four ways to motivate staff (without paying more) – FILO Blog

Imagine trying to motivate your best employees while knowing you can’t offer them a raise. Traditionally, church tech employees aren’t hitting the salary ranges of their non-church peers. The tension is real, and the challenge is common, but there’s good news: you can inspire and motivate your team beyond their paycheck, which could mean the difference between them staying or leaving.Over the last four years, I’ve reduced and restructured my staff team twice, only giving pay increases once. Yet today, we have the strongest team culture we’ve ever had. People are leaning in, excited for the future and ready to play their part.Why? Because money isn’t the only motivator.Your job as a leader is to understand what motivates your team, encourage them, and provide development opportunities that are valuable to them.But first, before you jump to motivating your staff, you must know them. Giving one person added responsibilities may make them feel valued, while it might make another feel taken advantage of. Steve Stroope developed a list of 12 items that could encourage a team member. He asks people to rank them by importance so he knows how to motivate that person uniquely. They are:Private affirmationPublic affirmationOpportunity to give inputMoneyAccess to supervisorIncreased responsibilityEmpowermentMore tools and resourcesIncreased training and knowledgePerks and bonusesFlexible work hours and locationsSignificance (connecting their personal why and the company’s why in the role they occupy) Asking your team to identify what’s most important to them will equip you to serve them! I also like to ask:What’s your dream job? / What aspects of that could we integrate now?What’s something you love about working here?What’s something that would make you leave your role?How can I make this the best working environment for you? Those questions may feel scary—you risk someone leaving—but we’ll all go at some point, so you might as well learn what could keep them!Once you know your team, lean into what matters most to them. Here are four strategies I’ve found that have fueled my team members:Maximize your current benefits. Most organizations offer benefits, but few staff max them out. On average, a company pays anywhere from 20–40% of the staff member’s salary in added benefits. Does your team know it? Make sure you highlight their existing benefits and encourage them to use them. This could include:Retirement matchingGym memberships or discountsPTO/Development timeTuition reimbursementMental health reimbursement It’s easy to focus on what you don’t have (a bigger paycheck), but make sure people know and utilize what they do have.Develop them.Skills and leadership development are some of the most valuable things you can offer your staff. Maybe you’re a sound engineer, and your lighting director wants to become more well-rounded in other areas. Spend time weekly training them in what you do! Having frequent and intentional conversations about your team members’ development will not only show that you care but also build up their skills and confidence wherever they go next. Development, coaching, and mentoring are often overlooked—so lean in and raise your team up!Be flexible.The pandemic threw us into the work-from-home life, and the rush back to five days in the office wasn’t met with open arms (for most). In my experience, when my staff are productive, performing, and communicative, I can be more flexible on when and where they work. Many people are juggling a lot outside of work, so allowing them to work from home when they have a parent-teacher conference or leave early when they have a doctor’s appointment shows them that you trust them. Our team developed a few rules of engagement to make this work. For example, I’m a morning person, so I come in at 7:30. My graphic designer…less so. We have core working hours from 9 to 3 and allow people to flex around that based on what works best for them! Cast vision.Last but not least,