Motivating Todays Employees.original

7/29/2019 Motivating Todays Employees.original

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24/7MANAGEMENTSKILL:

MOTIVATING

Motivatingyourteamisthelaststeptoachievingtransformationalresultsnotthefirst.

Dr.JimHarris

Letshavesomefun.Takethistrueorfalsequizandcircleyouranswerto eachquestion.Later in this chapterIwill

sharethebestanswers.

TFBossescanmotivatetheiremployees.

TFLong-termcommitmentcomesfromwithin.

TFGreatmanagerslookforpeopletopumpup.

TFMoneyisthe#1motivatorforfront-lineemployees.

TFPeopledowhattheydofortheirbossesorcompanysreasons.

TFOurjobasmanagersistoleadourhorsestowaterandletthemdrink.


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THEBIGGESTMISTAKEINMOTIVATION

Youareprobablythinkingthattherearealotofmistakesbeing made today by managers in attempts to motivateemployees. And you are right. Many well-meaningmanagers are lousy motivators, either because they donothingortheydothewrongthings(eveniffortherightreasons).

In my experience, the single greatest mistake made by

managers at any level of the organization is to focus toomuchattentiononattemptstomotivateindividualsratherthancreateamotivationalworkenvironment.

Normallywhenyou thinkaboutmotivation,whatdoyouenvisionan individual or the workplace? One personsunique needs or the overall tone of the office? How toinspireorre-inspireonepersonscommitmentorshapeamoreupliftingenvironment?

Wenaturallytendtofocusourmotivationaleffortsononepersonmorethanonanentireworkenvironment.

Usually, we have oneor two individuals that seem to beour greatest motivational challenges. So our naturalmanagementtendencyistofocusmostofourmotivationalattentionuponthosefew.

Thisisaseriousmistake,forwithoutaconcerted,top-of-mind approach to creating and maintaining a totalmotivational environment, you are likely to create moreunder-motivatedemployees.

TheNeedforaDualApproach

24/7managers must therefore have a dualmotivationalfocus, ofboth the environmentand the individual. If youonlyfocusedonone,theotherwouldsuffer,whichwouldthen again negatively impact the first. For this reason, a


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thoughtful,well-balancedapproach isneededtoachievegreatresults.

MotivationalQuiz:TheAnswersMaySurpriseYou

Letsnowtakealookatthemotivationalquizandcompareyourresponsestomine.

TFBossescanmotivatetheiremployees.False.

You cannot motivate employees. Employees motivatethemselves. Yes, you can frighten, cajole, beg and eventhreaten to fire employees. But always remember thatemployeesdowhattheydofortheirreasons,notyours.Noreasonable incentive will inspire an employee to dosomethingtheydonotwanttodo.

Butyoucancreateamotivationalenvironment,soreadon!

TFLong-termcommitmentcomesfromwithin.True.

Thesecondbiggestmotivationalmistakeistoconfusetheconcepts of motivation and commitment. Motivation istypically a short-term incentive that fulfills an externalwant(quarterlysalescontestforatriptotheCaribbean).

Commitment,however,isalong-termincentivethatfulfillsan internal need (career with a caring, compassionatecompany dedicated to life-long learning and ethicalbehavior).

Oftenweconfusethetwo.Environmentalincentivesmoveus toward commitment; individual incentives towardmotivation.Thatiswhyyouneedtofocusonboth.


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TFGreatmanagerslookforpeopletopumpup.

False.

This is old school motivation where we envision peoplewithairnozzlesstickingoutoftheirnecks.Thenwerunaroundattemptingtopumpupdemotivatedemployees.

Thereisabetterway,soreadon.

T F Money is the #1 motivator for front-line

employees.Moretruethanfalse.

A good rule of thumb is that the further down thecorporatefoodchainyouare,themorelikelythatmoneyisa top motivator. Is it any wonder, then, that fast foodrestaurants see front-line staff walking across the streetfora$.50perhourpayraise.Ifyouaredealingwithalargenumber of minimum-wage employees, realize that

individual incentiveswill likelybemoremeaningful thanenvironmentalincentives.

T F People do what they do for their bosses or

companysreasons.False.

