6 Ways to Motivate Your Employees

Have you been frustrated with your employees lately? Maybe they aren't getting projects done on time, or aren't producing at a very high quality. Have you ever considered that you have substantial control over their job performance? People only work if they are motivated to do so. Here are six ways to motivate your employees. 

 Before we get into how to build a Braveheart-worthy motivational speech, we need to address the issue that all people are motivated differently. The things that make you tick may not necessarily be the things that drive your employees to success. However, if you take the time to assess your employees' personalities, you can match them with different motivations. As their boss, you can actually increase their productivity by motivating them the right way!

The Socialite
Social employees obviously enjoy feeling valued by others in the office. They also really enjoy feeling as though they're making an impact on their work. As the socialite's boss, genuinely express your faith in their abilities in person. They'll carry the compliment with them in their future projects, and will be working toward the next compliment they receive from you. Be careful to only express your pleasure in their work if you really mean it, so as not to motivate them to produce more work that you don't enjoy.

The Team Player
Team players generally enjoy working on a team with strong leadership, vision, and purpose. They love experiencing success with others on the team. As the team player's boss, be sure to paint a clear picture of your vision for their work, and what they can receive as a reward for their hard work. Just be sure to follow through on your promises to them, or they'll get discouraged and bitter fairly quickly.

The Perfectionist
Perfectionist employees are usually very analytical and enjoy flying solo. Sure, they can certainly work with teams, but they feel they can get the job done better and quicker by themselves. Your perfectionist employees are determined to get every detail of the job done correctly at all costs. As their boss, be sure to clearly lay out your expectations, and quickly give them rewards that are proportionate to their contribution on the project.

The Shy Guy
Some employees are superstars, but just quiet by nature. These people are motivated by quiet rewards in return. Simply pull them aside to praise them, leave a note on their desk, or send a genuine email behind the scenes. Quiet people generally enjoy quiet praise, so be careful about calling them out to deliver a speech about their success to their coworkers (something that a number of your other employees would love!).

The Temperate
Your temperate employees carry a go-with-the-flow attitude on any project they work on. They're happy just to be along on the ride with the rest of the team. It can be hard to pinpoint a key method of motivation for these people, because they're generally happy with any form of recognition. Mix it up for these employees; throw a party, leave a note, give a high five in the hall, etc.

The Expressive
Expressive employees are generally your extroverts who let the office know what they think about any given issue at any given time. These people are motivated by open lines of communication and thorough discussion of projects. When rewarding your expressive employees, make it a party. They love public recognition for a job well done.

A few of your employees will fall into a couple of these general categories. For these workers, just experiment and see how they respond, or just flat out ask. Most people have a general understanding of what motivates them, and how they like to be rewarded. What do you think? What are some practical ways that you've motivated your employees? Let us know in the comments below.