Management clinic - Bonuses: Rewarding behaviour

Finances at my firm are difficult, which has led to my outlining to employees that they will not receive Christmas bonuses this year. How can I go about keeping them motivated and, most importantly, productive through this busy time?

It is very difficult to motivate staff when at the same time you are not giving expected financial incentives. You have to accept that your staff are going to feel unmotivated and will question why they should put in the effort if it is not rewarded.

The most effective way to keep your staff motivated is to have them fully invested in the company; if they feel that it is treating them genuinely, fairly and not taking advantage of them in these economic times, they will be more inclined to