Archive for Employee Motivation
Taking Over a Position
Posted by: | CommentsUnless you’re starting a new department with a new team, chances are you will be taking over manager position.
Taking over an existing team after their previous manager leaves has different challenges than getting a team that has never worked together as a team before.
In fact, there are pros and cons to taking over either a team that had a good manager or a team that had a bad manager.
Taking Over for a Good Manager
If you are taking over a team that had an effective supervisor, you could be in luck, and you could be facing some tough challenges.
An effective supervisor knows how to motivate employees. Therefore, you might be inheriting a highly motivated team, already working well together, already producing as expected or better than expected.
The downside of taking over a previously well-managed team is that you naturally want to keep that momentum going, but you, especially if you are a brand new supervisor, have big shoes to fill. The team might hold you to the level of the previous manager. They’re used to things being done a certain way, so when you come in and change things, you might meet with some resistance.
Why change things that are working for your sake? One thing a manager must be able to do, adopt new ways of doing things. It’s more difficult for a group to make a change than for you to make a change. If they don’t like what you do they will most likely make things difficult so if it’s not broke don’t fix it!
It’s really important how you tread. You can set yourself up for a lot of problems right away, especially if you aren’t really a people person in the first place.
Take notes of things the manager did that was effective. Were they promoted? Then it’s a good time to look yourself in the mirror and make some changes to your style if need be.
And there’s more…
Remember, every time you go to a new department, company, etc., it’s a time to re-invent yourself. Just make sure you can pull it off and stay consistent.
Don’t rock the boat too early… (Usually)
Fit in, learn the social hierarchy. In every group there are some dominant personalities and it’s not necessarily the oldest or the supervisor.
You need those people in your corner whether you like it or not. They are a treasure trove of information and suggestions, ask them for theirs. They will typically spout off some things they didn’t like about the previous manager, don’t take the bait. Just let the comments fall and DO NOT repeat them. They are testing you.
Everyone probably has suggestions. Whip up a questionnaire on your computer if your company will allow and give them out. Make sure you ask your new people what their career goals are. Do they know how to get promoted? When did they have their last performance review? What do they feel they need to work on? What do they love about their job? Do they know all the benefits the company offers?
All those questions? You will learn a lot as you gather the information for them, information you need to know anyway! And don’t tell them where to get it. It’s your great opportunity to earn valuable good will with them. They need to talk to the HR manager for some of the answers? Great! Make an appointment with the HR person for them and walk them back there when they are scheduled and say to the HR person the question, etc.
Taking Over for a Poor Manager
Let’s say the team you’re taking over had a poor manager before you were hired. As you might expect, or have already found out, they may be unmotivated, sub-par performers. And they may be looking at you with a suspicious eye, wondering if you’re going to be more of the same poor leadership they’re used to.
On the other hand, a team that had a poor manager might also be very ripe for good leadership skills. Even if you don’t have leadership or management experience, you can still come across as a confident, experienced manager and your team doesn’t have to know any different.
This is a great opportunity for you to shine in your company. People will typically not be willing to welcome you with open arms. You will need to get out there, smile, talk to people, chat, be the nice human you are. Let it show. Carry a small note pad down so you can write things down about people, hobbies, kids, interests, etc. Also write down questions the employee has that may need follow up. Don’t trust your memory, you’re overwhelmed, you will forget things.
Ask your boss for suggestions, they are sure to have many. Ask them what they think some of your first priorities need to be, second, etc.
It will come up…
The elephant in the room… The things the bad manager did that made everyone indignant. Don’t gloat. Try to have private conversations with the vocal people. Don’t commiserate with them. Just tell them you are sorry and hope to move forward and would like them to be on board with you. Then move the conversation forward. Ask them for suggestions about something, anything at that point to turn the conversation forward.
If you are a manager you are not perfect, no one is. For all your strengths that others may appreciate this other manager was most likely good at some things you aren’t. You never know who you may work with again, don’t say anything. Many people have made the mistake and regret it for years.
Some First Steps…
No matter how you’re coming into your new manager position, one of your first priorities should be to hold a “one-on-one” meeting with each team member. Use this one-on-one time to get to know your team members individually. Ask them questions about their take on the team as a whole, how they fit in, the effectiveness of the team, what they like and dislike about their job, what they’d like from you, etc. Use the questionnaire idea mentioned above if need be.
