Employee satisfaction is a key element in today’s industry for any company that thinks long term. A long-term team of skilled, honest, efficient, trusted, and capable employees is preferable and more profitable to work with than a ragtag team of workers with little to no history between themselves or with their employer. After all, there is a reason why experienced high-performing workers are considered assets, while high turnover rates damage business reputation.

None of this is new knowledge of course but applying that knowledge in a practical setting has its challenges, especially for small businesses. Very few small businesses have overflowing coffers, so keeping employees motivated is more complicated for them than to simply incentivize and reward all intended outcomes with cash. Keeping that fact in mind, here are a few proven methods for small businesses to keep their workforce encouraged and motivated.

Use Genuine Acknowledgement as a Motivator

Acknowledgement of good work performance, honesty, reliability, innovative thinking, proactivity, and other productive traits is the very minimum expectation that an employee has. Fulfilling that expectation can be as simple as providing appreciative feedback to them when required. It’s a way to let them know that their extra effort is noticed, marked, and not forgotten as easily. It keeps employees motivated and hopeful for the future, even if the company is not in a position to follow up their acknowledgement with an immediate reward at that moment.

Failure or refusal to even acknowledge employee efforts, on the other hand, sends a completely counterproductive message. It indicates that their efforts are not of any significance to the company and, therefore, they are of no real value to the management. Consequently, unacknowledged employees would simply stop putting in the extra effort. As is to be expected, it damages employee morale and does nothing to improve the business’s overall productivity.

Amplify the Motivating Effects with a Practical Reward System

Acknowledgement might be the first and the most important step in all employee motivation strategies, but it should also be followed up by adequate rewards to amplify the effect whenever applicable and possible. As mentioned, rewarding every achievement with cash can be too expensive for any establishment, but it’s almost impossible for smaller companies to pull off successfully in the long term. However, there are other, more practical ways to do so.

For example, companies of all size regularly use both general and customized gift cards as a crucial part of their employee recognition programs today. Gift cards are comparatively affordable, and surveys show a high satisfaction rate among employees who receive them. It’s important to note that gift cards are not just ideal for recognizing and rewarding employees who deserve them, but they also act as excellent motivators when used as incentives for achieving targets.

Do Not Close Off the Two-Way Channel of Communication

Even the largest corporations in the world are trying to streamline and unify communication channels whenever possible because an unnecessarily long chain of command hampers productivity. Therefore, one of the biggest mistakes that businesses can make today is that of closing down one end of the communication line. A one way line of communication is an outdated method where instructions were provided to the workforce, without leaving the workforce with an option to freely communicate back on their own.

A two-way line of communication provides the workforce with options to initiate free contact on their own, allowing them with the chance to ask additional questions, request for more info, provide necessary feedbacks, and communicate problems in real time. First and foremost, this adds a tactical advantage from a purely business perspective for the company itself. It’s always better to know about and deal with potential obstacles and/or active problems as quickly as possible.

Secondly, it helps the workforce complete their work faster with better results since they don’t need to wait for management to initiate contact every time they are faced with a hiccup. They don’t need to rely on guesswork or make do with patchwork fixes that might cost the company and their own work performances in a negative way later. Being able to progress faster with the certainty and assurance from management improves morale among workers.

Encourage Proactivity Across All Levels

An open communication line should also encourage employees to make suggestions for potential improvements. Note that management is never obliged to act on any suggestion that they don’t agree with, but how they treat such initiatives is of immense importance. If employees are made to feel that it’s not their place to suggest, it would be considered a demotivating move with nothing to gain but a bad reputation for harboring poor company culture. It takes away the feeling of being a part of the company, leaving them with only a sense of belittlement.

In direct contrast, when employees receive positive feedback for taking an initiative, it motivates them towards remaining proactive. At worst, the management will see no value in acting on most suggestions but would still gain opportunities to acknowledge some of the good initiatives for their efforts. At best, they will receive occasional insights that can actually help improve processes, solve problems, avert future problems, and avoid workplace mishaps among other things. Besides, it’s a proven method for finding the employees with high future potentials.

Treat Employees Like Colleagues

Technically, all employees are supposed to be colleagues, but that sentiment often seems to wane and fade outside the management. This naturally gives rise to a clear and very common rift between management and workforce. No company in this day and age can ignore the importance of treating their employees with respect and inclusivity if they are to remain successful in the long run.

In truth, the power dynamics do not change when people higher up the corporate ladder treat workers as colleagues. On the contrary, it creates a sense of belonging and loyalty among those down the ladder. It motivates and encourages them to work harder for the company because they feel like their own growth is directly tied to that of the company’s.