How Can We Motivate Employees in a Small IT Software Company? Looking for Innovative Ideas!

Motivating Employees in a Small IT Software Company

Please suggest what activities we can do to motivate employees in an IT software company. Our company is a small organization. I need innovative ideas from all of you.

Thank you.

Regards

Dear Kavita,

Please do consider my suggestions:

- Identify the top few concerns of the employees that you would target to work through with this motivation program.
- Map those concerns to events that can be implemented within your bandwidth. Suppose you have employees leaving you at short notice, and the reason is they don't see a future in the company. Plan and offer them programs to make them more employable, which would require them to spend a fixed duration.
- You may segregate initiatives into events, including transactional events such as birthday celebrations, team bonding, and transformational events such as an idea platform.
- An acknowledgment at work is quintessential. But try to differentiate it from the usual R&R programs. You may award the best performer and the one who made the best improvement.
- You may even form a team with a single point of contact from the operation/production employees and work with them to implement these events.

Here's an article on how to implement innovative HR initiatives to develop employee morale at no or little cost. [HR Innovations](http://citeman.com) (Search On Cite | Search On Google)

Blog your queries.

Regards

Employees want to be recognized as individuals, shown empathy, and given opportunities to grow. This requires bosses to care one-on-one rather than treating every employee similarly. Here are some low-cost ideas for motivating your team that can yield a big return on investment.

• Encourage feedback from external and internal customers. Express appreciation.
• Remind staff how their work impacts customers and promote some level of customer interaction for everyone.
• Invite an employee into your office just to say thank you without discussing anything else.
• Send a thank you note or email.
• Send a note to the employee's spouse/family thanking them for their support.
• Create an employee newsletter to share updates and recognition.
• Set up a bulletin board for employees to share news, hobbies, and achievements.
• Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and special accomplishments.
• Offer the best parking spot for an employee of the month. Let staff know how the honor is achieved.
• Include a note on an employee's paycheck highlighting something exceptional they did that week.
• Check in and assist an employee who is under pressure. Ask how you can help and tackle the tasks together.
• Create a culture of advancement by giving employees a chance to work on exciting projects or learn new skills.
• Delegate meaningful projects, not just routine tasks, to foster feelings of motivation and accomplishment.
• Create lighthearted awards that recognize something unique about each person, such as "Best Screen-Saver" or "Top Joke Teller," and present them at a potluck lunch.
• Share informative articles that could benefit employees and attach a note that says, "Saw this and thought of you."
• Learn about their hobbies, families, children, pets, etc., showing interest in what matters most to them.
• Ask an employee who is skilled in a particular area to train others or make an introduction at a team event.
• Consider hosting a community speaker to talk about topics of interest to employees like time management, stress management, or building relationships.
• Support skill development with a resource library filled with books, tapes, and other materials that employees can utilize.
• Encourage employees to attend seminars and invite them to give a presentation to others sharing what they learned.

Thank you for...

If you want to improve and implement new systems, here is what you can do:

Employee Recognition: Spot Awards, Annual Achievement Awards, Outstanding Performance Award, Best Employee Award, etc. A scanned copy of the letter of appreciation along with their photos should be displayed on the notice board. The letter should highlight their achievements, i.e., how different are they from others? On what grounds were they nominated? How could they serve as role models for other employees?

Together WE - In-house Magazine: Once a quarter, these magazines provide a snapshot of what is happening in the company, including sharing company growth, management objectives, customer satisfaction, a list of new customer sign-ups, sales reviews, customer delivery and feedback, partnership details, upcoming projects, etc. The company also prints contributions from employees such as motivational stories, paintings, poetry, riddles, jokes, technology-related articles, safety and health-related presentations, nature photographs taken by employees, etc.

Reach US: It's an online forum available on the intranet site of the company where employees can post their issues related to work, work environment, HR policies, training needs, etc. Once a month, the HR head along with their executives will have an open meeting with the employees (without mentioning the name of the employee) to resolve issues then and there.