Rememberthatpeopledowhattheydofortheirreasons.Whentheirreasonsalignwithyours,thengreatresultsare

likely.Thekeyistoenvisionandcommunicatethedesiredresults in terms to which each individual employee canrelate.

TFOurjobasmanagersistoleadourhorsestowater

andletthemdrink.False.

Our job is not to lead our people towater. Our job is to

make people thirsty! When we make people thirsty toachievegreatresultsfortheirreasons,theyaremotivatingthemselves.


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ENVIRONMENTALINCENTIVES

Environmentalincentivesarethosethingsthatcontributetothegeneralatmosphereoftheworkplace.Fromthewaypeople are treated to the actual physical space, creatingthe right environmental incentives is critically importanttomaintainingahighlymotivatedworkforce.

Here is a list of 20 best practices for creating amotivationalenvironment:

1. Ask your team what motivates them. Gather yourteamandaskthemasagroupwhatmotivatesthemtoputforth their best efforts. Keep that list handy. Use this asyourguide forwhatnever to eliminate in theworkplace.Alsoseehowyoucanimproveormodifythemtobeevenmorevisible,availableandeasytoreceive.

2.Askyourteamwhatdemotivatesthem.Sameconceptas above, except beginworking on this list immediately.Take the biggest demotivators on the list and dosomething. Fast action, even if small action, inspiresemployees,sincetheyseeyouactuallydoingsomethingtoget rid of the stuff that they hate or that drains theirinitiative.Keepthatlisthandyandworkonit!

3. Simplify processes. Stop requiring your signature onstuff they can handle. For example, brainstorm ways totransform a five-step process into a four-step process.Eliminateunnecessarypaperwork.

4.Eliminatefear.Thesinglebiggestfearintheworkplacetoday is your (the bosses) reaction to your employees

mistakes.Letyourteamknowthatyouarenottobefearedasmuchasyouaretoberespected.

5. Match your management with their development

levels.Ifemployeesarenewtoatask,theyneedyoutogivelotsofdirection.Iftheyarefrustrated,theyneedyour


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coaching.Iftheyalreadyknowhowandwhattodoandwant to do it, you need to delegate the task. Let eachemployeedetermineyourindividualmanagementstyle.

6. Tear down the speed bumps to productivity. Askyour employees what are the key roadblocks toproductivity.Startslicingthosespeedbumpsuntiltheyallbutdisappear.

7.Listenreally listento all employees.Perhapsthemost underutilized and yet most powerful managementtoolavailabletoyouistosimplylistentoyourpeople.(See24/7Skill#3:Communication)

8.Askforhelpwhenyouneedit.Itistimeyoudroppedthe Superman/Superwoman routine and asked youremployees for their help on your problems. Mostemployeeswouldwelcomehelpingyoucreatesolutionsto

bigger problems. Not only will that stretch them intothinking bigger, it will also give you insight into theirpotentialforpromotionsorlargerprojects.

9. Allow employees to rearrange the environment to

bestmeettheirneeds.Itssosimple.Ifyourteampreferstoarrangeyourdepartmentacertainwayanditdoesnotdirectly interfere with safety, procedural or ethical

considerations,letthemdoit!Itswheretheyliveandtheyshould feel like they have some control over theirimmediateworkspace.

10. Reward teamwork. If you want teamwork, rewardactualteamwork.Abigmistakeistotalk,preachandshoutteamwork, teamwork, teamwork, but end up paying forindividualcontributions.Ifyouwantyourteamtoworkas

ateam,thencreateincentivesthatrewardthegroup.

11.Alignrewardstoyourpurposeandculture.Anotherbig rewardsmistake is failing to tie team (or individual)incentivestothecompanypurposeandculture.Atleast50percentofwhatyourewardshouldbedirectlyrelatedto


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your purpose and culture. Ensure that everyone in theenvironment understands that most awards are granted

because ofhow they drive the company purpose, cultureorindividualresults.

12. Break themonotony. Throw a party onTuesdayjustbecauseitsTuesday.TakeyourteamouttolunchonJune 10thjust because its June 10th. Encourage yourpeople to take a break just to take a break. Your peopleworksohardforsolongthatsometimestheyjustneeda

break. So break themonotony and do something a littledifferent,justtobreakthemonotony.

