5 High Performance Employee Motivation Techniques

These employee motivation techniques are the key to boosting team and business performance. Implementing these five techniques will deliver increased performance and create a workplace that buzzes.

Provide Meaningful and Challenging Work

When people feel that the work they are doing is meaningful makes a difference in some way and provides them with challenges that stretch them they become internally motivated. In other words they don't need anyone standing around coercing them into higher levels of performance.

Even the most mundane of work can be motivating if the leader helps the team member put into context the value their work brings either to the consumer or to the organization.

A great leader is able to help inspire and motivate people by getting them to see beyond the immediacy of what they are doing to the bigger picture.

Providing challenging work is also intrinsically motivating for people. The vast majority of people want to feel that their potential is being regularly challenged. When the team leader provides the team member with the environment that enables, for example, learning new techniques or taking on additional tasks this can engage them more fully.

Set Clear Targets and Expectations and Measure Performance

Imagine you were bowling and no-one told you the aim of the game and each time you bowled the ball as it got half way down the alley a curtain came down so you couldn't actually see how many pins you had knocked over. How long do you think you'd remain interested, excited, engaged by the game? If you are like most people not too long!

It's the same in organizational life. People can be all fired up and ready to give of their best, but if they don't know what is excellent performance or don't know when they've performed excellently or don't know what the aim of the game is ... you can pretty well shut the gate on motivation. Spelling out specific targets, goals, and expectations for behavior and performance need not be anything complicated ... it just needs to be done and people need to get regular and timely feedback on how they are performing against those goals.

Give Regular, Direct, Supportive Feedback

Feedback,  both positive and performance improving, is vital to continuous improvement and done well it motivates and inspires people to continually move toward using more of their potential.

Feedback needs to be timely, specific and presented in such a way that the individual is clear about what behaviors or skills they need to modify (or continue using) in order to improve performance

Design People's Roles So They Can Use Their Strengths

Assigning people to specific tasks and duties that play to their strengths is one of the best employee motivation techniques. Research has shown, more than anything, people who are able to make use of their strengths on a regular basis while at work are more likely to work in teams that perform at higher levels.

When people are playing to their strengths on a regular basis - they feel effective, focused and fulfilled, a win for them and for their organization. The person becomes more internally motivated, feeling upbeat and enthused by what they are doing and will feel inspired to continue more.

Enable Input and Choice In How Work Gets Done

95% of people want to do a good job, feel pride in what they do, have good relationships with their co-workers and feel they are contributing in a meaningful way. In other words, they are set up by their own internal nature to be a high performer.

Unfortunately in many organizations managers turn the majority of their focus toward the 5% of people who are allergic to work and then instigate rules, policies and practices (such as close supervision) to control this 5%. As you can imagine all that does is demean, annoy and demotivate the 95% who are motivated to do their best. You are wasting the talent and natural motivation that the overwhelming majority of people bring to the workplace.

Provide people with a forum where they can provide their input in to how work is performed. Giving people control over how they perform the work is intensely motivating.