Ways to Keep Employees Productive

It can be difficult to keep your employees motivated and working efficiently if you don’t give them something to look forward to. You’ll be surprised to discover that keeping them motivated is easy and can be done with a few simple ways. Show your employees you care about their happiness and want to motivate them with these tried and true ways.

Employee of the Month Programs

One of the easiest ways to get your employees excited about work and their efficiency is by employee recognition programs. You can a simple employee of the month ceremony in your office for a quick ten minutes to award your selected employee. Avoid employee of the week programs as this can cause hardworking employees to slack off one week, but then work hard in another. Awarding it every month instead of a week ensures that employee gets their deserved spotlight and employees will work hard all month long. Avoid hosting an employee of the month program that falls flat. When implementing this, always announce to your employees what kind of work and criteria you are looking for when selecting an exemplary employee.

Catering

Catering can be a fun and great way to encourage your employees to work harder. When you hire a catering service to feed your employees, they will appreciate the free food and also feel as if they are obligated to work harder for you. People have always bonded over food and this will help you create that bond with your employees. Hiring a catering service for your employees doesn’t have to be costly or expensive either, cost effective examples are Chipotle Catering and Five Guys. Once you have picked your catering service, announce to your employees that you appreciate their hard work and are rewarding them each month with food catering.

Reward Programs

These programs are really simple and don’t require you to select a single employee every month. You set a standard of work or quota and if your employees hit that quota or go above and beyond then they will win a small prize like a restaurant gift card or a set of office supplies. If you’re feeling fancy, you can even give out tickets to a local concert or entertainment to the employee that gets the most work done in an excellent manner. These programs can encourage a sense of friendly competition in the workplace, increasing employee work efficiency. Again, it’s important to let your employees know the criteria they need to fit in order to earn these rewards. Choosing employees at seemingly random will leave your employees confused and feel as if they can do below average work and still earn rewards.

Themed Parties

You can easily encourage fun by hosting an in-workplace themed party every month. If allowed, let your employees wear business casual clothing to the party that fit the party’s selected theme. The themes can be as simple as “green only” or “tropical,” to allow your employees to slightly deviate from the uniform, but not go too crazy. You can host a set of games and serve food for them. Hosting these small casual parties will have your employees looking forward to the next one. These parties give your employees a sense of obligation to work harder for you so that they can earn the right to attend these parties and enjoy a fun and casual time with their coworkers.

Exclusive Amenities

Many companies have used access to exclusive amenities as a way to motivate their employees. Companies such as Google provide amenities such as free fitness classes and gym, cafeteria with free food, and even 24-hour tech support. They even allow dogs in their workplace. It’s no secret that happy employees work harder to keep their spot in an amazing workplace and company. The better you provide happiness opportunities for your employees, the harder they will work for you to avoid competition from other potential employees to replace them. If you are unable to provide an in-house gym or cafeteria, you can hand out free gym memberships to local gyms or meal tickets for local restaurants.