Motivation is a fickle thing. It’s hard to find and easy to lose. Seemingly small, simple things can cause our motivation to plummet even if we don’t consciously realize it. That’s why it’s so important to identify ways to motivate employees that actually work.
So what can you do to ensure your team feels motivated? And that they stay motivated?
Practice psychological safety; don’t just say you do
A culture of psychological safety isn’t just a nice to have. Saying you have it also doesn’t mean that you actually do.
You have to actively practice psychological safety. Encourage your people to take risks. Don’t punish them for mistakes.
To paraphrase Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren racing, making one mistake is fine. Just don’t make the same mistake twice.
Mistakes are where learnings lie. If no one within your organization has ever made a mistake, or they’re afraid to make them, neither your employees nor your business will grow as fast as they could.
Value EVERYONE’S opinions
We’ve all had times where we feel powerless. Voiceless. It’s disheartening. Demotivating. Demoralizing.
Feeling like our voice matters, like it’s being heard, is among the best ways to motivate employees. It also encourages us to be more creative. Which in turn makes us better problem solvers, means we have more innovative ideas, and makes us more fun to be around.
You never know where the next great idea for your business will come from. Your office cleaner could be great at B2B TikTok; your IT guy might be a talented writer.
Sometimes all you have to do is ask and make it clear that you do want people’s opinions. Even if those ideas are outside of their usual remit. Those can often be where your most creative ideas come from.
Get some face time
Whether it’s in person or on video, seeing others can remind people that they’re not alone. And working remotely can be lonely. So can working from a cubicle. Either can lead to employees feeling isolated and like their colleagues don’t listen to or care about what they have to say.
Meetings, or even just casual coffees, help employees connect. This makes collaboration easier when it comes to work-related projects. It’s one of the quickest ways to motivate employees.
Set up employee groups
Another way you can help your employees connect is with ERGs. These groups enable people to get to know their colleagues beyond what they do at work. This improves workplace dynamics, facilitating communication between teams that need to collaborate but don’t always see eye to eye, such as sales and marketing.
If you’d like to get the most from your ERGs, get in touch today to book your free Workrowd demo.
Offer reverse mentoring
Reverse mentoring is when a junior employee mentors someone more senior. This is useful for bridging generational divides, spreading digital literacy, and holding leadership accountable.
It can also be hugely motivating. It gives younger employees something to work towards because they can see what’s possible.
In addition, the mentor and mentee can support each other to achieve goals, which is a big deal when it comes to ways to motivate employees.
Gamify objectives
Workplace competitions rank high on the list of ways to motivate employees. You could offer different rewards, from branded merchandise to a day out with their family to a voucher for their favorite store.
Some employees will feel motivated by competing with themselves, while others will be motivated by competing with their colleagues.
For example, you could have a leaderboard that rewards points for specific actions. A company trying to gamify social selling could give points for different activities online. This encourages employees to act while giving them a benchmark against themselves or their colleagues to compete with.
You could also take a note from apps such as Peloton, and have a way for employees to track their daily or weekly streaks. A sales team could have a streak for sending outbound emails, for example. It’s an opportunity to get creative around ways to motivate employees.
Shake things up
When a role feels repetitive or monotonous, it can be debilitating and draining. Our brains disengage and we stop putting in effort.
To prevent this from happening, find ways to make roles more interesting and less repetitive. You could give employees challenges, run competitions, or try different strategies and techniques.
Encourage creativity
We live in a world that’s increasingly outsourcing creativity, but at what cost?
Creativity is part of what makes us human and what makes life interesting. By relying on AI to do the heavy lifting, we risk our critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and creative muscles.
Empowering employees to be creative in their roles, however that may look for them, helps them exercise their creative muscles. This can then lead to stronger creative and problem-solving skills in the future that make them better employees, too. It’s one of the ways to motivate employees that has the most staying power.
Make friends
When we like the people we work with, it’s a lot easier to go into the office every day. It’s easier to open our laptops and sign in.
Friendship is a simple but powerful tool that fosters loyalty, engagement, and interest in what someone is doing. It enables people to feel valued and helps ensure they’re heard by others in the organization.
Online or in-person events are one of the best ways to encourage workplace friendships. ERGs are another great way to connect your employees.
Whether you’re running an event or want to set up an ERG, Workrowd can help. It’s an all-in-one employee engagement tool designed to make everyone’s lives easier and help you and your people perform at your best.
Everything employees need to know can be stored in one place, ensuring they never miss what’s relevant to them. It helps you highlight all the ways to motivate employees you offer, in order to maximize your ROI. Get in touch today to find out more.
Conclusion
Finding ways to motivate employees in 2025 can be easier said than done, especially with everything that’s happening in the world right now. With these tips, you can help your people stay engaged and motivated so that they’re always bringing their best selves to work.
