In my work as a facilitator, I get a lot of questions about interpersonal relations between supervisors and employees. One question asked over and over is, "Given the lack of resources in this stressed economy, how does one find ways to motivate employees that do not involve financial resources?" I think it is key for supervisors to understand the first step to motivate employees is to find out something about them--what turns them on and what turns them off. We should then focus on doing as much as we can to turn them on and refrain from doing things that turn them off. Employees are motivated by praise, challenge, being in on decisions that affect them, as well as other forms of recognition that do not cost money. I invite other examples of actions supervisors can take to motivate employees.
