The Best Phrases to Motivate Your Employees and Workers

When you lead a human team, sometimes you wonder what you could say to raise your spirits and help achieve results. Providing support, paying a compliment, or even giving an immediate award for good work are all things you can do during a conversation. I share with you the best phrases to motivate workers and employees. Keep in mind that most of them cannot be used generically, you will have to customize them to each situation.

Phrases to motivate employees is to praise their results

When someone on your team achieves something, it is very important to show that you realized it and that you value it. The best way is through a compliment, which you will modulate based on the achievement.

Here are a couple of examples:

• “I wanted to convey my congratulations to you for closing the sale with client X. We have wanted to sell to him for years and we couldn’t. But thanks to your work, it has been possible. You know that both I and the management of the company have taken note. “
• “Congratulations on the presentation you made! I know it was a great job gathering the information and analyzing the data. But the result has been worth it. You have a very clear and concise explanation, and I think everyone appreciated it. “

What to say when an employee has made a mistake or feels overwhelmed?

Business life is full of obstacles, and we all make mistakes. At other times, for example, when starting a new job, it is possible to feel overwhelmed by the information to be assimilated and the new tasks. 

This is when the leader can provide motivation and reinforce the self-esteem of his workers.

• Don’t think about this mistake anymore. The important thing is that you knew how to react very quickly, and you solved the situation. Use it as an experience to make it even better next time. “
• “I see you a little discouraged. Do not worry. We all have a hard time absorbing so much information in such a short time. You’ll see how in a couple of months everything seems obvious and easy. I remember that when I started I was much more lost than you. And now I’m the boss. With patience, everything is achieved. “

Phrases to motivate workers who appeal to the future and their potential

One of the main concerns of employees is the future prospects they have in the company. They want to feel two things. The first is certain job security, that is to say, that they are available and that a dismissal is not contemplated in the short or medium term. 

The second is to learn that they have career growth opportunities.

• “I’m really glad I hired you. You are giving us a lot with your work and your point of view. “
• “I have been able to appreciate how you have overcome several challenges in recent times, such as that time you managed to reorganize the marketing function after X’s departure. I believe that in the future you will be able to contribute a lot to the growth of the company, in this position or in other functions. “

Feedback to show that you are not alone and that you have support

It is much more motivating to work if you know that you have other people who will help you overcome challenges. 

Do not forget it, and above all, tell your team from time to time.

• “Hello, do you need anything? I know you are very busy with project X. If I can get you to download a task, or help you with something, do not hesitate to let me know. I want the best for my team. “
• “Don’t worry about what happened. Sometimes things don’t go the first time. Working as a team, we are going to achieve it, you’ll see. “

Phrases to motivate your employees to praise their talents

Each person has some special talents, some positive aspects for the job or the company. If you want to be a good boss and motivate your team, you must know those comparative advantages very well, and occasionally highlight them in a compliment.

• “Congratulations on fixing the accounting problems after the computer migration disaster we had. I believe that, without your attention to detail and your highly organized work methodology, we could never have solved it so quickly. “
• “Thanks for talking to X the other day. Your ability to connect with people and empathize with their personal situations has been of great help in resolving the conflict. “

The argument of wanting to learn from the other person

When a worker does something especially good, one of the best ways to motivate them is to simply ask them to show you how they did it. Show both great respects for their abilities and that you greatly value their know-how.

• “I have a meeting with the board of directors. As you are the expert, I would like to have your comments on this idea before presenting it. “
• “The new functionality that you integrated is great. Can you show me how you did it? I think we could decline it for other uses. “

To motivate your workers, reinforce the compliment with an immediate reward

Words are important, but you have a lot more credibility if you give some kind of more tangible prize now and then.

• “Thank you very much for spending so many hours these last days preparing for the meeting. Take the afternoon off, you deserve it. “
• “Congratulations on delivering the project in such short terms that we had. I heard you wanted to change the cell phone. Here’s the new X model as a thank you. “
• “I have brought you all together today because I believe that what we have achieved this quarter has been spectacular. And it seemed to me that thanking was insufficient. So I have asked the council that you all receive a bonus of X on the next payroll. “

Finally, before ending this article with phrases to motivate employees, I wanted to remind you of a tip. When you have to say something negative to someone, always start with constructive criticism, and end with a compliment about something they do well. It works much better than doing it the other way around and is a hundred times better than just focusing on the point of improvement.