13. Keep things simple. As a manager, it is easy toovercomplicate things.Forgetyour20-pageannualplans.Summarizethekeypoints,goalsorresultsinthreeorfourwords,phrasesornumbers.Dontdrivedowncomplexityfromabove.Liftupsimplicitytothosebelow.

14. Serve the front-line first.Eveninrealwartime,theofficers are never fed first. The front-line troops are fedfirst. Encourage your employees to share how you canbetterservetheirneedsbeforeaskingthemtoserveyourneeds.

15.Givefastfeedback.Ifyouhavewaitedmorethanfive

daystotellsomeonethanksforagoodjob,youaretoolate.An environment that encourages fast feedback iscontinuallyenergized.Givefeedbackthesamedayeventhesamehourthatgreatresultsoccur.Youthenshapeaculture where others also give fast feedback, therebyperpetuatingamotivationalenvironment.

16. Celebrate success. This seems so obvious, but tooofteninourhurriedworkplacewesometimesoverlooktheobvious.Itisessentialtoyoursuccessthatyoucelebrateyour teams successesquickly. Create an environmentthat is not afraid of success and the celebration thataccompaniesit.


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17. Celebrate failures. You read that right: Celebratefailures.Onecompanyisknownforfiringacannonlocatednext to their parking lot for every experiment that fails.Whenaskedwhytheydidthat,theplantmanager(holdinghisthumbandforefingerclosetogether)said,Everytimethatcannongoesoff,itcommunicatestoeveryonethatweare that much closer to success. You may not want toshoot cannons, but you do want to find ways thatcommunicatetoyourteamthatitisOKtotrysomethingnew,evenifitdoesnotwork.

18.Empoweremployeestosolvetheirproblems.Yourcompanyhiredyourwork force to solve problems, so letthem.Dontmakethemcometoyouforthingstheyknowhow to do or should be doing on their own. A workenvironment where everyone is empowered to achievegreatresultsdoesjustthat.

19. Dosomething unexpected.Howaboutthequizyoutook at the beginning of this chapter?Wasnt that just alittledifferent,somethingyoudidnotexpect?Maybeevenalittlefun?

Whetheryou arewilling to admit it or not, you read thequestions, answered them in your mind, and probablyflippedthepagestoseehowmanyyougotright.Thisisan

example of how simple it can be to do the unexpected,somethingoutoftheroutine,toinspireperformance.

20. Stay focused. You are responsible for keeping thefocusofyourteamonachievinggreatresults.Ifyouallowtoomanycompetingprioritiestocloudandconfuseyourteam, the environment becomes stale, hectic andunproductive. Remind yourself and your team of the

essentials.Stayfocused.

In reviewing the above 20 best practices, you nowunderstand the motivational power of the workenvironment.Frankly,noamountof individual incentiveswilleverovercomealousy,demotivatingenvironment.


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INDIVIDUALINCENTIVES

Inmy30-plusyearsinbusiness,thesinglebiggestchangeIhave witnessed in the arena of motivation is thattraditional,genericincentivesandawards(e.g.,EmployeeoftheMonth)arenolongeraspowerfulorasmeaningfultomostemployees.

Todays employee is not so much impressed with howmuch logo-adorned company gear they canwin,wear orhang on their cubicle walls. Instead, they are moreimpressed with how much time, energy and effort thecompany (that means you) takes to personalize theincentives.

Thinkaboutitthisway.Whatismoremeaningfultoyouwhenyoursix-yearoldson:

Buys you a beautiful birthday card with amagnificent,touchingpoem,or

Takes crayons and scratch paper and draws apicture of you and him with the words, HappyBirthday,DadIloveyou.

Whichoneisthekeeper?

Oneofthebiggestmotivationalpaybacksyoucanreceiveasamanageriswhenyoupersonalizeincentivesthatmeettheindividualwantsofyourteam.

Here are my two best, favorite and most powerfulindividual incentives best practices I have uncovered todate:aFavoritesListandtheMichelinApproach.

