Any management training course will acknowledge that there are a number of ways to motivate your team. Certainly, you need to be charismatic and ensure that you communicate honestly and openly with your team. However, the most immediate way to motivate anyone is to reward them.

When you talk of reward, the first thing that comes to mind is money. Indeed, if you manage a sales team, you will know that they can become very motivated when there is a financial prize on offer. To be fair, almost anybody can be motivated by money if the sum is sufficient. In fact, if an employee cannot be motivated by money, you might question why they are working for you.

Some employees respond well to the idea that they will receive an award. Actually, what they are responding to is the idea of recognition. One of the easiest ways to give staff the reward of recognition is to simply thank them.

This can be simple verbal thanks given one to one. A written word of thanks is also appreciated. In fact, many companies have certificates which are given out for exceptional performance. Often, cynical employees will not see certificates as a personal and sincere form of thanks. However a personal letter will be appreciated. Giving thanks in a group setting can be most effective.