But, be careful not to come across like you’re looking for “dirt” on other team members or their previous manager.
A one-on-one session might also be a good time to establish your expectations for them and the team. Of course, you should follow up your expectations with the team as a whole, in a team meeting. But a one-on-one meeting lets you get to know each other and can give you valuable information as to what the team expects. This information can go a long way to making your transition as their new supervisor a seamless transition.
Motivating Employees
Posted by: | CommentsYou need to know how to motivate employees–Unmotivated employees cost you a lot of money! 
Their production is lower than motivated employees, so you’re paying them the same money to do less work. Turnover is higher, costing you more to hire and train replacements. Unmotivated employees call in sick more and they also have more workplace injuries, they are also more likely to steal from you or be careless handling merchandise causing more damages. Not the mention the sheer drain they are on the motivated employees both in morale and workload.
Keeping your employees motivated will be one of your larger, constant issues as a manager.
It’s not enough to think, “They should be happy enough that they even have a job.” Sure, getting a paycheck should be motivation to come to work, but is it enough to motivate them to do good work, to strive to learn more, to go the extra mile in their customer service, to stay with your company longer, even if there are comparable jobs out there that would pay more than you pay? I can tell you for a fact the answer is “NO”, research consistently points to the fact people leave supervisors, they don’t leave companies.
Just because a paycheck should be enough motivation doesn’t mean it is enough motivation.
Employee productivity statistics can be very enlightening when you’re deciding whether or not to put the time, effort, and money into an employee motivation program. You can hire a company to do the statistics for you, but that’s probably only going to be cost-effective if you’re working for a large company.
Or, you can do a quick and dirty calculation by estimating how much time employees spend not working while they’re at work. Even if they spend an hour a day chatting with coworkers, checking personal email, updating Facebook or MySpace, or just general web surfing, that works out to about 250 hours per year. If they only make $10 per hour, during a 50-week you’re losing $2500 a year – and that’s just one employee!
There’s more to pay than just the dollars…..
There are hundreds of ways to implement an employee incentive program, but one major key before you do that is to be sure you’re paying adequate wages. If your people feel underpaid, an incentive program won’t bridge that gap. Maybe you need a “career day” so everyone can understand all their benefits and training programs, most companies offer competitive wages, the employees are often not aware of all the benefits and what those benefits add up to.
It’s important to ensure you have consistent pay for equivalent work and experience. Sometimes there are discrepancies here due to one employee being an excellent negotiator. For the most part most employees should be in a range that matches their position. I did take over a building once that did not have proper pay and the previous manager had indeed paid certain managers more and certain managers less…… It was so alarming I immediately called my boss and told him what I needed to do and he agreed.
Performance Reviews
An employee performance review is another place to motivate employees. People like to know how they’re doing, especially if a raise is tied to the employee evaluations. Have a program that is consistent (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc) and has achievable, structured goals for improvements.
Performance reviews can be counterproductive if they don’t have clear goals for the individuals. Everyone needs to know what they need to do to be “great”. People know when they aren’t getting honest feedback and it’s very de-motivating. People really do want to know when they have been less than adequate, you need to be honest and always approach your feedback from the perspective of helping the person. It has to be genuine!!! If you can’t care about people you need to find a different career.
Fear of Confrontation
Fear of confrontation is often a reason supervisors and managers avoid the difficult conversations. I can recall being a rookie at giving bad feedback to others and feeling terrified and tongue tied. Ask a mentor for help, practice in the mirror, ask a supervisor to sit in with you until you feel confident. It is critical that you master this. You will never amount to anything as a manager if you spend your time avoiding honest conversations. If you do it with a genuinely caring attitude you will be appreciated and well regarded for years, you will earn a name for yourself!
Often the best way to avoid a difficult conversation is be honest up front. Why wait for a review to tell someone they need to do better? That is really short changing that person and setting them up to feel frustrated. Maybe 6 months from a person’s performance review say, “Jane, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about your mid-year performance….”
- Start with them…… Let them ask you questions, vent, whatever they need.
