How to be the perfect employer
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It’s not all about money. Ways to raise and keep morale high come in all shapes and forms. We uncover how you can to motivate on a budget
These are tough times for business with cost management the order of the day and in many companies the dreaded pay freeze is the tool of choice to preserve profitability. Even the lucky few who are making a healthy profit need to keep workers beavering away without pushing up costs through wage increases.
The problem is that unless you are careful, zero wage increases translate directly into zero motivation in your workforce when you most need their help. But is it possible to keep your staff motivated without breaking the bank?
Karl Robinson, chief executive of Brighton-based internet company Mistral, is one person who thinks so. Last January he decided he wanted to keep his sales team firing on all cylinders but without just giving them a cash reward. They already earned commission, but he wanted to offer a more visible and enjoyable form of reward.
"We didn't want to give them a cash incentive, as it would probably go on paying bills, but something they would enjoy, remember and talk about."
His answer was to introduce a quarterly sales competition. Now when his staff top the quarterly sales chart, they get more than a handshake and a pat on the back. They get a £1,000 voucher which lets them buy anything from an air balloon flight to a day at a health spa.
Measuring the success of any motivation scheme is tricky, says Robinson, but he reckons it has worked.
"We don't have any formal measurement, but gauge the success by the level of excitement it has generated. There are some people who haven't won and are desperate to do so. They are constantly striving. Some have even mentioned it as a target in their appraisal. Once that excitement fades, we will look for something else," Robinson says. "It costs just £4,000 a year, money well spent. It gets very exciting towards the end of the third month, especially if several people are in the running for a voucher, and of course it is highly motivating."
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