Exceptional employees need to be motivated too, and money is not the only thing you can provide.
Here are six non-monetary ways to keep your team rolling.
1. Challenge them. Smart, ambitious people need constant mental stimulation. If they feel bored they will start searching for another company or a different opportunity. Give your best employees the first opportunity to access training materials, try their hand at new techniques, and practice advanced skills. Give them access to your most experienced leaders and mentors.
2. Let them have fun. If you want your staff to arrive on time and stay for as long as it takes to finish their work, give them room to play. Seriously, encourage having fun at work. Allow them to take breaks if you want them to go the extra mile for you. Sometimes it’s as simple as giving them the chance to decorate their offices the way they like.
3. Say thank you. Everyone needs to feel appreciated, and top achievers are not different, in fact, the more they accomplish, the more they want you to recognize them. Anyone who shows improvement, solves a problem, or exceeds a target is justifiably proud of what they have accomplished.
It is easy to send a brief thank you email or make mention at a weekly meeting with a personal comment on their accomplishment and why it matters to the company. Try out a wall where great employees are publicly mentioned or create awards such as the employee of the month, or this month’s hero perhaps.
4. Empower them. Empower your best employees by giving them access to resources and delegating important tasks. Fight your temptation to step in and take over when they face a problem or fail at anything. Smart employees will learn from their mistakes and come up with creative solutions along the way.
5. Promote them. Great employees who are ambitious will ultimately get bored if they stay where they are professionally. They are seeking an opportunity to challenge themselves and prove their worth over and over again and that can only be done by moving up the ladder where the scope of their work expands or at least changes and their salary increases.
6. Help them grow. Personal and professional training programs are probably the most valuable reward an employee values from their employer. Taking an active interest in someone's personal growth is a thoughtful way. It will make an employee feel appreciated as well as benefit the organization.
By Shaden Abdulraman