- Ask them what you can do for them. How can you be a better manager for them? What do they wish you did more? Less?
- Talk about successes. When did they take the position and what have they done? What has changed? Improved?
- When the dust settles then you tell them you have a few concerns…. Talk about them. Depending on what it is make sure you take the responsibility if it was something that wasn’t addressed with them before.
- Set goals, discuss resources, additional training, whatever it is. Take notes. This conversation needs to include SMART goals.
- Set a date for follow up. Make sure the employee knows they can come to you if they have a concern, question, etc.
- End on the positives. Thank them for their time and honesty. Touch lightly again on the short term follow up issues you agreed on.
- Express your confidence in the person, in their career, performance, whatever.
- Smile, shake hands, walk with them to the office door is always a nice gesture.
Then be sure to follow up, they will remember every word you say! Guess what? If you follow these steps you will almost never have an uncomfortable meeting, your employees will improve and have a stronger sense of accomplishment and commitment to YOU. Will they improve 100% of the time to exactly the level you wanted? No. I wish it was that easy. I can tell from the questions I get I will be covering this topic a LOT more because there is a lot to it.
How are you doing?
This same method works for yourself. How are you doing? Are you getting good feedback from your boss? What do you need to improve?
Often a bad mark on a performance review isn’t necessarily a reflection of your complete performance, maybe you didn’t have your priorities aligned with your boss. Maybe your boss judges your productivity by how clean your desk is, or some other thing you weren’t aware of. Do you want to wait for your review to be told? No. So ask your boss for a time you can go over your performance. Be prompt. Take notes. Don’t get upset. It’s not personal.
After a few months touch base with your boss again. Have an outline for what was discussed along with notes of actions or things you did to improve, etc. Give them a copy. Ask how you are doing. What can you do better? Your boss has some other things they notice this time? Don’t be surprised. Priorities change. Also, in order for you to develop there will always be things you need to work on.
Training improves performance
Another way to increase motivation, morale, and productivity is through employee training development. You might think training is an unnecessary expense to the company, but the better trained an employee is, the better they will be at their jobs. And the more job functions they’re cross-trained in means they’re more valuable to you – they can fill in when someone calls in sick or if a heavy load hits a certain department all of a sudden.
It also breaks down walls in departments to have employees comfortable going to other areas. It may seem odd but people are creatures of habit, they will stay in an area they are comfortable in and that is all they will do. Is it because they are lazy or don’t care about customers? Rarely is that the case, it’s usually fear or discomfort of the unknown, or fear of feeling inadequate.
Typically people will stay where they are comfortable for comfort’s sake often to the detriment of other people and things. The best thing to do is build some sort of incentive for people to learn other departments. Have a party with various departments present, but ensure they all walk into each other’s areas. Have one group demonstrate things to the other and vice versa. It’s best to do something that is hands on and interactive since many people learn best that way.
Whether you use a monetary reward system or a different type of reward system for your employee motivation, be sure it’s implemented properly (so that everyone knows the requirements up front) and that it’s consistent. If you’re inconsistent with the incentive program, you’ll lose all the time, effort and money put into it.
Corrections
Posted by: | CommentsThe dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. – Vincent Lombardi
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. – Henry Ford
As a leader in your team be careful what you send out. Negatives can bring the whole team down, squish energy 
and a bunch of other stuff.
Sending global angry emails to your group is never ever productive. Pick up the phone in those circumstances. Email can build hard feelings and mistrust if you use it poorly.
Group correctional emails are also not usually productive. You need to use them sparingly (like almost never). Have a meeting with a few of your people that are messing up whatever it is, but don’t penalize the whole group for a few people.
If you need to send a directional email that is fine, like a reminder that everyone needs to be on time or park in designated parking or whatever. Make it positive and even toned. Give the offenders a reminder while reminding everyone, they will know who they are.
What if my boss sends me negative emails?
I would recommend NOT forwarding them to your whole team unless it really applies to them. Even then try to have a group meeting, print the email and go over it as a group. Why? As a group you can brainstorm ways to make it happen. Then you are creating an opportunity for positive growth.
