Pretty big in my opinion!

Nothing can boost staff morale more than being recognised among their peers for their contribution or outstanding performance.

Trust me! I have tried using both monetary and recognition as incentives.

I have managed to get a group of my permanent staff a significant salary increase!

Yes, the initial kudos from the team was amazing. Everyone was walking on the moon. They couldn’t thank me enough. I even got kudos from people in government service who were simply amazed at my feat of getting my team a salary increase without abolishing the roles.

It felt very good at the beginning as a Manager. But as time went by, all those staff who got the salary rise, got used to it.

It was remarkable to see that the novelty wore off in 3-6 months.

However give the same bunch of people recognition for their work, and they bust their guts out for the team or organisation!

In my opinion, recognition and appreciation is the only thing that will motivate a staff in the long run.

My preferred options:

• In team meetings, recognise staff for their outstanding work
• Publish organisation blog or article and share with upper management, congratulating the staff. Include their pictures. People may forget a story but they will always remember a story with a face.