Quality Session Meeting: Department-wise team meetings will be conducted by HR where each employee comes up with new ideas and concepts to improve the quality of work, deliver on time, reach customer satisfaction, embrace technology growth, understand the significance of teamwork, and gain knowledge on advanced technologies. At the end of the meeting, the department head nominates an employee and gifts them a prize for their innovation and creativity.

Chat: Internal chat will be provided for employees – an easy way to communicate.

An Idea: It's an online forum on the intranet where employees can share their ideas and views on celebrating annual day functions, kick-off parties, festivals, get-together days, birthdays, etc. For every best and unique idea, there will be a surprise gift (movie tickets, team outings, team lunch, chocolates, an official day off, etc.).

We Care: HR should conduct a free health check-up for all employees once a year and should invite doctors/psychiatrists for seminars on various topics chosen by employees via poll. Blood donation camps can also be arranged as part of social service.

Quote for the Day: This is done department-wise. Any one employee from each department should write a quote on their whiteboard. HR should decide the best quote for the day. The department that gets the highest points for the month would be offered a gift. The gift is based on the number of points they accumulate (hats, shirts, coffee mugs, etc., with the company logo).

If you want to conduct some cultural programs on an eve, then here you go:

First, divide your employees into four teams. Name them separately. Choose a leader for each team. For every event, one person per team is allowed. The team that wins the maximum number of awards will be the best team for 2011 in cultural activities.

1. Rangoli: Give them a concept, and their rangoli should reflect it.

2. Traditional Dress Contest: One male and one female from each team should participate.

3. Burst the Balloons: The one who bursts the maximum balloons in a minute will be the winner. Please note that they should fill the air and then burst the balloons.

4. Facial: Take a plate, fill it with glucose and grapes. The one who picks the maximum number of grapes using their mouth is the winner. Note: Tie their hands, and at a time, only one grape piece can be picked up.

5. Dance Competition: Any dance they prefer.

6. Dhum Sharods: It's like a mime show. Let a member pick a paper from the bowl they have. One person from each team should come forward and read the content on the paper. He/she should make their team members understand what is there in the paper via actions alone. If team members get what their team member was trying to tell, then that team wins a point.

7. Hit the Pot: Tie a pot with color paper, and every member from a team should hit the pot within three strokes.

8. Poetry Corner: Best poetry will be awarded.

9. Catwalk: One member from each team is allowed.

10. Antakshari: Singing songs starting with the last letter of the previous song.

11. Hunt: Hide a piece of gift somewhere in the party hall. It belongs to the one who finds it.

12. 1 Minute: The one who eats as many biscuits in one minute will be the winner.

13. My Story: Let each member from every team describe their daily activities from when they wake up until they sleep with actions alone. The best one will get the prize.

14. Humour Session: Best joke of the day.

15. An Reflection: Choose four employees in your company. Announce their names. Each participant from every team should come and imitate any one of the four chosen names. More than one is also allowed. Awards go to the best imitator.

If you want to gift something on an employee's birthday or wedding, then here you go:

- Give half of his/her basic pay as a gift.
- Paid leave for a week for a wedding and paid leave for one day on a birthday.
- Painting a picture of the couple. Get it framed – they will love it. For a birthday, give him/her a card and chocolates.
- Give them a gift voucher – they will enjoy shopping. You can do the same for a birthday.
- Decorate his/her workplace and welcome him/her with sweets and flowers. Arrange for a surprise party, and it's up to you to decide how to conduct the party.
- Arrange for a small cake-cutting party for the couple at your cafeteria. Pick the best picture and gift it to them in a large beautiful photo frame. Don't forget to get everyone's autograph on the backside of the frame.
- Sponsor a candlelight dinner.
- A small holiday trip to a nearby resort.
- Branded wristwatch for the couple.
- Movie tickets.

If you want to change the look of your company, then you can implement these:

- Placing money plants in all the corners of the office.
- (OR) Placing a fish tank in the main hall so that it's visible to all.
- Colorful pen stands on every desk. It consists of a pen, pencil, and eraser.
- Beautiful flower vases here and there in the hall/wall – either plastic flowers or original ones.
- Cute coffee mugs for each employee – they can have tea in their own cups instead of having it in paper cups.
- Nice water bottles for every employee. They can fill water and place it on their table instead of running to the water area ten times a day to drink water.
- Providing table mats for their lunch to prevent spilling food on the table.
- Colorful curtains for windows.

