Motivating Employees in a Down Economy

“If you give me a raise, I will work harder and smarter.” This is the employee equivalent of “I’ll respect you in the morning,” or “The check is in the mail.” If you are trying to motivate employees by using the carrot approach, it won’t work.  In a difficult economy, when your small business may not be able to give raises, or increase employee benefits, how do you motivate employees?

I’m not saying you shouldn’t give people raises.  If you want to hire and keep good employees, you will have to pay them well and keep giving them increases.
But don’t expect …read more