How to keep employees happy when you can’t promote them or increase their pay

Every business owner or manager knows that having a content and motivated team is vital to keeping productivity high and keeping customers happy.

But maintaining good levels of motivation among team members when there are fewer opportunities for promotion and salary increases can be very difficult.

In fact, in these scenarios it can even come to feel like the task of keeping every member of your workforce happy is an impossible one.

But there is one ‘tool’ that all managers should be an expert in deploying to their advantage and it is often the secret to creating a highly motivated team.

The power of appreciation

The great thing about appreciation is that it’s free so it doesn’t matter if you don’t have the power to provide hefty bonuses or give days off or salary increases. If you demonstrate your appreciation in the right ways and at the right moments, then your team members will generally be motivated to keep doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.

Appreciation is about recognising the work that a member of your team has carried out but it needs to be sincere and it helps if it’s specific.

While you might, as a manager, say something like:

              ‘Thank you Michele for your hard work and effort’

But while this is clearly a positive sentiment, it’s too broad and doesn’t go far enough. You could really be saying thank you for anything. Whereas, if you say something more like: 

‘Thank you Michele for your hard work and effort with the ABC Company installation. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your efforts. The client is absolutely delighted with how smoothly the project ran. You made a really good impression with the client and that has reflected well on the company and the team.

So it’s important to be specific. You are telling your team member why you want to thank them and the effect their hard work has had both on the client and your business.

It is key to use the word ‘appreciate’ in your delivery. It’s not something that is often said and providing you say it with authenticity then it will really boost the morale of the person you are speaking too.

Right place and right time

In my blog post How to Keep Your Workforce Motivated and Productive  I mentioned about the importance of understanding your team and flexing your leadership style to motivate them.

The same goes for how you deliver good news – you need to flex your style because not everyone wants to be communicated with in precisely the same way.

For example - some people prefer to receive this kind of feedback in the privacy of an office because they feel self-conscious when the recognition is given in a public setting, such as in a company or a team meeting for example. While other people will much prefer and appreciate that kind of public acknowledgment.

Getting the team involved

The one thing you must do as a manager when you’re using appreciation as a motivational tool is make sure that the rest of your team is aware of the sterling efforts their colleague has made and you should aim to encourage the rest of the team to congratulate them as well.

And remember that each team member may prefer to congratulate the individual in their own way. So for some people it will involve a face-to-face chat, others might make a phone call or send a ‘well done’ message in an email.

As long as everyone is recognising the efforts of others then it will boost the morale of the individual and potentially improve levels of both harmony and healthy competition among your workforce.

Using the right language

It’s really important to use the right phraseology when you are telling a team member or business colleague that you appreciate the work they have done.

You don’t want to use a ‘throw away’ line or a phrase that you overly use – for example ‘thanks for the work you did with that client’. There is nothing wrong with that statement but when you want to get across to the individual that you really appreciate that they have done a great job then a bit more thought needs to go into the delivery of what you’re saying.

Essentially, you need to ensure that your words are taken as being authentic and something more than simply a routine platitude. Here are a few examples I use with my team:

• I want to acknowledge everyone’s extra effort and appreciate the additional time everyone put in…
• You did an excellent job on that report and I appreciate your commitment to excellence.
• I want to thank you publicly for your hard work and dedication. I appreciate…
• You are a valuable member of our team and I appreciate your hard work.

Taking your appreciation to the next level

To keep your team motivated it’s important to act on and recognise the good work they have done in other ways as well. So if they have consistently been motivated and delivered outstanding work then it’s important to help them get to new levels of experience and understanding in support of their careers.

So you should look to give team members who have been performing well more challenging tasks that will stretch them. This is the only way they will be able to grow from a professional perspective. If they are left to simply continue doing the same things, they will get stuck and this will inevitably start to demotivate them.

So allow your people to get creative and give them a chance to find the solutions to new challenges as they arise. Each individual will come at it in a different way, so it’s important not to micro-manage them but rather to encourage them to come to you for advice when and if they need it.

Of course, with any project you will need to have check in points and meetings every so often but the focus here should be on providing reassurance and showing that you have confidence in different individuals and their abilities.

Conclusion

Integrating these kinds of attitude into the way you operate as a business can deliver major benefits over time and, crucially, it makes it much more likely that you’ll be able to keep your workforce motivated and committed to the work they’re doing at all times.