Last updated on November 14, 2025
Employee development isn’t necessarily a business owner’s priority when he or she steps into work. Business owners have deadlines, responsibilities, and commitments to deal with.
However, they are always motivated by their business, because it’s their own. The owner is the one who had an idea, started some type of company, and made enough sales to grow his business. He met plenty of small business milestones and planned future progress. Business owners have that zealous fire to keep their businesses active and prospering. On the other hand, their employees might not share a similar zeal or passion.
If we are being pessimistic, we can say that employees just show up because they are getting paid. In that case, they cannot have the same motivation and excitement as an owner. They don’t get as passionate about keeping the business going and helping it to prosper. However, employees should be passionate about their own development.
Therefore, if you want to know how to keep your employees motivated, focus on their own development. It is possible that all methods will not work for all employees. And, some methods can be more costly than others. You have to experiment and find out what will work for your employees. Below are some of the best ways to motivate and develop your employees.
Give Thanks
Do you want to know how to set the right tone and motivate employees without any money? You can start with a simple “thank you”. Indeed, it is a simple and zero-cost example of how to motivate employees in any workplace. A workplace built on team gratitude is a workplace where employees can thrive. Thanking your employees acknowledges their work. You have to give an employee credit for their hard work to motivate or encourage them to grow.
Give Responsibility
Giving responsibility is another good way to empower and develop staff members. You can give them something to take ownership of. When employees are “in charge” of aspects of your company, they feel more focused and protective of the work. In this way, employees will be more inclined to put their best efforts forward into the task. And, generally speaking, employees feel more valued when they have a real sense of responsibility towards your business.
Be Transparent
How does one develop employees if they do not know what the goals of the business are? You have to show the big picture to employees. Then, they can work towards their own objective while meeting company goals. An owner or manager, you need to tell them what the goals are. What are the things you want to accomplish? You need to share both short-term and long-term goals. It is crucial to communicate regularly with your employees. Moreover, when they know what the goals of the business are, employees will feel more motivated.
Provide Appropriate Incentives
Dangling a carrot in front of certain employees might very well be an effective way to ensure their development. They may want a monetary incentive or some other incentive to keep them moving forward. However, that might not be the best way to develop all employees. Incentives can come in the form of gift cards, bonus pay, or additional time off. However, you should take heed in certain situations, as there are particular rules for the taxation of gift cards to employees in certain regions. Overall, providing incentives can be a costly method of motivating employees.
Host Team Events
You can host events or throw parties to reward and encourage your employees in their development. Managers can also host employee-only events or you can take employees out for an after-work get-together. Occasional events like holiday parties, or summer parties are often expected in larger companies. These events are a form of incentive that is not included in the employee’s income.
Recognize Individual & Group Successes
Some of the ways you are using to develop your employees, might not motivate everybody to improve. Some employees need individual recognition. You should ensure that you recognize individuals too, not just entire teams. You need to tell your employees that you value the work that they do. You can do this privately also or praise an individual in front of a group for even more motivation.
Take Interest In Their Interests
You have an advantage over other businesses if you are the owner of a small company or business. Your advantage is that you can easily get to know all of your employees. You can sort out what interests your employees in their jobs, but also outside of work. To truly help them develop, you need to understand their goals and other things they want to do. Congratulate them on life events. You can adjust your methods of motivation once you know your employees on a more personal level.
Honor Their Work/Life Balance
You should know that your employees also have a life outside of their jobs. Their lives may involve their family members, pets, or hobbies. To foster employee development, let your employees find work-life balance. Do not overwhelm them with work. Motivate them to take their time off. So many employees do not take advantage of their paid time off.
If you want to encourage employees to actually take their vacation days, try a simple tool like Vacation Tracker. Your team can request any type of leave directly through Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Workspace, making the whole process effortless. You can start for free, and if you want to explore every feature, there’s also a 7-day free trial with no credit card needed.
When employees are enjoying life outside of work, then they will be rested enough and more motivated when they come back to work.
Sincerely Accept And Act On Input
One important way to ensure proper employee development is to regularly ask your employees for input. What would they change about their tasks? What can be enhanced at your company? Without a doubt, employees have some notions of how to make things better. Yet, they might not speak up unless they are asked. When employees can say what’s on their minds without worrying about stepping on anyone’s toes, they can flourish. Employee development will come when employees are empowered to speak their minds and do their best work.
Listen. Really Listen To Your Employees
Listening to your employees is another best practice to empower and develop employees. It is not enough for you to just take input from them. You need to listen to the input. Listen to what your employees say and what they care about. Once you know their concerns, you can develop more efficient ways to develop employees. Do not close yourself off in an office where your workers cannot connect with you. Be available to them. When they feel heard, your employees will be more willing to do their best for your business.
Now that you know how to develop your employees using the above-mentioned methods, we need to add a disclaimer. Every business or company is different and some of the above-mentioned ideas may work for your company, while possibly other methods will not be the perfect ones. You should perfect your employee development strategy as you get to know the individuals in your business. Don’t forget that investing in your employees is always worthwhile.
Kristina Ousmanova
Kristina recently left behind fast-paced life of Human Resource Business Consulting to freelance as a Content Writer. A regular Vacation Tracker contributor, she can be found working remotely from her home in Montreal, usually while eating a variety of snacks.
