Motivating Software Developers - Our Top Tips

Motivating software developers takes more than just a good salary. Here we share our top ways to keep employees motivated and engaged. 

Listen and Encourage Ideas - 

Good ideas come from all parts of an organization. Creating an atmosphere where developers feel comfortable sharing ideas and opinions on projects will boost employee morale and facilitate a more cohesive team. When employees are heard, initiative is taken, and innovation is stimulated. Having employee ideas fuel team functions will positively impact your employee satisfaction and motivation (and retention!). 

Offer Continued Learning - 

Encouraging your employees to continue learning and developing their skills is as much of a benefit to them as it is to you. By providing resources for additional training, continued learning, and development, you remind developers that there are new levels of learning to achieve and a surplus of new development approaches to find. The process of self-improvement as a programmer is energizing; each day, you’re a bit smarter than the last. A great way to exercise this is by sending developers to conferences. 

Practice Recognition - 

Developing a culture where employees regularly thank each other and express appreciation for coworkers can make for a happy workforce. This could include something as simple as a weekly shoutout for good work on a current project. Another way to do this is by planning demo days. Having your entire team see others’ cool demos and share their own can be very motivating. 

Offer Flexible Working Hours - 

Although stereotypical, it is rare to find a software developer that is not up at odd hours of the night energized by solving whatever problem they are working on. Providing flexibility in working hours allows employees to choose when they work (within parameters), which increases motivation. Good ideas don’t always respect the parameters of a 9-5. 

What motivates you?