Start by giving your employees praise and incentives for working hard. If you don't recognize what your employee's are doing for you and how hard they are working, they will not feel appreciated and their work will start to dwindle. Let your employee's know they are doing a good job by telling them face to face. It is great to tell a department that they are doing well and working hard as a team, but telling each employee in a one-on-one setting will give them confidence in themselves and in you. It will also keep them motivated and to do a better job and keep learning. Giving an employee's a type of incentive is a great way to keep them motivated and do to a better job. Make sure that the incentive you are giving is one that your company can afford and one that your employee is going to like and enjoy.

For example, if you work in the construction industry and you are building a commercial building, you are given a time line to get your building done and do it well. Your employee may be working their hardest and is ahead of schedule by a few days; reward your employee with not only praise for being ahead of schedule and doing their job well, but take them to a great dinner or give them a gift certificate that they can take their spouse or friend out and have a relaxing evening. Remind your employee to do a good job and their motivation will stay high and they will want to continue to put forth their best effort.

When you start a new job or hire a new employee, you have to learn how to trust that person in their job. It may take some time to do, but showing and letting your employee know you trust them is a great way to keep them motivated. Once you are able to trust a new or long term employee, give them a chance and give them some more work to do and more responsibilities. Maybe give them something that can be a little more challenging and out of their comfort zone. This will help your employee to find and explore new areas in the workplace and you may find that there are more qualified to do something different within the company.

A great incentive that you can give your employee is education. A lot of young employees are finding themselves working full time and going to school part time or not all. This can be very hard and discouraging. Having an education will open many doors for your employees and will give them the chance to earn more money and create a career. Help them by setting up a type of tuition reimbursement or a long term employment opportunity with your company if they get a degree that they can use your workplace. Having an employee get their education will not only benefit them, but will benefit your company in the long run. Knowledge is what you need to keep striving forward.