What's the Best Motivation Strategy?

Startups aren't only built by amazing ideas and funds, there have to be employees who are eager to make it work, and this comes with motivation.

For each person, it takes a different strategy. Motivation can take many forms: from monetary compensation to feedback. In this slogging thread, the startup hustle community shared some thoughts about what they thought were the best motivation strategies, and what worked best for them

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Mónica Freitas, Jack Boreham, Teri Eyenike and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #startup-hustle channel, and has been edited for readability.

What do you think is the best strategy to motivate employees? What do you think would work for you?

Sara Pinto some companies give employees bonuses for big wins, extra hours, big sales, etc. I think that's a great way to keep people motivated throughout the year.

Also, having a 1O1 monthly meeting could be great to check on the work progress for each employee, see how both parties could improve and evolve, etc.

In short, if a company actually cares about its employees' wellbeing, then employees will return in the effort. Oh, and companies should start opening space for people to choose if they want to work remotely or from the office.

Employee bonuses, shares in the company and making it entirely publically owned is a huge motivator!

Mónica Freitas That's all great ideas! And I also agree. The most important thing is to see our work compensated in whatever way it is. Which of them do you think would work best for you?

Mónica Freitas Do you think that always having the option for remote work is a good thing?

Jack Boreham Does it work for you?

Abeer Limarc Ambalina Teri Eyenike Linh Smooke Daniel Guzman what's your opinion on this?

The way to motivate is by offering employees autonomy in their work and contributing ideas to the success of the organisation asides from the perks for the jobs.
Also, I think companies now assign a learning budget to motivate employees for growth.

Well-being is important, but a team should be working together for a common goal. Giving workers incentives for ownership is always good.

Sara Pinto For me, it would be the bonuses for sure. How about you?

Sara Pinto, I do. Maybe it won't work for every sector or company, but you should open that window when possible. It'd make it easier for a lot of people to maintain their job: newborn parents, people that suffer from some health condition that makes commutes a challenge, not having to relocate or being able to assist loved ones (if they're sick, for instance) while maintaining the work rhythm.

I agree Teri Eyenike. Perks are good, but there has to be something more to them, not only to make the job "worth it" but to make it an ever-evolving space as well. That learning budget seems really interesting! Once again, being able to grow in the workplace is a valuable advantage

Mónica Freitas I would say it has to be a mix of financial motivation, and promoting the workplace as a space for collaboration and evolution

Mónica Freitas I agree. But I can't help but think that motivation through a computer can be more challenging. Remote work has many benefits but sometimes lacks dynamic energy. Do you think that motivation for remote work can be more demanding?

Sara Pinto for sure! It is always best when you have a team to back you up and help you evolve professionally

Sara Pinto I think there can be more distractions, but it's just a matter of what works best for you. I appreciate the freedom and flexibility that come with remote work. And to be honest, I wouldn't trade it for an office job. But to each its own, I guess.
I'm assuming you're more of an office person...

Mónica Freitas I haven't tried an office yet haha. I appreciate how remote work can be flexible, but I'm afraid many times the distractions take the best of me. Plus, I think it can be more challenging to motivate. Meetings help, but I think the actual presence would be more interesting

Sara Pinto, I think you'll need to try an office job in the future and get this conundrum sorted 😂 as soon as you do, you'll know what works for you

Sara Pinto Definitely some shares of the company so they’ll have a vested interest in seeing the startup grow. Also, assuming it’s economically feasible, encouraging employees to do side projects could be a great source of ideas, improvements, and additional revenue. Google encourages their employees to spend 20% of their time on side projects and have seen successful products come out of it like Gmail.

Abeer The shares idea is really interesting. It will motivate you to help the company grow for sure! I had no idea that Gmail started as a side project, but I can see how taking time for those activities can help with creativity and create a good workplace environment