14 Highly Effective Ways to Motivate Employees

In-light of the year that is fast drawing to an end. All the ups and downs has bought a level of uncertainty that none of us have experience in our life time and hopefully never will again.

We are sure you have found your staff dishevelled and distracted. Maybe it is from the media portraying drama (negative) that no soap opera script writer could ever conjure up. Although, as many people sat at home trying to keep themselves entertained these past months, the slogan so ‘These are the Days of our Lives’ rang in many minds.

Having our team work from home, while the admin guys thrived, the sales people did not. To get them back up and running, to keep being positive and to keep pushing is challenging but we owe it to them to find every way possible to get them over the hump… it is not about us. Without these people where would any company be?

So after a bit of googling and hooking up to as many webinars as possible we found the following points propping up that we thought we would share with you.

Your employees may not be as motivated as you are. Here are 14 tips from entrepreneurs on how to better motivate your staff.

If you've tried a variety of incentives but are still seeing the negative side effects of low motivation, you're not alone.

Sometimes even the best managers have to think outside the box to find creative and reliable ways to motivate their employees. Here are 14 unique motivational techniques from other entrepreneurs that you can try with your employees:

1. Gamify and Incentivize

Designing a feedback system that rewards employees for engaging with the company on an additional level, further than the tasks they complete. A proven motivator for employees alike is earning a "badge" or points for committing to certain tasks.- Blair Thomas, EMerchantBroker

2. Let Them Know You Trust Them

If you let your employees know you trust and depend on them, they will fill those shoes sooner than you think. A vote of confidence can go a long way. Let them know you trust them to do the best job possible and they will rarely disappoint you. Try it.--Ayelet Noff, Blonde 2.0

3. Set Smaller Weekly Goals

You want lofty ambitions but set up smaller goals along the way to keep people in it. Rather than make a billion this year, focus on getting 100 new customers this week-something that will get you to that billion. Then reward the team for achieving the goal with an afternoon off, a party, etc. They will see that your goals are realistic and everyone benefits from working hard.--Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net

4. Give Your Employees Purpose

Motivating employees by giving them a purpose. When you accomplish that, they understand the vision better and are able to execute more strongly. In addition, by understanding their purpose and the purpose of the business, an employee is better able to understand how they fit into the big picture. --Vlad Moldavskiy, Mabbly, LLC

5. Radiate Positivity

Always exude energy through the office. Being really enthusiastic allow your staff to feed off that positive energy. -- Josh York, GYMGUYZ

6. Be Transparent

Being open with employees about what's happening at the highest level so there are no surprises and everyone has a chance to ask questions and give feedback. Keeping employees feeling included in big decisions and committed to the direction of the company. This has helped to sustain motivation and increased company loyalty and pride.--Martina Welke, Zealyst

7. Motivate Individuals Rather Than the Team

Aligned incentives are the only true way to ensure everyone on a team is working toward a common goal. Framing the strategy in multiple ways ensures each stakeholder has a clear, personal understanding of how working together benefits himself and the team. This technique allows you to motivate the team to accomplish amazing things.--Ross Resnick, Roaming Hunger

8. Learn What Makes Each Employee Tick

Ask what they do and don't like working on, share the big picture company goals, and respond to their questions. Discern their goals and then invest in their professional growth. During one-on-one check-ins, listen to their ideas, because they're the best at what they do. Respect their personal schedules and non-work time, and don't ever pit their goals/timelines against each other.--Heather McGough, Lean Startup Company

9. Reward Based on Feedback

We developed Valuebot-an app for Slack that calculates how many times each employee was praised-in order to send daily and monthly summaries. Whoever garners the most kudos wins various awards and recognition. Valuebot has helped us to visualize our culture and reiterate how much we support one another. The positive energy we create in the office helps us to attract and retain talent.--Stephen Gill, http://www.50onred.com

10. Prioritize Work-Life Balance

It's important to encourage employees to take vacation time. A culture that prioritizes work-life balance, yields increased productivity and overall happiness in the workplace. -- Jesse Lipson, Citrix

11. Have an Open-Door Policy

It's amazing how a simple "please" and "thank you" fares with employees. Simply speaking to staff the way you would want to be spoken to. Keep an open-door policy when it comes to suggestions and ideas. When employees feel that their voice matters, they in turn feel confident about their positions in the company and that they have more at stake than just a paycheck.--Justin Beegel, Infographic World, Inc.

12. Let Them Lead

Motivating employees is not just about giving them vacation time-its about showing them they make a difference and are valued. Every time we have a meeting, whether large or small, we let a different team member lead the conversation and the topics discussed. Not only can they share their opinions and be heard this way, but they are motivated to make their words and ideas happen afterwards.--Miles Jennings, Recruiter.com

13. Show Them the Bigger Picture

It's important that employees understand the bigger picture and can see how what they are doing at the moment will eventually contribute to an end goal. Give them tasks and projects to work on and make sure they understand how this fits into the big picture. Talented employees will go above and beyond what you expect of them.--Brian David Crane, Caller Smart Inc.

14. Create Recognition Rituals

Every management and the executive meeting starts off with each department lead recognizing someone from their team who has gone above and beyond for the company or a client. This positive feedback loop motivates team members, and it holds management accountable for staff recognition.--Christopher Kelly, Convene

These are the top results from a survey of entrepreneurs on the topic of employee motivation tips provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

BY ILYA POZIN, FOUNDER, PLUTO TV @ILYANEVERSLEEPS