Every company is dealing with budget cuts and an unstable economy — but that doesn’t mean you can’t find cost-effective ways to motivate your staff.

“Studies show that money is a short-term motivator,” says management consultant Joe Raasch. That means you don’t need access to your company’s bank account to spur your workers to success.

Here’s how to you can create a program that keeps your employees motivated:

Cater to your employees’ desires. You’ll need to know what makes your employees tick before you can establish your program. Ask yourself:

• Do my employees want to reach corporate or personal goals?
• Would they appreciate an extra day of vacation or a longer lunch hour?
• Do they want more challenging assignments?
• Do they need daily rewards?

Once you know what goals your employees are working for, you can use those incentives to keep them motivated.

Reward individual and group efforts. Even the toughest work day contains some type of success. Your job is to ferret out those high points and encourage your employees to replicate them every day.

Example: Consider the last time one of your employees resolved an angry phone call or met a deadline despite his personal or professional shake-ups. Those are the times when you need to highlight the small successes rather than focusing on problems your employees can’t fix.

Key motivator: Employees will be less likely to give up during a challenge if they know you’re paying attention to their hard work.

Open up new opportunities. When your staff members have tackled one challenge, give them another one. Your faith in them will inspire them to continue accomplishing your company’s goals.

Try this: Allow workers to attend a meeting in your place or loop them into planning sessions to show them that you trust them.

Filed under: Management Minute