Ways to keep people motivated through the long haul

[Tyrantauranox]

How do you keep people motivated (including yourself) after the first few weeks or a project? How do you keep the fires burning as the project goes on for months? Most of these discussions seem to be focused on short-term motivation, and I've been wanting to hear some strategies for the long haul. I'll start off with a few observations from different projects:

Possible motivators:
A sense that others are working hard on the project
Competitive compensation/benefits/ownership
Strong communication between team members/leaders
A solid work-life balance

Possible Demotivators:
Unhelpful or zero feedback from leadership
Suspicion that no one else is really working seriously
Little or no communication between team members/leaders
Excessive micromanaging from leaders

[RotGtIE]

Compensation.

[Sleepy]

Compensation.

NGL, this gets me going faster than anything

Aside from that, I need a sense of progress and something tangible, either in realistic to aim for or seeing work being taken seriously.

[thebackup]

Well, communication is pretty important in managing / motivating a team, as it can be an indicator if you or others are taking a project seriously. Yeah, sure, giving some incentive like payment can be a factor, but in the end communication plays a big role.

Also, a lack of progress (given a reasonable time frame) gets me pretty down at times.

[RedOwl]

Possible motivators:
A sense that others are working hard on the project
Competitive compensation/benefits/ownership

These two, for sure! Feeling like you are the only one invested in the project is a sure way to lose motivation. And knowing that you have some tangible compensation at stake (whether that be rev share, upfront payment, whatever) is super motivating.

To the list of demotivating factors, I would add:

- Not having a clear sense of the project - the scope, assets needed, complete story outline, etc. When these are unclear, things often end up getting re-thought or revised mid-development, which can be a huge demotivator (scrapping work?! That's the worst. Or - adding a lot more work than you originally anticipated? Also rough). Having a really clear sense of the details of a project before you start serious development is best.

- Related to the above: not having a clear sense of the project timeline - deadlines, milestones, a goal date for alpha testing/beta testing, a goal date for the release of the game, etc. Setting these milestones (realistically) and sticking to them will give you a sense of achievement (like a game!), which can be a great motivation booster.

[Tyrantauranox]

It sounds like compensation is a big one, and the biggest issue I see with that is owners that try to pay as little as possible to get someone on board. On paper, this looks like a great gain up front, but it seems like workers that are unhappy with their compensation tend to quit as soon as they find a project that'll pay a bit more (or has better benefits). In many cases a person wasn't even around long enough to get up to speed on the project.

I also need to have that sense of progress with the project. I once worked on a game project where not a single decision was solidified after the first three months. Everyone was getting paid, but the experienced people were still quitting, after seeing so much documentation and concept art thrown out. A couple years later, that project collapsed without ever releasing anything.

[indoneko]

possible motivator : when there's excitement/fun doing it...

[Kkoro]

Well, when both parties agree upon a fair price, it makes sense that both deliver. It's just a matter of professionalism. If someone leaves just because something better popped up, he/she will never grow to a professional level.

But I would like to stress the point about it being an agreement on a fair price. If someone underpays me, I probably wouldn't take the job that seriously.(actually, I wouldnt have accepted the job in the first place.). If you value your project, don't be cheap against your creators. The only thing you'll get in return is cheap labor, cheap assets, and a cheap visual novel.

[PyTom]

But I would like to stress the point about it being an agreement on a fair price. If someone underpays me, I probably wouldn't take the job that seriously.(actually, I wouldnt have accepted the job in the first place.). If you value your project, don't be cheap against your creators. The only thing you'll get in return is cheap labor, cheap assets, and a cheap visual novel.

I'd argue that a "problem" here is that it's important than both parties make sure it's a fair price - and not merely one they both agree on. It seems that in visual novel development, we have a lot of people who take this as a first job, as something they think they might do to fill time - and they accept a very small price in exchange for that. That seems like a recipe for failure, and one that the less experienced party might not be able to predict - I'd argue that the more experienced person has a responsibility to ensure the price is fair to both people, even if it's less advantageous for him or her.

[Tyrantauranox]

The punishment for moving forward with an unhappy party can be pretty severe, too. An unhappy employer might never work with a freelancer again, possibly terminating the contract early. An unhappy freelancer might deliver shoddy results that barely meet the definitions in the contract.

[thebackup]

The punishment for moving forward with an unhappy party can be pretty severe, too. An unhappy employer might never work with a freelancer again, possibly terminating the contract early. An unhappy freelancer might deliver shoddy results that barely meet the definitions in the contract.

I'd like to add that if you receive progress from your freelancer and don't like the way something turned out, don't be afraid to tell them! I'm sure they're more than happy to fix (almost) any problems that may arise. Because if you just let it slide because you're afraid of giving them a hard time, you will be even more unhappy in the long run. And it does the freelancer no good too, you might end up terminating the contract early, and potentially throwing away months of hard work. That's a huge blow to morale for both parties.

[Harliqueen]

The punishment for moving forward with an unhappy party can be pretty severe, too. An unhappy employer might never work with a freelancer again, possibly terminating the contract early. An unhappy freelancer might deliver shoddy results that barely meet the definitions in the contract.

I'd like to add that if you receive progress from your freelancer and don't like the way something turned out, don't be afraid to tell them! I'm sure they're more than happy to fix (almost) any problems that may arise. Because if you just let it slide because you're afraid of giving them a hard time, you will be even more unhappy in the long run. And it does the freelancer no good too, you might end up terminating the contract early, and potentially throwing away months of hard work. That's a huge blow to morale for both parties.

I agree with this, and think it mostly comes back around to communication again and the way it's handled. Telling your freelancer that you would prefer something different in what they've produced doesn't have to be all negative. Discussing it with them and how you envisioned it can once again bring back the excitement as you hash out ideas and imagine what that product will look like once it's finished.

I think a lot of time it's all to do with attitude. Positive attitudes can make such a difference to your own motivation and those you work with. (But then, it can be exhausting being positive all the time, which is where compensation can come in handy for the times it slides )

[Tyrantauranox]

I'm glad to hear some elaboration on communications problems & solutions! I definitely agree that poor communication can wreck a project in many ways.

Another question that's often on my mind is: "Are we having fun, yet?"
It's very easy for project pressures to suck the fun out of everything. Many creatives are sacrificing potential money by passing up the "boring" jobs, in the hopes that making cool stuff will be more fun. If the project reaches a point where it's no longer fun, they start wondering why they should even stick with it.

[kistnerelizabeth]

Well, in the case of people like me, whose game will be 100% free when it's actually done and am simply doing it for fun and the experience and practice in drawing, my motivation is that my characters and the story I came up with years ago will finally come to life. I don't need compensation because I already have a job.