The typical ways to motivate employees are no longer enough. Gone are the days when you can keep a workforce motivated with a decent job and steady paycheck. Today’s workforce wants more, much more. They want a promotion, a good compensation package, opportunities to learn and a boat load of other benefits. But what if you’ve tried all that to no effect?

If that’s the case, then it’s time to implement some out-of-the box solutions. These are not the usual rewards based programs, but that’s okay, maybe something unexpected is what your employees need after all.

1. Give employees time to work on their passion project—even non work related projects.
2. Hold an awards ceremony but instead of recognizing the employee of the month, go for something fun, like Office Clown of the Month or Best Power Dresser award.
3. Your company might not be as big as Google to afford an all-year buffet, but hey, you can still hold a buffet once or twice a month, right? Give employees a break from the usual cafeteria food; hire a good caterer to serve everyone a hearty lunch.
4. Instead of a just a boring paycheck, add a quick note highlighting the achievements of said employee that month.
5. Instead of having a typical meeting, set up a debate. Divide teams into two factions and have them debate issues at work. Or you can present them with an idea for a project, and then have them debate the pros and cons of doing said project. A healthy disagreement between colleagues helps people to open up, get to know one another and foster innovation. It also improves teamwork.
6. Host a seminar or workshop on a subject your employees might be interested in, such as parenting, personal finance and stress management. Hosting development seminars is one of the most popular ways to motivate employees, but this is different from the usual company sponsored programs because the aim here is not to improve employee performance, but to show that you care beyond their capacity to perform at work.
7. Do a beer run. If drinking during work hours isn’t allowed, invite the team for a round of beer after work.
8. Better yet, invest in a fridge then fill it will all sorts of beer and liquor. Implement a happy-hour at work, say at 5 or 6pm, just after quitting time so instead of hurrying to go out for a drink, your team will be tempted to stay in the office, not to work but to relax and unwind with friends.
9. Do a “dress up your boss day”, where employees can dress up their boss anyway they want if their work meets a certain criteria, say the monthly sales target. Employees may not admit it outright, but am sure they’d love a chance to make fun of their boss if they won’t get fired for doing so. This tip is high up in the list of unusual ways to motivate employees and it works wonders in getting the team to work together, even if that means the boss has to wear tights and a matching cape.

It’s hard to show up for work every day full of energy and passion, and I know it’s equally hard to come up with new ways to motivate employees so hopefully this list inspired you to come up with your own ideas. If you’ve tried any one of these tips, let me know how it goes.