Getting nasty emails about sales being down? Do you think forwarding your emails to your team will motivate them to do better? It won’t. You are the manager. You take the heat. Don’t use the “my boss is on my case for us to improve”. Does that make you look like an effective leader? No.
How about having a meeting, ask the group how they are doing then move the meeting forward. Say something like, “Team, we have some real challenges with sales right now. Let’s come up with some ideas to improve.” Guess what? You got the negative email, you don’t need to share it… And guess what, you turned it into a positive!
If you have a developed team working for you and need to come up with some new ideas for something it works best to send them a head’s up a couple days ahead so they will come up with ideas and it won’t be a surprise topic at the meeting. Try this…
“Team, as you know we are facing some challenges right now with sales. I am looking for some fresh ideas we could use to improve. We are going to have a meeting on Wednesday at 2:00. Please come prepared with your ideas.”
Sounds easy doesn’t it? It is. Maybe if your company allows you can also say the winning idea gets lunch with you. Or maybe make the meeting a pizza party so you are sure you will have great participation.
Global Communication
And if that weren’t enough for you to master, consider how global changes are affecting communication in business. Now you’re not just dealing with your business in Ohio, but you might also have technical support sites in India, parts suppliers in China, and manufacturing plants in Mexico.
It’s bad enough when a mis-communication between you and your team means they have to re-work a project, causing another day of work. Now consider a mis-communication between your Mexican manufacturing plant and your Chinese supplier who ships 100,000 of the wrong parts.
Poor communication in business is costly!
The Personal Cost of Poor Communication
Besides costing money within the company, poor communication in business can cost you the job you’re seeking.
Because communication is going to be a part of your job, whether small or large, companies look at your communication skills – written and verbal – during the hiring process.
The National Commission on Writing estimates that American businesses spend $3.1 billion dollars annually just training their employees to write.
Let’s say it again – poor communication in business is costly!
If your business communication skills are higher than those around you, you’re in a better position to get the job, get the promotion, be more productive, and save the company money.
Taking steps to improve your business communication, both written and verbal, will bring you benefits now and throughout the rest of your career and life!
Communication in Business
Posted by: | CommentsCommunication in business is critical to success in business; but not just any business communication, you need effective business communication. How you communicate in business is just as effective as what you say.
Communication among friends and family used to be limited to verbal face-to-face, written letters, phone calls, and the subtle (or not so subtle) non-verbal signals and body language. Add to that now text messaging and email. It’s a little more complex, but still not unmanageable.
Communication Complexity
Communication in business, however, incorporates so many more aspects, creating a complex skill to master. Businesses communicate through print media, television, radio, billboards and signs, advertisements, internet, email, and even word of mouth.
The reasons behind business communications are numerous, too: marketing, branding, public relations, corporate communication, employee engagement, customer relations, and more.
Communication in business is used to advertise services, woo clients, smooth ruffled feathers in customer service, explain team directives, present annual reports, deliver personnel reviews, set attainable goals, and even more.
Communication and Your Team
There are many important aspects of using emails and communication to help your team. Let’s say you have a couple hundred employees, or even a handful, one of your people sends an important instructional email that was a great snapshot of an important change.
What do you do? Just read it and keep going? How about sending them a “Thank You, Jim!” “That’s a great help!” or forwarding it to the team and supporting “Jim” and putting a note from you saying “Team, these are some great points” and mention one of the points.
What does that do? It starts of empower your team and makes them feel valued. It also validates what they are doing to others that may help ensure your team follows the tips. It ensures everyone is looking at the emails. They may not read emails from others but they most definitely read yours, having your name on something puts an extra weight behind it.
Just forwarding an email doesn’t have the same effect. I’ve tried it and so had a lot of other people.
In fact, years ago when I was a middle manager running the Administrative end of a $40 million a year business I used to send out updates to changes in policy or whatever. I made it short, with bullet points so the staff didn’t have to try to read a long memo and figure out what it means to them (which was what I did).
Well……. My boss sometimes would forward the emails I sent out to my peers. That was okay, but guess what? I didn’t feel appreciated and no one paid much attention. So a few years later when I was an executive level manager and I had Admin staff doing the things I used to do, I supported them. When they would send an update I would use my “muscle” to help them get “buyin” and say,
“Team, this is important. Steve makes some great points. Any questions on this please see Steve or myself. Make sure to imform your teams. Thank you Steve for taking the time to send this out.”
