There have been several thorough studies to inspect the factors that play a vital part in motivating the workforce in a corporate environment, and the conclusions have always came to rest on money—the prime motivator for all the organizational aspects. The core motivation for any Employee depends on which aspects of his/her professional life stimulates the most changes, let it be the recognition, learning new skills, being able to express themselves differently, contributing altogether to the organizational growth, etc.

Loyalty Isn’t for Sale

Take Japan for instance, the country most popular known for its ultra-loyal and dedicated employees regardless of the business or industry. Unsurprisingly, you’ll see a number of workers who willingly commit themselves to a company and decides to provide their services for life, also known as ‘shushinkoyo’—a lifetime employment. But according to the data provided by 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide, the trend now has quite gone on a slump. As the waning trend is gaining strength and the global fluidity is on the rise, it is time for companies to start looking for other motivators as well, as loyalty itself cannot be the only dependability.

However, still we can spot a large number of people for whom a nice pay is the biggest motivator.But being completely forthright with ourselves, money stays the alpha motivator only to acertain extent. Consider the situation in which you are earning a thick 6-figure salary, but only to work in an extremely hostile and demotivating environment filled with a bad boss, colleagues who love to resent you, job duties demanding you to spend extended hours in the office till the point of pure exhaustion, and worse of all, no matter how brilliant you perform, there is no appreciation or recognition in the slightest. So what part is your 6-figure salary promising job is playing to motivate you?

Given the circumstances, let’s examine the top motivating factors besides money that are surely going to elevate your nourishment along with the betterment of the workforce.

1. Learning and Development

By enhancing the skillset of your employees, you are demonstrating how exactly they contribute and matter to the firm, and how well they are progressing in their respective job duties.How well can you be motivated when appreciated and given a chance to groom yourself professionally?

It’s better to run a skill assessment before developing the training plan for each employee. The employee will be encouraged to see a well-thought training plan developed for him- or herself catering the specific needs and requirements perfectly. In case you do not possess the required budget to implement the training plans you developed for the workforce, there is no need to stress as there are a number of free and convenient online networking events and conferences the employees can attend for their growth.

One of the most critical challenges Hays Global Skills Index recognized was the lack of talent in a plethora of important sectors worldwide. In many industries across the globe, there is a huge gap between the skills available in the market and the skills actually required by the companies for their employees. Therefore, employers need to realize the benefits in store for themselves too by offering skill development sessions to their workforce.

2. A Roadmap of Career Progression

Still, a skill development plan and implementation isn’t enough to jump your employees at 100% motivation. Provide them a clear roadmap stating the career growth ladder they can climb by remaining in your firm or industry. As per the recent statistics provided by the Hays Global Gender Diversity Report, only 58% men and 42% women in the corporate world have the belief their careers can be projected by potential growth opportunities in the field and company they are currently serving. Similarly, around 54% people stated in the Hays Asia Salary Guide have confessed the major reason of leaving their job was to try new challenges in other industries and companies, while another 48% of employees blamed the lack of growth in their firm as the main reason for leaving.

All the concerns are unfortunately genuine and vital, but can be clearly dealt with by creating a well-versed career growth plan for employees in different departments. To better cater this, try to conduct 1x1 meetings with each employee on regular basis, ideally at least twice a year. The concern is to discuss their career prospects and get an insight regarding their thoughts about growth as well. However, in cases where it becomes difficult to recognize an employee in a higher position or type of work they want (due to lack of the position desired or financial constraints), then offering the employee further independence and voice in the business aspects could be a fair deal.

The motivational projection could come in the form of intra-departmental promotions, inter-team transfers, or a new role altogether in a different country based on the employee’s skillset and performance.

3. Mighty Recognition

Employees must be seen, acknowledged and openly recognized for all the efforts invested, extra mile travelled, and the achievements accomplished over the course of their tenure.Besides rewarding them with bonuses or other forms of tangible rewards, the uplifting acts such as an occasional and sudden praise in front of the whole workforce and pat on the back will do the job much more powerfully than the manager or employer can expect.

Recognition can be showered in a plethora of forms, as it all depends on the type of your communication and management skills and how do you plan you execute them. For instance, a general praiseor a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ in front of the crowd is enough to uplift the spirits of a group of employees, while some would do well with a considerable paycheck, or a meeting on how to groom themselves. In short, we surely get a motivational drive surging out from inside whenever appreciated and recognized for even the smallest of tasks.

Final words

Try to nurture the professional outlook and work of an employee by offering chances to acquire an additional skillset and polish the existing one. This will call for a happy and motivated workforce, while never asking managers to stress upon employee retention and helping them to keep performing at the top of their game at all times.

Author’s bio:

Simon Zion acquired his BBA (HR) from Stanford University. He possesses years of quality and practical experience in holding ‘Motivation at Workplace’ sessions for a diverse nature of industries’ workforce and managers. He got his experience evaluated from Best Accredited Life Experience Degree Portal to complete his masters. He is now an influencer and loves to speak and write for motivation and success.