If you want to celebrate Independence Day or Republic Day, then here is what you can do:

- Flag hoisting.
- Give chocolates to everyone.
- (OR) Small gifts to all.
- (OR) Small flags.
- (OR) Pen to everyone.
- (OR) Sweets.
- (OR) Conduct a lucky draw – the one who wins will get a gift.
- Traditional dress contest.
- Essay competition on Republic Day/Independence Day.
- Presentation on the importance and significance of Republic Day/Independence Day.
- Decorating their own desks.
- Rangoli competition.
- Debate on a particular topic.
- 1-minute game.
- Singing (OR) dancing competition.
- Snacks distribution.

If you want to do something on a daily basis, then you can do this:

- Quarterly, take your employees for a picnic or movie.
- Every day, write something on the whiteboard like quotes, humor, home remedies, riddles, etc. Encourage your employees to participate in it.
- Order some useful magazines, books, and newspapers.
- Send motivational emails to employees every week.
- Call everyone for a quality session meeting. Conduct this every month to solve their queries. Provide tea and biscuits to everyone.
- Once in a while, arrange for a team lunch.
- Send birthday/wedding day wishes via email. Welcome them with flowers.
- Arrange for a small get-together.
- Celebrate festivals, birthdays, wedding days, annual day functions, etc.
- Gallery: Post employee pictures taken during tours, lunch, team lunch, festivals, birthdays, etc.
- Value employee contributions via awards and rewards system.
- Arrange for a polling session before you initiate any new process in your company. This will help you understand the mindset of your employees.
- Always seek employee suggestions if you want to do something, but make sure that either the HR or the management takes the final decision.
- Give surprises. Everyone likes it.

Hope this is of some use to you. Have a good day ahead.

- Babu

Thanks to all of you for giving me valuable suggestions, but my boss asked me to design a symbol to appreciate the one who is an achiever. Can anyone help me with suggestions on what I should recommend to them?

Plan a trip out of the workplace combined with a training program. It's fun for sure, and as yours is an IT company where people have to work long hours, generally, the work-life balance is in jeopardy.

So, take them for river rafting, one-day picnics with family, have a family day celebration, a trip to Adventure Island, or similar places.

Hope these ideas work for your company.

Regards,
Archna

Hi Archana, that's a good idea, but I suggest creating a symbol to put on employees' PCs so that anyone can easily recognize a target achiever. I recommend using different colors for their PCs.

Hey, there are some suggestions for motivating the employees that I want to share with you all.

1. You can motivate your employees by asking for their opinions about the policies.
2. Give recognition to employees.
3. Contests and competitions can also help motivate your employees.
4. Keep one day a month to invite your employees' families to the office for a get-together.

With Regards,
Anisha

Empower your employees by allowing them to make their own decisions and encouraging them to think outside the box. This approach will benefit them, the business, and you as an HR professional. Foster an open environment where individuals feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.

In addition to what others have mentioned, I wanted to emphasize the importance of "empowerment," as it seems to be missing from the discussion.

Best regards,
Yu Yu

Dear All, please suggest what activities we can do to motivate employees in an IT software company. Our company is a small organization, and I am looking for innovative ideas from all of you. As it is in the IT sector, I would suggest that you conduct some activities to help employees relax from the stressful work environment. Organizing games and other fun programs can entertain the employees and create a sense of fun and happiness in their minds, which may lead to increased motivation.

Dear All, At the outset, I extend my gratitude to those who have posted precious information about MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES. Please keep up the good work.

Dear Ms. Kavita, since you mentioned that your company is small, you will definitely have BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. Please allow me to present my views on your query.

1) To motivate employees, the best way is to experience the POWER OF APPRECIATION, which will bring MASSIVE RESULTS.

2) A POLITE, HUMBLE, KIND, AND SOFT COMMUNICATION STYLE will boost your employees' MORALE and help them develop A POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

3) You will find plenty of MOTIVATIONAL information online that you can SHARE with your EMPLOYEES every day.

