How To Motivate Employees In 2023
In the wake of the Great Resignation and hot job markets, companies across the world have been searching high and low for the answer to an all-too-common question: How can you keep employees engaged and motivated? One of the most effective ways to motivate your workforce is by providing them with the physical fuel they need to stay healthy, focused, hydrated, and happy.
Health-focused Foods
Healthy, fresh food is a powerful motivator for employees because it shows you value their health and personal tastes. Many people equate vending machines with less-than-healthy food—or outright junk food. By opting for food not confined to your typical vending machines, you avoid conveying the impression that you’re offering employees a quick, cheap, unhealthy choice.
Instead, invest in healthy “vending machines” and micro markets to offer employees healthy options like fresh salads and sandwiches. This shows your employees you care about their health, while providing them that quick grab and go option that keeps them feeling motivate, and efficient without having to leave the office.
You can choose to offer these options to employees under a typical paid for model or take it a step further and subsidize the cost of those healthier food options and offer it completely free, or at a reduced cost.
Free Coffee
By offering free coffee, you show respect for your employees’ desire—or need—for a fresh cup of joe whenever they need it. It’s safe to assume that, on average, every employee will drink at least one cup of coffee a day. That’s not to say that each employee has exactly one cup, but if a few have none, then, in many cases, the same amount may have two.
Here are a few options for free coffee offerings that forward-thinking companies have found helps motivate employees:
- Bean-to-cup machines, which take raw coffee beans and produce a cup of coffee that is fresh and delicious
- Pour over machines, which work much like your common coffee machine, sending hot water through a coffee-filled filter for quick service
- K-cup machines, which feature single-serving instant cups for lower volume needs
- Pod machines, which work similar to K-cups, with hot water being sent via pressure through a flavor unit, again for smaller volume needs
- Flavia, which involves sending hot water through a flavor packet, producing coffee as it passes through to create an assortment of coffee flavors
- Cold Brew systems, which employees love for spring and summer seasons when temps are on the higher side.
Coffee: An Economical Choice
Not only does free coffee give employees reasons to smile and fuel them to keep working, but it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. For example, with around 75 employees, your cost could be around $18,000 a year to cover free coffee for everyone. Considering the potential boost in productivity—not to mention employee satisfaction—the ROI on this kind of investment can be considerable.
Providing Employees With Coffee Options That Drive Motivation
Another way to boost coffee drinkers’ motivation is to make sure they have enough options when it comes to the ways to customize each cup of brew.
For example, the following additional ingredients can give your workforce some satisfying variety:
- Various kinds of milk, including:
- Dairy
- Soy
- Oatmilk
- Flavor pumps, which can infuse flavors, such as:
- Vanilla
- French vanilla
- Caramel
- Salted caramel
- Hazelnut
How To Take The Work Out Of Providing Free Coffee
To ensure you don’t end up over-investing time in maintaining your free coffee solution, it’s best to choose a company that takes care of a lot of the auxiliary work for you. Given the maintenance typically involved in providing free coffee, you can conserve a ton of time and effort by having a provider that:
- Fills the machine for you
- Cleans the machine to ensure it continues to operate as it should
- Fixes the machine whenever necessary
Is proactive in their approach to maintaining, filling, and analyzing machines
A Variety Of Water Options
Similar to offering healthy food options, providing different kinds of water can be a powerful motivator for employees because it shows concern for their hydration. At the same time, you can also honor their desire for variety by offering:
- Distilled water
- Sparkling water
- Flavored water
You can also give them the option to adjust the flavor strength that goes into each serving of water. Providing this choice empowers each employee to customize every glass they self-serve.
To take the water options up a notch, you also have the choice of using a Bevi machine. They provide a wide range of flavors and carbonation to each glass. There’s no need to worry about maintaining or refilling the machine because all that’s handled for you. Each Bevi is connected to the internet and sends data regarding the levels of ingredients. With this data, your provider knows when to come out and what to bring.
Are You Ready To Motivate Your Employees In 2023?
By providing employees with one, some, or all of the above, you send an unequivocal message to those who work so hard for your organization: We care about your tastes and preferences. At the same time, the food, coffee, water, and other beverages you provide give them the energy they need to keep moving and using their creativity and focus on pushing your company towards its goals.
With Prestige Services, you get a wide range of healthy food, coffee, and water choices, as well as regular refills, maintenance, and cleaning. So it’s a hands-off experience for your team. To learn more about your employee motivation options, connect with Prestige Services today.