Motivation For All!

Motivation For All!

Last month, we focused on fostering relationships with your subordinates, including tips on how to get the most out of your subordinate managers. While communication is at the forefront of ways to foster and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with your team, some employees are motivated by other means. How do you motivate and engage all employees, especially those who struggle with self-motivation or have personalities that are vastly different than yours?

Communicate – If your employees don’t know specifically what you want out of them, how can you expect them to perform at a satisfactory level? Communicate your expectations, whether that be the functions of their job, performance standards, or behavioral factors that they can work on. Communication should always be a two-way street. Give and receive feedback in a way that is productive and mutually beneficial.

Lead by Example – The “Golden Rule” applies to the workplace just as much as it did to the schoolyard as children. The simple concept of treating others as you’d like to be treated means so much when applied in a work setting. Work on creating this kind of environment for your employees. Put yourself in their shoes and work in a way that would make them want to give back and put forth an effort, and

Be Fair and Consistent – Everyone likes a fair, unbiased boss. Apply policies and procedures the same across the board, and try not to play favorites when administering rewards or discipline. Many employees get discouraged when treatment is unequitable and when favoritism abounds. Really focus on how inequitable treatment affects others and be deliberate and unbiased with how you assign tasks and deliver praise and criticism.

Provide Opportunities for Growth – Many employees will respond well to an opportunity to obtain training. Use training and other learning opportunities as incentives for fine work. Select your most diligent or outstanding employees to attend outside seminars and conferences where they can pick up new job skills and spend time mentoring a dedicated employee for an hour or two a week as a reward for excellent performance.

While these are all great starting points to apply to ensure engagement with your managers and employees, follow along in our next post as we go even further and discuss various proven motivational techniques to implement with each individual employee.

A Push in the Right Direction

As a manager, motivating your employees and encouraging them to be productive and meet the expectations of their positions should be a top priority. Productive employees are typically happier and have a higher sense of morale, contributing to a more pleasant work environment overall. However, this isn’t always easy, particularly for those employees who struggle with self-motivation. How do you motivate and engage these employees who need that extra push to steer them in the right direction?

Communicate – If your employees don’t know specifically what you want out of them, how can you expect them to perform at a satisfactory level? Communicate your expectations, whether that be the functions of their job, performance standards, or behavioral factors that they can work on. Communication should always be a two-way street. Give and receive feedback in a way that is productive and mutually beneficial.

Lead by Example – The “Golden Rule” applies to the workplace just as much as it did to the schoolyard as children. The simple concept of treating others as you would like to be treated means so much when applied in a work setting. Work on creating this kind of environment for your employees. Put yourself in their shoes and work in a way that would make them want to give back and put forth a genuine effort.

Be Fair and Consistent – Everyone likes a fair, unbiased boss. Apply policies and procedures the same across the board, and try not to play favorites when administering rewards or discipline. Many employees get discouraged when treatment is unequitable and when favoritism abounds. Really focus on how inequitable treatment affects others and be deliberate and unbiased with how you assign tasks and deliver praise and criticism.

Provide Opportunities for Growth – Many employees will respond well to an opportunity to obtain training. Use training and other learning opportunities as incentives for fine work. Select your most diligent or outstanding employees to attend outside seminars and conferences where they can pick up new job skills and spend time mentoring a dedicated employee for an hour or two a week as a reward for excellent performance.

Always keep in mind that each employee is a unique individual and what may work for one person won’t necessarily work for the other. Be observant and learn what makes them tick. Some employees are motivated by power and praise, another may just want some respect and to have their voice heard. Take the time to learn what you can do to help each employee succeed and reap the rewards of more engaged, productive, and an overall happier team.

Managerial Motivational Commitment

Last week we discussed the plethora of benefits in having highly motivated employees, including company loyalty, higher levels of productivity, and strong morale within your team. What can you as a manager do to ensure that your employees are highly motivated, possessing the drive to not only meet the standard expectations of their job, but the determination to truly excel in the workplace?

