you can motivate your business's employees in several ways.

#1) Foster Creativity

Embracing a corporate culture that emphasizes creativity can motivate employees to work harder. Far too many businesses have a linear corporate culture that provides employees with little or no room for creativity. When employees aren't allowed to express their creativity, they'll become less motivated. Therefore, you should foster creativity so that employees will stay motivated and happy.

#2) Maintain a Positive Attitude

Always maintain a positive attitude when talking to and communicating with your employees. If you have a negative attitude, it may be reflected upon your employees' performance. Employees probably won't work at 100% if you have a negative attitude. By maintaining a positive attitude, however, you'll encourage them to work harder.

#3) Employee of the Month

Another way to motivate your employees is to host an employee-of-the-month program. This age-old program involves specifying a single employee out of each month as the employee of the month. It's designed to recognize loyal and hardworking employees, while subsequently motivating them and other employees.

#4) Allow Telecommuting

You might be surprised to learn that allowing your employees to telecommute can have a positive impact on their motivation levels. Several studies have shown that employees are more productive when working from home as opposed to the office. Employees often enjoy working from home because it's a quieter and more relaxing environment than a typical commercial office.

#5) Set Goals

Setting goals -- both short and long term -- can motivate your employees. Without goals, employees won't know whether they are succeeding or whether they are failing. And without this information, employees may feel a lack of motivation. No matter your business's industry, you should set goals to help motivate your employees.

#6) Offer Career Advancement

Finally, you should offer career advancement within your business. In other words, don't force your employees to work at low-level positions. Instead, offer them the opportunity to advance up the corporate ladder to achieve higher-paying and more desirable positions.