4) Please ensure that the AGENDA OF MOTIVATION IS DEFINED, which can solve the purpose rather than just carrying out the activity without A SPECIFIC GOAL. Please remain focused in your Motivational Activities.

Sharing knowledge is not about a give and take policy. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capabilities for better performance, creating A TOTAL LEARNING PROCESS. Help your employees enhance their skills in various areas and improve their READING SKILLS, which enhances PATIENCE LEVELS. Additionally, it also improves WRITING AND LETTER DRAFTING SKILLS.

Hope this will be helpful.

Regards

Dear Ms. Kavita,

Suggestion for Designing a Symbol of Achievement

A star is always considered one of the best logos used by many organizations. I suggest a "Shining Star," which you can create yourself or find on sites like photosearch.com and others.

Hope this will be helpful for you.

Regards,

Oh, okay... that's a really good idea. And tell me, if an employee does not achieve their targets, what should I do? Do I need to prepare a log for them?

Dear Ms. Kavita, On a positive note, you can say, "BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME BUT DON'T MISS YOUR TRAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN," rather than talking NEGATIVELY, which DEMOTIVATES employees faster than anything else in this world.

We need to find out THE REASON from those who missed their targets. Study your employees well about their INTEREST and HOW PASSIONATE they are towards their job.

a) I don't suggest any LOGO for NON-ACHIEVEMENT, but you can present something that reminds about NON-ACHIEVEMENT and MOTIVATES to ACHIEVE SET TARGET.
b) Once the TARGET is achieved, you can take it back and present it to another who did achieve the same.

This way, you can carry out this activity and make sure that the employee hates to receive that GIFT that reminds him/her about his NON-ACHIEVEMENT.

I do have experience in the MARKETING DOMAIN, and my strategy was quite different from others as I believe in BEING CREATIVE & UNIQUE from the REST. The same I had trained my team members as well. Train your employees to

a) "ADD 100% ADDITIONAL TARGET TO THE TARGET SET BY THE COMPANY." This strategy will drive your employees crazy to achieve their targets, but ensure that the employee doesn't get frustrated because it's all about the NUMBER GAME and LOSING ENERGY.
b) MOTIVATE them to achieve BEYOND THEIR LIMITS for which they shall be COMPENSATED for their HARD WORK/ACHIEVEMENT.

Please apply CREATIVITY at all levels, which is nothing but THINKING OUT OF THE BOX and DARE TO ACHIEVE BIG or DARE TO DREAM BIG & REALIZE IT.

Please be POSITIVE all the time and don't react/act NEGATIVELY even if your circumstances are not favoring you. Learn to MOTIVATE your employees, and this will produce THE BEST RESULTS.

Implement the greatness of this proverb, "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible" – Arthur C. Clarke.

If there is anything else I can do for you and other members of CITEHR, kindly feel free to contact me. I wish to learn more out of less.

Good luck in all your endeavors.

With profound regards,

Dear Kavita, please suggest what activities we can do to motivate employees in an IT software company. Our company is a small one, and I need innovative ideas from all of you.

- You can introduce a "Spot Awards" scheme. Recognize employees for using best practices.
- Start a "Best Suggestion Scheme" where employees giving the best suggestions in areas like Safety, Production, Maintenance, etc., will be awarded.
- Implement an "Achievers Award Scheme" to acknowledge outstanding performance by employees.

Regards,
Manav Sharma
Deputy Manager - Safety

Thank you for your contribution. Following suggestions from all of you, we have planned to start an Achievers Award scheme in our organization.

Conduct some sessions away from work and the work location to help individuals know themselves and build togetherness:

1. Motivational Sessions
2. Skills Improvement (related to work or on personality development)
3. Conduct sessions like Book Reading of famous books
4. Social Services (It builds the branding of the company)
5. Everyone is curious to know their strengths, if not weaknesses. I conduct workshops on Handwriting Analysis. It relaxes everyone and helps individuals delve into themselves.
6. Fun Games
7. There may be a unique skill set in an employee that is not work-related. Give them a chance for a public demo.
8. Conducting seminars (could be work-related) once a year to exhibit an individual's research and writing skills for paper presentation and awarding them in front of other groups by inviting them as chief guests. It motivates individuals and makes them feel recognized.