The most critical of managerial skills pertaining to motivation is the need to provide your employees with regular feedback rather than waiting for periodic employee reviews and evaluations. Employees need to hear from their manager frequently. A high percentage of morale problems, disciplinary actions, and employee turnovers could be eliminated just by providing a continual, informal feedback process.  If you don’t talk to your employees, they will begin to believe that you don’t like them or you are unhappy with their performance.

Never ask your employees to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. Successful managers should be willing to do the same work as their subordinates, leading by example and proving to them that no task is beneath them. This builds a sense of camaraderie amongst your employees that is vital in establishing relationships built on mutual respect. Proving through actions that you’re willing to work in the trenches when it is crunch time will motivate them to do the same.

Finally, encourage your employees to talk with you about the good and bad aspects of their job. If they complain on occasion, don’t label them as malcontents and dismiss their comments. Listen and understand what bothers them before you judge. Your chance to shine as a manager will usually be preceded by a conversation that reveals problems that you are empowered to take positive action upon.  Be glad these employees are willing to share this with you and use these conversations as opportunities to encourage your employees to grow and excel.

What if your employees don’t want to excel and come to work unmotivated and only willing to do the bare minimum to skate by? Read along next week as we discuss how to pinpoint what motivates your “stuck” employees to determine what you can do to inspire them to do a good job.

Why Motivate?

Having motivated employees, employees who want to show up to work every day prepared to do their job to the very best of their abilities, is a primary goal of every manager and every organization. Unfortunately, this working situation is not always the case, and we are often left to deal with employees who perform mediocre work, don’t meet expectations, and seem to lack the ideal level of commitment to the organization.

There are many benefits to having highly motivated employees. Truly motivated employees are typically more loyal to their organization, possess higher levels of morale, and have improved overall relations and interactions with coworkers, vendors, clients and customers.

Additionally, organizations with highly motivated employees have lower turnover rates, lower levels of absenteeism, higher production rates, produce a higher quality of work, and contribute to the building and maintenance of a strong business reputation.

As a manager, ensuring the job satisfaction of your employees should always be one of the essential functions of your job. Now that you know some of the benefits of having highly motivated versus unmotivated employees, how do you get your employees engaged and excited to do their job?

Follow us this month as we discuss a variety of factors pertaining to motivation, including: Management Commitment (what you as a manager should be doing to keep your employees motivated and engaged), Dealing with “Unmotivatables” (learn what makes your “stuck” employees tick and determine what encourages them to do a good job), and Proven Motivational Techniques (learn ways to keep your employees motivated and empowered).

Why a Harassment Policy?

Janette is a manager at a small, locally-owned hardware store. Over the past few years, she has behaved inappropriately with her male employees, making sexually derogatory remarks towards them, constantly attempts to get them to go out on dates with her, and slaps them on the backside at work.

The Company’s handbook is roughly 10 pages long, and primarily focuses on employee benefits. It lacks a harassment policy or any section detailing expectations for appropriate conduct. Neither Janette or her employees have been trained on what is/is not acceptable behavior, nor have they been provided with the resources to file a complaint. Who is at fault?

Harassment comes in many, many forms. Sexual harassment is one of the most popularly discussed types of harassment, but harassment pertaining to age, race/color/origins, religions, disability, that can manifest through discrimination, retaliation, or the creation of a hostile work environment are also common types of harassment that are prevalent in today’s workplace.

Aside from the plethora of legal reasons to have a harassment policy in place (e.g., certain states require anti-harassment training for managers, various state and federal laws, Title VII’s ban on sexual discrimination, the EEOC strongly recommends having one in place, etc.), the primary need to have a strong anti-harassment policy in place is to minimize risk and liability to your organization.

With a solid policy in place, your employees know what is expected of them, what behaviors will not be tolerated, what the consequences of such actions will be, will know what steps to take (complaint and grievance procedures) in the event of a harassment situation, and will have the resources necessary to prevent such instances from occurring in the first place.

Follow along this month as we address various harassment-related topics including: how the NLRB plays a role in harassment policies, the dangers of having an overly broad harassment policy, and the components you need for a strong harassment policy for your organization.