There are a lot of factors that can motivate employees to succeed, but money tends to speak louder than all the others, especially in Australia.
If you want to attract talented people to your staff and encourage them to work productively, there are a lot of different strategies that can be effective. You can offer them a vibrant, exciting environment to work in, or tempt them with the chance to control their careers and make more of their own decisions. You can use flexible hours, creative office settings or interesting work projects.
"The most effective way to motivate people is with the almighty dollar".
Above all, though, the most effective way to motivate people is with the almighty dollar. Everyone likes to talk about the other stuff besides money that makes them engage with their work, but at the end of the day, money still speaks louder than everything else. There's research to support this.
Employee pay has an impact on motivation
If you're wondering how to motivate employees, there are many strategies that can work - but the truth is none of them are quite as effective as cold, hard cash. The Australian Workplace Relations Study backs this up - a recent survey had Australians rank the factors they were happy with in their jobs on a scale of 1 to 7. Most factors, including hours and job security, got a score between 5 and 6.
The one exception was pay, which received an alarmingly low score of 4.79. The data shows that across the board, people in Australia are wishing they made more money - which makes it a powerful motivating factor as you try to retain your staff.
Attract top talent and retain it, too
Money is more than just money - aside from the obvious economic value it brings, it also has symbolic value. Research from Robert Half shows that competitive pay is one of the best staff incentives because it helps show how much you care about people. Giving them hefty paychecks shows that their work has meaning; offer too little, and employees will feel neglected.
"Pay attention to the ever-changing market for talent".
Of course, the competitiveness of a given paycheck is subject to change. Part of the challenge of running a staff is paying attention to the ever-evolving marketplace and adjusting your compensation strategy to adjust for market factors around you.
Rewards programs can help as well
If your business needs a little extra boost when it comes to employee motivation, it might be worthwhile to explore your options for employee rewards and recognition programs. At Power 2 Motivate, we have an extensive array of such programs to choose from.
Every company is different, and everyone has their own behaviours and metrics they want to monitor and reward. Talk to us about how you can find a program that's a good fit for your business and its people.