The first thought of money and inspiration means that we subconsciously compare our employees to machines. Add more fuel, maintain and it will perform better but that is for machines. Humans are certainly not machines. If money was the main motivating factor, you would not find people working for humanitarian and non profit causes without any money in return.

So when we think about motivating employees, we have to first look at them as thinking emotional beings with aspirations, their personality contradictions, and all the pluses and minuses of a human being. How does a thank you change the mood, especially when it was not expected? Thanking can change the mood totally, because by thanking we are acknowledging the good work done by some one. That acknowledgment is a big reward. I appreciate the good work being done by you and I thank for all the help that you have been to me and the organization. Send such a note once a month or so and watch the performance sky rocket.

Sorry. Yes I agree that this is a advice repeated umpteen times in as many articles. But I am still writing this because we forget about it. Many times, in our frustration and anger, we tend to forget that our anger is being released on a third party. The worst part is that we forget to say sorry. Sometimes, rather than a plain sorry, we should call the employee and discuss about the problems we were facing that gave rise to our anger. Make him/her a partner in your agony and say sorry. You will get not only a satisfied employee but sometimes a good friend for life.

Employees are as human as bosses are. Once employees realize that bosses are people of high character they would automatically get motivated to work with the company and for the company. Motivating them becomes difficult when we are ourselves lacking in some appreciable human quality. The golden rule should be to make yourself worthy of respect and you will not only get co-operation but a team that works for you to achieve a common goal. Good Luck.