Thanks,

Ashok

Employee Motivation Activities

• Employee of the Month
• Performance Incentive
• Attendance Allowance
• Distribute Movie Tickets
• Celebrate Employee Birthdays - Department-wise
• Refreshments - Tour/Picnic

Regards,
Swetank

If an employee's pocket and mind are both fulfilled, they can be better motivated. Everyone works for the three Rs: Reputation, Recognition, and Remuneration. When an employee receives these three Rs, they can be more motivated.

Warm regards

Dear Madam, Nowadays, motivation has become increasingly important, and it is not a single process. Understanding employees' needs and problems is crucial. This needs to be done continuously. Therefore, my suggestion is to introduce a mentoring process in your organization.

Regards.

Dear Kavita, I believe this information could be helpful for you. Please take a look.

I have tried many things, starting from compensation to appreciation in performance. But in reality, nothing works better than letting them think out of the box. Extracurricular activities give scope to think beyond one's expectations and help break the barricade of seclusion and post-traumatic disorder with disillusion in the course of meeting the expected job roles due to stress and anxiety from having worked in the same circumstances.

This may not be the only solution, but as per my experience, it is your best tool to break the ice.

Regards

One-day excursions are okay, but their attitude and passion levels need to be looked into. There must be some workshops on a continuous basis to keep their morale high all the time.

Oceanic waves

Organize Family Get-Togethers

- Organize family get-togethers to foster a sense of community and belonging among employees and their families.

Provide Better Working Conditions

- Improve working conditions to enhance employee satisfaction and productivity.

Allocate Time for Extra Activities

- Allocate time for extra activities such as sports, cultural events, etc., to promote work-life balance and employee engagement.

Thank you!

Hi Kavita, you can use the Employee of the Month award and a small cake-cutting ceremony when a project is completed successfully. This will give a sense of recognition to the team.

Team Spirit

Have a picture taken of your entire staff (including you!), have it enlarged, and hang it in a visible spot. Most people like to physically see themselves as part of a group or team.

When running contests in your area, try to create contests and affiliated activities that are team-driven. People striving to reach goals together definitely enhance team spirit because they must lean on others and be prepared to be leaned on.

One very effective idea for me has been building a collage of creative ideas with the "Team" theme. All employees are responsible for submitting a phrase referring to TEAM on a weekly rotation. Each of these ideas (such as TEAM: Total Enthusiasm of All Members or There is no I in Team) is placed on a wall, creating a collage of team-oriented phrases. Don't have one person responsible for this... do it as a team.

With regards,

Vazid

Time Off

Implement contests that earn time off. People will compete for 15 minutes or half an hour off just as hard as they will for a cash award. In many cases, I have had people choose time off over cash when given the choice. Put goals in place (padded, of course), and when these goals are reached by individuals, teams, or the entire staff, reward them with time off. Allow early dismissals, late arrivals, extended lunch periods, or additional breaks.

Employees are different in every aspect of time. As you are a small company and want to motivate them, here are some suggestions:

1. Keep a weekly or monthly reward of Rs 500/- for the best employee.
2. Have some indoor games in the canteen like carrom board and video games.
3. Plan days in the office similar to what we used to have in colleges.
4. Consider the requirements of your employees first.

Thanks & Regards,
Farha Sayyed

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]
ACME Excellence

Here are a few of my suggestions:

1. Provide personal care to each individual regarding their work or personal issues.
2. Encourage them to explore and grow more in small companies compared to big companies.
3. Organize outings with a focus on learning, personal growth, or social service.
4. If there are sufficient financial resources, offer incentives or valuable gifts regularly.
5. Involve employees in decision-making when assigning tasks to foster a sense of responsibility.
6. Embrace new innovative ideas, implement them, and acknowledge the best ones.
7. Address grievances promptly.

Thank you.
Regards.