How to Motivate Your Team

by Nick Sarillo

What are the best ways to motivate your team? A lot of opinions exist on how to gain the most productivity out of your team. Many companies feel a bonus structure or monetary reward will spark motivation in their team and for us, we know the way we run our business motivates our team to high performance. The type of systems we have built into our purpose driven culture drive motivation in each person on our team.

Build a Purpose Driven Culture
Building a purpose driven culture is step one in motivating your team. People want to work for a place that makes an impact. Whether your purpose is to provide an experience or offer a service each person working in your company needs to be behind it.

Often times each company’s purpose statement is what sets them apart from others and motivates a person to choose to work there over another company. The purpose doesn’t stop at the hiring; the purpose statement needs to be alive and thriving in the work environment. At Nick’s Pizza & Pub our Purpose and Values drive our decision-making, creating a positive work environment for our team.

When a team member has an issue they look to the purpose and values as their guide to find the solution. Having a common purpose gives each of us a sense of team and family. Purpose and values driven culture can have an amazing influence on motivation. The culture that exists in every company has the ability to be a driving force of motivation.

Have a Development Plan in Place
Culture doesn’t happen on accident. A big part of motivation is being aware of the opportunities down the road and how to obtain them. In some companies people leave when they feel they have nowhere to grow. We take the guessing out of it by explaining on day how to our team can advance on to the next level and make more money. For instance a pizza maker has numerous other positions in the Heart of House (our kitchen) that they can become certified in to obtain a raise. This process allows a new team member to set their goals in alignment with where they want to be in our company. Whether they choose to become certified in their favorite position or see how quickly they can obtain all the certifications the plan is laid out for them.

Be a Coach
Motivating your team at times can be difficult. Being a coach that celebrates accomplishments and guides to the next goal is essential. Our training process is designed to support both trainers and team members at the same time. After each training shift both sit down and give feedback on what occurred in the shift. On the feedback form each person starts with what the trainee did well in the shift. We know positive reinforcement results in brain chemistry, which can favorably affect long-term behavior. This feedback form process is performed each shift until the trainee certifies in that position. Not only does this process of continual feedback continue the momentum of improving, it also develops relationships among our team.

Develop Relationships
While many people may think relationships have nothing to do with motivation, studies have found otherwise. When a team member feels appreciated they will bring more to their job. Stress from a strained relationship will show up in the productivity on the job. At Nick’s Pizza & Pub right from the start our goal is to make our team feel accepted, supported and successful. It may be as simple as introducing yourself to a new team member or offering to support another team member with picking up their shift. These relationships that exist within the workplace are crucial to the productivity of the company as a whole.

Have Fun!
It doesn’t have to be all work and no play.

Having contests throughout the shift not only boosts morale but also unites the team.

Our most productive nights have been when the team is energized about a contest we are doing and kept on their toes competing against each other. Utilize your team to think of fun ways to be engaged in your workplace. Don’t over complicate things, just have fun!

Motivation can be difficult when there’s no sense of purpose. Listening to your team and understanding what their needs are would be a perfect place to begin. The building blocks we have found to keep our team motivated come from our culture. Choosing to spend energy on creating a culture where the team is intrinsically motivated is crucial, after that reward comes naturally.