Boosting staff motivation during a recession

The recession has had a profound effect on businesses in a number of ways, and while you may be primarily concerned with reducing expenditure, boosting sales and improving client retention, you should also turn your attention to employee motivation.

Indeed, the troubled economic climate can have a knock-on effect on how motivated your staff feel – and consequently how well they perform.

With many salaries frozen and the jobs market increasingly strained, many workers can feel underappreciated and lacking in options, with their motivation dwindling as a result.

In this kind of climate, it is therefore important to make sure that your staff feel valued and that their work is recognised, as well as remain incentivised to carry out their best work.

Indeed, doing so is not only important for the wellbeing of your workforce, but also for the performance of your company in the market. After all, if staff are not working to their full potential, then your business won't either – something that can have all the more serious consequences in difficult economic environments.

Problems with staff motivation can become particularly marked if redundancies, mergers or takeovers have also occurred.

Therefore, while budgets may be tighter than usual during periods of recession, it is even more important than ever to invest in morale and motivation-boosting schemes – and you will find there are a number of cost-effective options for doing so.

These can harness rewards with wide appeal, such as multi-option gift vouchers and cards, to help encourage your team to reach their objectives and maintain a strong performance.

Among your options is implementing an online points system, which will allow employees to accrue credits over time that can, once a certain total has been reached, be redeemed in the form of a gift of their choosing.

Alternatively, incentive schemes can be used to encourage staff to meet specified goals, such as sales targets for the quarter – or you could award them on an ad hoc basis for good work.

Offering a range of employee benefits is another effective way of motivating your workforce. For example, you could provide staff with an optional salary exchange scheme that allows them to take advantage of great discounts in high street stores, or enjoy savings on a variety of everyday essentials.

Such schemes can also serve to make your business a more attractive employer, thereby giving you a better chance of getting the pick of top candidates.