You may have put together a fantastic working team but keeping them inspired when the going gets tough can be a challenge for the best of companies. Between tight deadlines, mandatory overtime, and high expectations, it’s easy for productivity to slack off and for morale to slip. Here are 7 tips for keeping your team motivated long-term.

7 Tips to Keep Your Team Motivated

1. Offer a Good Benefits Package

In addition to good compensation, benefits packages are a great motivator and another key element to having happy and productive employees. A large paycheck doesn’t mean that much if your star-player has to come in and work when they are ill. Having unreasonable expectations like that are a quick way to make people stop caring about the company’s wellbeing. Consider a strong selection of employee perks to help your employees feel valued.

2. Recognize Success

Whether it’s a performance bonus or a public recognition ceremony, it’s important to let your employees know when they’ve done exceedingly well. Performance bonuses are great for the employee getting the bonus, but an employee recognition ceremony can help motivate all of the employees by showing them that they too can be rewarded for a job well done.

3. Compensate Employees Well

The most obvious motivation is the paycheck. While there are many added perks and benefits, the bottom line is that your employees need to pay the bills and put food on their table. Making sure that your compensation rates are competitive will keep them motivated to keep doing well. Make sure the grass is greener where they are, and they’ll appreciate what they have.

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4. Offer Feedback

You may be very proud of the work your team has been doing, but have you told them that? Many employers and managers fail to offer positive feedback when things are going well. Because of this, many employees find themselves on the receiving end of criticism only. While it’s important to let them know where they can improve, it’s equally important to let them know when you’ve noticed them doing something right.

5. Set Challenging Goals

Most people are often capable of doing much more than they do, and not just from a productivity standpoint. Part of good leadership is helping your employees to reach their full potential and letting them know that you have confidence in their ability to handle a bigger challenge is a great motivator for them to meet that goal.

6. Offer Good Management and Leadership

Don’t just tell them what you expect of them; show them what you expect. Managers that lend a hand with tight deadlines and aren’t afraid to jump in and get their hands dirty are great. It shows employees that not only do they know what’s going on with the front lines, it illustrates the kind of work ethic and dedication that you’re looking for from everyone. A good manager can take a handful of mediocre employees and make them a great team. Conversely, a poor manager can take a group of fantastic employees and destroy the working environment.

7. Give Them The Tools They Need

Don’t ask people to do things in a way that is much more difficult than it needs to be or is even counter-intuitive. A creative type that brainstorms best with pen and paper should be given a pen and paper, rather than being forced to rely on a computer program. At the same time, forcing new graduates to use antiquated accounting methods instead of upgrading to efficiency software will make them feel undervalued and overworked. Make sure that you are providing your employees with what they need to get the job done.

While there are many reliable ways to motivate your employees, following these 7 tips will cover the basics. You can find what works best for you and build or improve on those tactics, and introduce new ones as you see progress.