A recent poll showed that, interestingly enough, 19 percent of interviewed employees are actively disengaged at work. They feel like they don't have the tools they need in order to be successful at their job, they don't know what is expected of them and they don't feel involved in the company and its goals. Based on this information, the price tag for employers that don't know how to keep their employees motivated is somewhere between $292 billion and $355 billion a year. Employees who don't feel engaged or motivated to support the goals of their employers also miss more days of work and are more willing to jump ship if they find other employment.

When it comes to motivating your employees, there is no secret formula or exact set of rules to follow. Motivation is as individual as the employees who work for you. From monetary to personal recognition to shareholding opportunities, each employee appreciates and is motivated by very different options and it's up to you as an employer to find out what your employees want and enable them to earn it.

Corporate Culture
Companies that maintained a positive cultural influence over customers, stockholders, and employees-did better economically than companies that did not maintain similar positive cultural traits.

Identifying and improving the attitude of your corporate culture depends on the values, attitudes and behaviors of the employees working at any business. Supervisors and managers set the tone for most organizations, so teaching them skills to help set that tone can be money well spent for businesses.

Customers and employees want the same things. To be treated in a dignified and respectful manner. They want good service and honesty and want the culture they're working gin to be direct and to the point.

The mission
Companies write mission statements to let their customers know what direction the company is headed. But just as important, this statement lets employees know where the company is headed in order to achieve the profit and marketing goals they have established. Mission statements work to keep businesses on track and function as a team towards a standard goal.
Along with a corporate mission statement, individual statements from each employee communicate their goals in life, work and within their current job. It's easier to find a good motivation strategy when supervisors are aware of what employees are working towards.

Motivation by Compensation
Most companies have some sort of motivational compensation. Just because it may not be healthy financial bonuses at the end of every quarter doesn't mean that the child care and health benefits are any less important or appreciated by employees.

Whether you realize it or not, it is already saying a lot. Child care and health benefits say that you value family. Giving longevity bonuses for employees on the anniversaries of their employment with you says that you value employees who stay with the business. Throwing a party at the end of your business's busy season lets the employees and their families know that you appreciate it when your people go the extra mile. No matter what compensation elements you use, they all carry a message.

That message is important. Compensation packages can be linked to business structure, employee recruitment, retention, motivation, performance, feedback and satisfaction. Compensation is typically among the first things potential employees consider when looking for employment. It is important, therefore, to give a lot of consideration to your business's compensation structure. After all, for employees, compensation is the equivalent not to how they are paid but, ultimately, to how they are valued.