Thank people for sending out communication in business. Make a big deal of it with your whole staff and they will all start communicating more effectively. They will all start to look for ways they can get “a pat on the head”, some recognition, or as I used to call it, a “Skoobey Snack”.
Soon my whole staff was doing extra things and working together. Was that the only thing I did to get that to work? No, of course not.
Some other stuff
Be consistent with your praise. If you give one person recognition and miss another that person WILL feel slighted. You are also once again limiting the synergy and momentum that can build in your team.
Think of it this way….
If you have a team you are trying to build up you need to make big deals of every positive change.
Imagine a baby taking it’s first steps, as a parent or relative your face lights up and you make a big deal don’t you? What does that do? Encourages the baby to try again, they smile with glee when you make a big deal out of their accomplishment.
What happens after awhile? The little steps become bigger and longer steps and soon it’s automatic and you are on to something else to get excited about in the babies development. The same kind of encouragement works with teams. Don’t believe me? Try it. I have run many successful teams in several different industries, I promise it works! IF you are consistent!
Good Leadership Skills
Posted by: | CommentsMany people consider themselves to have good leadership skills when in reality they’re better at discouraging than encouraging. They’re better at scattering people than gathering people around them. Just being in a leadership position does not turn a person into a leader any more than sitting in a garage turns a person into a car.
Leadership seems to be innate in a few people, but most of us have to learn how to be a good, effective leader.
What are Good Leadership Skills?
Good leadership skills encompass so many aspects, they are rather intangible.
Yes, a leader leads in the most basic definition, but how do they gain the trust of those following them? How do they make people feel safe in their situation, even if it’s a dangerous situation? What do they do that makes people say, even years later, “She was such a great person to work for” or, “If he hadn’t been my boss, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today.”
There is nothing more rewarding than helping others to be more successful. If you help others to improve their abilities and they are able to better provide for themselves and their family, what is better than that?
Good Leaders Care
Good leaders care about those they lead and seek to provide for their well-being. A military commander tries to keep his troops alive and win their battles. Parents work to provide a house and food. Supervisors look for opportunities to better their employees, perhaps through additional training and responsibilities that prepare them for promotions.
It’s important to care about your people, there isn’t a way to shortcut this. If you don’t care there are several books that can help you care and understand caring. You can get training and coaching on Emotional Intelligence and it will help. (It helped me!)
Good Leaders Listen
Good leaders listen. They assimilate information and process it against the big picture goal. They listen to people who work above them to understand the big picture and company goals. They listen to team members working for them to understand their concerns and ideas.
Good leadership skills
The best information you can get is from your people. Your people have vital information, perspectives, understanding, even tidbits they hear from other departments or competitors. Your people have good ideas, if you are fair and manage them well they will do their best to help the team succeed. Build the team. Follow the steps, use the tools.
Good Leaders Change
Because change in life and business is inevitable, a leader has to be able to adapt well to change. More than just adapting, good leaders continually look for ways to improve a situation and, where possible, initiate positive changes themselves.
One saying you can be assured is accurate “The only constant is change.” Don’t fight it, it’s useless. Embrace it. Use the change to build your team and help them grow from it. There’s no point making a negative if you can turn something into a positive. Every chance you can turn negatives (or spin them) into positives is a win for you and your team.
Good Leaders Share
Leaders are all about teamwork, not dictatorship. Now, your position may have you working in a bureaucratic type of environment where “the rules are the rules” and there’s not much room for creativity. You can still be an effective leader to your team. You can still encourage, listen, create goals for their personal and professional growth, and develop them into the best team in the company. It just takes adapting to your situation.
You can create motivational fun things with potlucks, movie tickets. Find leadership development material and have a mini-series of classes for them, they will appreciate it and become better managers themselves. Volunteer as a group to paint a children’s center or volunteer as a group somewhere, have a cause that matters. If the company is stifling you should try to find outlets for creativity of your team.
These are only a few good leadership skills. Do you recognize any in yourself? If you don’t already you can if you want to.
