Motivation

Unlimited Employee Motivation


70% of your employees are less motivated today than they used to be.

80% of your employees could perform significantly better if they wanted to.

50% of your employees only put enough effort into their work to keep their job.⁽¹⁾

Is this the way you want it to be at your company? Did you know that all your employees are capable of an unlimited supply of motivation? Think of one or two people in your organization that appear to have more energy, higher output, and more enthusiasm for their work than all your other employees combined. Perhaps it is you! Have you ever wondered why everyone else does not feel as motivated as you do? After all, you are not asking them to come in 2 hours early or stay 2 hours late, all you want is for them to give that little extra customer service, smile instead of frown, and not complain so much. How do you get your employees to give that little extra that goes so far in making your customers satisfied?

Does your company offer a great health plan, a 401k retirement plan, and four weeks of vacation each year and you are still obtaining less than stellar performance from your employees? Well, you have just discovered that a great benefits package, vacation, and even a salary increase are not human motivators. Benefits, vacation, and salary are employee retainers and do not provide employee motivation. A company offers these benefits in order to attract and retain talented workers. Take a look at any company and you will find that the more valuable the employee is to the company, the more valuable their benefits packages will become.

Okay, you have convinced me! I will not try to motivate employees by giving them extra vacation or benefits. My company does offer employees free use of the company car on weekends, a bimonthly drawing for a designated parking spot, and even a free pizza every Friday afternoon. Will these activities provide the company with highly motivated employees? Unfortunately no, the above activities are called employee morale boosters. They are designed to raise the morale of employees so that they feel good about the company they work for. Morale boosters do not increase motivation because they are not directly tied to an increase in performance. An employee with good morale is not necessary a motivated employee. For example, an employee that comes to work and spends one or two hours each day socializing may have great morale, but will also have the worst production levels of any employee in the department.

If a great benefit package will not motivate an employee, and a designated parking spot with their name stencilled in gold will not motivate an employee, what will? Okay, let me provide you with some good news, but before I do so, answer this question. In order to motivate your employees do you change the employee or the organization in which the employee works?

Source: http://www.employer-employee.com/motivat.htm

Effective employee recognition

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

When you consider employee recognition processes, you need to develop recognition that is equally powerful for both the organization and the employee. You must address five important issues if you want the recognition you offer to be viewed as motivating and rewarding by your employees and important for the success of your organization.

The Five Most Important Tips for Effective Recognition

You need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes rewardable behavior or actions.

· All employees must be eligible for the recognition.

· The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and recognized.

· Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.

· The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behavior the employer wants to encourage.

· You don't want to design a process in which managers "select" the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as "favoritism" or talked about as "it's your turn to get recognized this month." This is why processes that single out an individual, such as "Employee of the Month," are rarely effective.

A Working Example of Successful Recognition

A client company established criteria for rewarding employees. Criteria included such activities as contributing to company success serving a customer without being asked to help by a supervisor. Each employee, who meets the stated criteria, receives a thank you note, hand-written by the supervisor. The note spells out exactly why the employee is receiving the recognition.

The note includes the opportunity for the employee to "draw" a gift from a box. Gifts range from fast food restaurant gift certificates and candy to a gold dollar and substantial cash rewards. The employee draws the reward, so no supervisory interference is perceived. A duplicate of the thank you note goes into a periodic drawing for even more substantial reward and recognition opportunities.

More Tips About Recognition and Performance Management

· If you attach recognition to "real" accomplishments and goal achievement as negotiated in a performance development planning meeting, you need to make sure the recognition meets the above stated requirements. Supervisors must also apply the criteria consistently, so some organizational oversight may be necessary.

The challenge of individually negotiated goals is to make certain their accomplishment is viewed as similarly difficult by the organization for the process to be a success.

· People also like recognition that is random and that provides an element of surprise. If you thank a manufacturing group every time they make customer deliveries on time with a lunch, gradually the lunch becomes a "given" or an entitlement and is no longer rewarding.

In another organization, the CEO traditionally bought lunch for all employees every Friday. Soon, he had employees coming to him asking to be reimbursed for lunch if they ate lunch outside of the company on a Friday. His goal of team building turned into a "given" or an entitlement and he was disappointed with the results.

· There is always room for employee reward and recognition activities that generally build positive morale in the work environment. The Pall Corporation, in Ann Arbor, MI, has had a "smile team" that meets to schedule random, fun employee recognition events. They have decorated shop windows, with a prize to the best, for a holiday.

They sponsor ice cream socials, picnics, the "boss" cooks day, and so on, to create a rewarding environment at work. Another company holds an annual costume wearing and judging along with a lunch potluck every Halloween.

Rewards and recognition that help both the employer and the employee get what they need from work are a win-win situation. Make this the year you plan a recognition process that will "wow" your staff and "wow" you with its positive outcomes. Avoid the employee recognition traps that:

· single out a few employees who are mysteriously selected for the recognition,

· sap the morale of the many who failed to understand the criteria enough to compete and win, and

· sought votes or other personalized, subjective criteria to determine winners.

Want to Kick Employee Recognition Up a Notch?

You can reinforce powerfully the recognition you provide in these ways.

· Write out the recognition, what the employee did, why it was important, and how the actions served your organization. Give a copy of the letter to the employee and to the department head or CEO, depending on the size of your company. Place a copy in the employee’s file.

· Write a personal note to the employee. Perhaps have your supervisor sign it, too. Photocopy the note and place the recognition in the employee’s file.

· Accompany the verbal recognition with a gift. Engraved plaques, merchandise that carries the company logo, even certificates of appreciation reinforce the employee recognition.

· Everyone likes cash or the equivalent in gift cards, gift certificates, and checks. If you use a consumable form of employee recognition, accompany the cash with a note or letter. When the money has been spent, you want the employee to remember the recognition.

· Present the recognition publicly, at an employee meeting, for example. Even if the employee is uncomfortable with publicity, it is important for the other employees to know that employees are receiving recognition.

Conclusion and More Information About Employee Recognition

A simple “thank you” counts as employee recognition. But, you can also make employee recognition as elaborate as your imagination can conceive. Recognition is not a scarce resource. You can’t use it up or run out of it. No budget is too small to afford employee recognition. For increased employee satisfaction, bring on lots of employee recognition.