365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Employees

365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day – With Little or No Money
Author: Dianna Podmoroff
Hardcover: 288 pages, $16.47
Published: September, 2005

This is one of those books where you expected one thing and are pleasantly surprised to receive something else. Well, not entirely something else, there certainly is a list of 322 (not 365!) ways to motivate your employees, but that’s the last half of the book. The first half is a great business book on motivation and the necessity to create a motivational work environment.

In fact, I found the fist half of the book more interesting than the second half and I say that without knocking the second half whatsoever. 365 covers motivational theory, internal and external motivational factors, management methods and also provides a series of motivational questions to ask employees and new hires to ensure you are able to provide the best motivational environment for their needs.

The second half of 365 covers a number of easy-to-do motivational rewards. While most businesses won’t be able to do all of them there are a number of cheap and easy ideas that every business should implement. Not stopping with their own list, the book concludes with a monthly calendar of special days that will allow you to make your own motivational rewards.

Regardless of your work environment, every company can use a few motivational tips. 365 provides 322 of them and a framework to create hundreds more of your own. This is a book that won’t be put on my bookshelf, but will remain close by as a reference for things I can do to reward my employees.