Keeping your staff happy and satisfied and expressing how valuable they are to the business is important if you want to bring out the best in them. There are a number of different ways in which workers can be shown that their efforts and achievements are being noticed and all are aimed at improving staff motivation and job satisfaction.

• Performance-related pay and bonuses: earnings can be made up of rewards related to their performance and effort. Bonuses, particularly at times of the year such as Christmas and before public holidays, are an excellent way to motivate people.
• Staff holiday incentives: deals can often be established with travel companies to provide very reasonably-priced holidays for employees.
• Leadership development and promotion schemes: employees should be made aware of the realistic possibility of promotion within the company, with the option of training schemes aiming to develop their skills and realise potential.
• Company performance: it is important that employees are aware of the company’s performance both locally and globally and that each individual understands the part they play in the business.
• Share options: many successful companies offer shares, enabling staff to be financially rewarded in the success of the business and be directly affected by its performance.
• Staff representatives: it is essential that employees feel they have some control over what goes on in the office. Choose a trusted member of the workforce to act as an intermediary between staff and management – they should be able to deal with any members of staff who have concerns or criticisms.

When considering how to reward your employees, it is important to establish performance records and monitor each individual member of staff and ensure they are treated equally. It is therefore advisable to use a number of performance-based criteria – such as targets reached, punctuality, etc. – to measure achievement.