MANAGING MOTIVATION
If you could get just 10% more from your employees, your company would really take off. But that 10% can be difficult to achieve.
“Given how challenging most senior level jobs are these days, it is easy for senior executives to lose touch with issues like employee motivation and morale,” notes Ben Dattner, PhD, principal of Dattner Consulting, LLC a New York City-based organizational effectiveness consulting firm.
That can be a costly mistake. Unmotivated employees will create a lower-performing work-force that can significantly impact a company’s bottom line.
“When a firm has a disengaged workforce, it risks having individuals who fail to perform to their potential, fail to inspire others and end up de-motivating those around them,” explains Lorraine Stomski, senior industrial-organizational psychologist and consultant for Aon Consulting’s Talent Solutions Group in San Francisco. “Research has shown that highly engaged employees are better performers and less likely to leave the organization. It isn’t rocket science to realize why having a motivated employee is highly desirable.”
“If you recognize and respect their humanity while disclosing your own, you will create loyalty.”
PRACTICE HUMANITY
“Treat employees like human beings instead of human resources or—even worse—human capital,” says Terry Bacon, CEO of Lore International Institute, a global HR research and consulting group, and author of What People Want: A Manager’s Guide to Building Relationships That Work (Davies-Black, 2006, $27.95). “People are living collections of hopes, fears, dreams and ambitions. Employees respond best when you appeal to their hearts as well as their minds, when you treat them sensitively and respectfully, when you are trustworthy and when you show that you trust them. If you recognize and respect their humanity while disclosing your own, you will create loyalty instead of loathing. How do you disclose your own humanity? By admitting your own mistakes and misgivings, by laughing at yourself, and by showing that you, too, are human.”
RECOGNIZE CONTRIBUTIONS
“C-level offices do not generally provide adequate recognition to staff,” asserts Francie Dalton, president of Dalton Alliances, Inc., a business consultancy. “Articulate face-to-face what you value about each subordinate. Be specific. Be substantive. Make mention of what it is you value in front of those who are important to the staffer. Notice the contributions/skills/ talents of your staff and comment to them about it. Don’t just mention it once a year during the performance review, tack on a raise, and expect them to feel valued.”
TAP THEIR TALENTS
Carlson Marketing holds Think-A-Thons to help employees feel included. “Organize your office into cross-functional teams of 8-10 people, the more random the better,” suggests the company’s global employee practice leader, Jennifer Rosenzweig. “Give them a variety of challenges to consider… sticky issues that limit your service and productivity. Then, shut down the business for 3-4 hours and have the teams brainstorm like crazy, creating all sorts of over the top ideas. Finally, end the day with a celebration, with prizes, food and fun. The impact of energy (and business improvements) will resonate for months.”
COACH, DON’T MANAGE
“Don’t over-manage,” cautions Chris Musselwhite, president of Discovery Learning, Inc., which provides tools for organizational learning. “If you think it has to be done your way, then there is no way you can create a high level of motivation among your employees. Instead, develop more of a coaching style.
Help employees think through situations and problems without providing ‘your’ answer. This is easier said than done. Most executives got there because they are good problem-solvers. It takes a conscious effort to make the switch from directing and problem solving to coaching.”
SET A CLEAR GOAL
“People love team goals that can be articulated succinctly, that make sense and that can be easily tracked,” says Christopher Worel, president and chief operating officer of MagnetBank. “However, everyone needs to understand how their individual performance can help make a real difference. Get everyone behind it, from the top down. Make it your mantra and discuss it often. Feeling really bold? Make it public. This is obviously hard for some businesses considering liability of forward-looking statements, but it can be done. It is a goal towards which everyone is working, not a statement of expectations.”
Employing any of these strategies can help you motivate your employees to give 100%.
“If you want sustainable motivation for employees, you need to lay forth a path where the employee can see what needs to be done, and then give them the resources to accomplish great things,” says Jim Pack, president and CEO of AdvancedMD Software, Inc. “If this formula was more widely used, you would be amazed at what extraordinary things ordinary staff can accomplish.”