Employee Motivation the 8 Basics

2006-02-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Employee Motivation - The 8 Basics
Building a team of motivated people in your business is vital to get the very best results, but so many managers focus on the 'ra-ra-ra', rather than the important things - the things that make people feel comfortable in their working environment. Here are eight that you might want to have a think about:
The WeatherIs it too hot, or too cold. Your people need an environment which is, like Goldilocks said, 'Just right'. So is the office too stuffy in summer? Or too icy in winter? Is it draughty? Do people get wet when accepting deliveries, because the outside roof leaks? Literally make sure that external factors are as they wish.
The BreaksSometimes working in a day-to-day job can get boring and exhausting. So people need to know when their breaks are and that they wil be able to take them - it's not that complicated. Yet often, they just aren't able to have this basic courtesy in place. Planning and caring for your people's needs is vital. It's what you would want for yourself, isn't it?
HolidaysAnd vacations/holidays are important too - some would say it's the most important thing on the working year calendar. So enable this to happen, when they need to know, so that they can plan their invaluable time away from the business and refresh.
Being HeardYou people need you to listen to then and hear them - really hear what they are saying and respond with action and/or acknowledgement. Be out there creating good, open relationships with your people and take in what they say - what's important to them - and deliver solutions to make conditions great.
Achievable GoalsBy being really, really clear about what you expect from your employees, you will set the scene for committed staff. Through knowing exactly what their performance should look like to be judged excellent, by you, gets buy-in, big-time. So be clear, give them the resources to achieve success and they will be well onside.
Being ThankedAs they do a good job for you each day - tell them. It's easy - just say 'Thank You'! Appreciation for achieving success, especially when it's from the boss is so important. So recognising excellent performance, even for small tasks, cost nothing and takes but a moment - worth building into your day job activities - every day!
ChallengePeople like to do new things, to explore, to seek out and utilise their potential, Sometimes this means they will have to be 'stretched' in what they do. With a helping hand, to support, coach and grow the skills of your people, you are setting in place a keen, ambitious and ready-for-the-next-experience star in the making. So find new ways to develop them.
SecurityIn today's business climate, it isn't always easy to build the best future consistently - things change too much, too quickly. But you can go some way to ensure that it is a safe place to be. With this level of security, your people will loosen up and feel capable of being with you, rather than against. It is a measure of your own leadership as to how well this works. more on.......... http://articlesfactory.bravehost.com
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Inspiration & Getting On The Move

2006-02-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

So you're faced with a challenge. Start solving it by giving it a positive name: call it an opportunity. Next, make it as simple as you can by breaking it into small pieces. Arrange the pieces in the order you wish to address them and then address them one at a time.Often it helps to look at the situation in different ways:* Can you turn it upside down or inside out?* Can you diminish or enlarge it?* Could the sequence of its parts be reversed or reordered?* Can you brainstorm about the situation with others? Embroidered on a pillow on the couch in my office is the title of a speech I once heard: "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly." If you have a dilemma or a challenge to work with, don't wait around until boredom sets in and you put it aside or someone else takes away and runs with it. GET MOVING! No matter what, take that first step. And correct mistakes as you go along. If you had the whole solution before you started, you wouldn't have the problem in the first place. A few setbacks along the way are insignificant compared to the total failure of not solving the problem itself.The Japanese have a useful technique called kaizen -- take one small step at a time, but keep moving forward. When obstacles appear, meet them head on or go over, under, or around them. There is usually a way.Several year ago, a warehouse belonging to one of the largest manufacturers of blue jeans in the United States flooded, causing considerable damage to the color of the denim. Transforming disaster into opportunity, the manufacturer advertised their new item as "distressed denims." And they're still selling, although today the company has figured out how to replicate the mottled appearance without flooding their warehouses.Look for what's good about your problem.Many years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest about the history of American advertising. Included was an account of two salmon fishermen who built a cannery in Alaska so that they could earn a living while pursuing their favorite sport. But the local salmon species had white flesh, and the fishermen were having a tough time marketing it. Instead of giving up, they dealt with the problem head on and promoted their brand as "salmon that won't turn pink in the can." Of course, today such a claim would be illegal. Too bad! Folks today just can't take a joke.Try to make lemonade out of a lemon.In 1978, when Winston-Salem's Contributions Council (which sets the calendar for major civic fund-raising projects) rejected the bid of the North Carolina School of the Arts to raise $6 million for a performing arts center, I went to Washington D.C. and collected a little more than half that sum in federal grants, then got permission to complete the funding locally.Find another route to your goal.When various members of the Wilson family turned aside my efforts to purchase the 9,000-acre side of Mount Mitchell I went back year after year after year for twelve years, until I persuaded them to sell it to our trout fishing club.Persistence!In short, if you believe you have a good idea, go for it, don't wait, move! Jump in as though it was meant to be, and then stick with it in spite of the obstacles. Certain projects that begin on an impulse may take years to complete.* The most efficient committees consist of three people, two of whom are absent. *For fifty years, I joined one committee after another, the aim of each being the attempted revitalization of downtown Winston-Salem. All my suggestions were ignored, so in 2000 I decided to go it alone and hired my able partner Chris Griffith. In a little over two and a half years, we have supported a bevy of new restaurants, cafés, bars, art galleries and performance spaces -- sidewalk dining and a vibrant arts district -- the perfect confluence of art and commerce. And we did it with only the assistance of money loaned at low interest to enterprises that no bank would even consider. Much of what we accomplished was based on my four-day experience in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in 1968. This model demonstrated to me that it is young people -- with dreams and determination and guts -- that will renew a city. The old folks in expensive suits who head for the suburbs in expensive cars at 5 P.M. will not.Believe in your intuition. More on...... http://articlesfactory.bravehost.com

Motivation Inspiration Success Leadership

Employee Motivation the 8 Basics

Inspiration & Getting On The Move