FavoritesList

Playalongwithmeforasecond.Writeinthespacesbelowyourresponsestoyourfavorite:


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CandyBar__________Color__________

Hobby__________SoftDrink__________

Now,assumethatIhavejustachievedsomegreatresultson a project or special assignment. You know that myfavorite candy bar is Snickers,my favorite hobby is golf,myfavoritecolorisblueandmyfavoritesoftdrinkisDietDr.Pepper.

Armed with this information, what might you do toindividualizeanincentive?

With a little imagination, you could create severalindividualizedincentives,suchaswrappingacouponforafree roundof golf aroundasix-packof Snickers,set it ontop of a six pack of Diet Dr. Pepper and tie it to a blueheliumballoonthatsaysThanks.

Thinkaboutitthisway.Whatdoyouthinkwouldbemoremeaningfultome:

Asilly-lookingstackofcandybars,softdrinks,golfcertificatesandaballoon,or

AnotherEmployeeoftheMonthcertificate?Seethedifference?

Fromthisdayforward,youneedtocreateindividualizedincentives for outstanding performanceas often as youcan.

Create your own Favorites Listwith 10 to 15categories.Askyourteamtofillitout.Keepthelisthandyanduseitto

generate individualized incentives that are meaningful,memorableandmotivational.

FocusonaSignificantOther

Remember theMichelin tire commercialswith a rotatingtireonastage.Canyoupicturewhowassittinginthetire?


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Thats right, a baby. Michelin has successfully soldmillions of tires through a marketing technique focused

notonthedirectconsumer(me)butonasignificantotherIwishtoprotect(mybaby).

NowwhatifIweresittingintherotatingtire?Wouldyoube as likely to buy them? Of course not, and thats thepoint.(Andifyouweresittinginthetire,Iwouldntbuyiteither.)

Michelinleveragedaverypowerfulmotivationaltechniquewhentheyplacedababyandnotanadultinsidethattire.Iftheyplacedanadultinthetire,thenthecompanywouldbesellingthesafetyofthetiretothepersonwatchingthecommercial.

But instead, Michelin focused on protecting the baby, asignificantother,tothepersonwatching.Michelinknows

thatitcanbeafarmorepowerfulmotivatortofocusonasignificantotherthantofocusontheactualbuyer.

Here is another example: Assume your son or daughterjust turned six. Now, likemy sonwhen hewas six,mostyoungsterslovetheChuckyCheeserestaurant.

ForthosenotfamiliarwithChuckE.Cheese,itisaloud

no, incredibly loudchain of indoor amusement centersdesigned for children that have loudImean incrediblyloudvideoandarcadegames,alongwiththingstoclimb,ride,shootandthrow.Oh,anditalsoservespizzas.

DidImentionitwasloud?

Inotherwords,ChuckE.Cheeseisheavenonearthforan

active six-year old, and hell on earth for a somewhatinactivedad(thatwasmystory,anyway).

So,whatdoesthishavetodowithmotivation?


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Imagine you have just achieved something big, someresults above and beyond the norm. Your boss (who isreallyontopofthingsbecausesheattendedaManagement24/7workshop),strollsintoyourofficeandsays,Jim,youreallyhita homerunontheABCproject. Iwant to thankyouinaspecialway.IKNOWYOURKIDLOVESCHUCKE.CHEESE,so

Ihavearrangedformyteenagedaughtertocomeovertoyour house on Saturday to take your kid to Chuck E.

Cheese,andherearetwocouponsforaroundofgolfthisSaturdayatthenicestclubintown.Enjoythegolf!

NowTHATSa24/7incentive!

Through focusing some of your incentives on thesignificantothersofyouremployees,youcreatepowerfulindividual incentives. Ask yourself: Is there some

meaningful way to demonstrate your thanks to youremployeesbydoingsomethingspecialfortheir:

Family? Friends? Church? Charitytheysupport?

24/7managerstakethetimeandmakethecommitmenttoknowenoughabouttheiremployeestooccasionallyfocusmotivationaleffortsonasignificantother.

SUMMARY

24/7 managers combine both environmental and

individual incentives to reward their employees.Remember that employees motivate themselves, sothrough combining a motivational environment foreveryone with individualized incentives, 24/7 managerscanmaintainboththecommitmentandmotivationoftheirteams.


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