Employee is the biggest asset for any start-up. To keep your start-up venture well-oiled and running smoothly, your employees need to be motivated constantly. A motivated employee leads to improved productivity, reduced employee turnover and reduced employee absenteeism. The benefits are many. Hence, employee motivation is not a subject that an ambitious and growth-driven start-up can ignore.

We give you a few pointers on how to keep your employee motivated and your cash till ringing.

Open Work Culture: Letting your employees know in both words and gestures that you are always there for them goes a long way in establishing their trust in you.
• Try open door policy where you are reachable to them as much as possible.
• Don’t give up on your employees – listen to their problems, understand where they are coming from and give them wise solutions.
• Don’t impose things on them rather invite suggestions from your employees on how a particular work could be done. You will be surprised at how efficiently the work is done with minimum fuss.
• Avoid criticizing your employees.
• Never indulge in comparisons between the employees. Remember, all employees are different; hence their work capacity is also different.
• Keep regular open forums where employees can discuss their problems. It will help in team bonding which will lead to job satisfaction.

Personal Recognition: Always appreciate for a job well-done. Simple and non-time consuming gestures like sending a ‘Thank You’ mail or a pat on the back go a long way in reinforcing your relationship with the employees. Organize a ‘Rewards and Recognition’ activity for your team of employees where in you recognize the efforts of your team employees once a month by giving them cash vouchers/small token etc. It increases their sense of self-esteem and makes them feel better about their job.

Play Santa Claus: Catching them off-guard with pleasant surprises will keep them interested in the otherwise boring and routine job. Taking them off to lunch, ordering a pizza for the team, celebrating an employee’s birthday by cutting a cake, taking them on a picnic or giving them half a day off will keep their motivation levels up.

Employee Growth: Doing the same work over and again every day becomes monotonous after a while. Employees lose their interest in the work leading to poor productivity and customer satisfaction, and increase in employee absenteeism and turnover. Chart out an employee growth plan and share it with your employees. Show them how they can progress individually within the small start-up. This will renew their interest in the work; works well both for the employee as well as the start-up.

Flexible Work Schedules: Instead of the traditional 9 to 5 work timings, allow your employees flexi work hours. This helps employees getting their personal work done during those prime hours (bank or government related work) which in turn helps relieve stress. The employees will be happy which will reflect in their work.

Remember, it’s not as simple as it sounds. As all employees are different, their motivation criteria are different too. While one employee might be happy with a raise in salary, another might be motivated with a change in position. You need to understand individual needs and take care of them.