There are many ways to improve the morale of your workforce and in turn increase staff motivation. Some of these may seem costly, and some will be completely free, but almost all will be very worth it in the long run.
Far too many businesses don’t consider how important staff morale actually is. Simply letting staff feel valued in the workplace is all that it can take to vastly increase turnover, reduce staff turnaround and generally improve any business exponentially.
Of course, there will be employees who are simply maudlin or unpleasant no matter what you do, and it is these employees that you should be inclined to let go over those who are not achieving the goals you set. Instead, changing the way you focus on staff motivation and giving individual tutorage could be all it takes to completely turn around even those generating the lowest levels of business.
Whilst you do not need to necessarily be best friends with every employee, it is important to get to know them. Whether you arrange to socialise outside of work or simply take them out and pay for lunch from time to time, not only will your interest in them boost their morale, but a little treat such as lunch now and again will do no end of good in terms of how valued they feel.
It is also important to be honest with your staff. When things are going well, reward your staff. Using incentive schemes is one of the fairest ways to ensure that you give each individual the rewards that they deserve and at the same time motivate them to achieve even more. However, when times are bad, be frank and work with your staff to help them improve rather than simply criticising them.
Simply showing that staff are valued should be all it takes to improve morale and from simple incentive schemes to treating them to lunch and paying an interest in them all as individuals, such a goal is not hard to achieve.