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Proven Strategies on Service and
Life
Downsizing, rightsizing, and RIFs are all placing a
strain on organizations. Those employees who remain
face the double stresses of picking up the slack and
wondering if they are next.
One of the primary objectives for leaders is to coax
the best and most creative effort from each and every
employee. This can be a real challenge under normal
circumstances, but it can be positively overwhelming
in a difficult economic climate.
That is why your employee recognition program can
be an effective motivation tool to help you get the
most out of your team.
Money Motivates Employees,
Right?
This is true to an extent. Many people are under the
mistaken impression that money is the primary
motivator for employees. Although it certainly is a
factor, money can only go so far. For example,
you’ve probably said at one time or another in
your life, “You couldn’t pay me enough
money to do that job!” You also may have passed
on a higher-paying position in a different company
because you really liked the work you were doing or
the people with whom you were working.
If Not Money, Then What?
If you are like most people who are employed full
time, work consumes the largest percentage of your
time in a typical week. It can involve more time than
you spend with your friends and family, more than you
spend on hobbies and activities, and probably even
more time than you spend sleeping!
You probably don’t work the traditional 40
hours but more like 50 or 60 or even 70 hours a week.
You think about work as you drive to and from the
office. You burden your family with the problems you
are having at work as soon as you walk in the door at
home.
In that light then, what motivates people to stick
with it and put in greater and greater amounts of
effort?
Fulfilling Work
People who are doing work they truly enjoy usually
make the best employees. When they are doing a job
they enjoy, they will work harder, put in more
effort, and generally be more productive and
creative. It’s not just the nature of the job
itself that makes the difference but also the type of
organization.
I have worked with several nonprofit organizations
whose sheer purpose in exisiting was enough to
inspire a high level of excitement and commitment.
The people who work in these organizations are
certainly not in it for the money. They do it because
they believe in the causes their respective
organizations represent.
Excitement
Even if the work itself is not implicitly exciting,
the work environment can be. You can create a dynamic
work environment by varying the load, by having a
formal job rotation program so people don’t
become stale in their current positions, and by
offering opportunities for personal and professional
development.
Contests with prizes and rewards—whether
small or significant—also can create a level of
excitement that makes employees actually look forward
to coming to work.
Of course, the most effective and fulfilling
motivator is recognition. This can involve rewards
for outstanding performance above and beyond the
norm, as well as awards for length of service.
Recognition can be as complex as a president’s
award for a company of 100,000 employees or as simple
as a pat on the back from a manager or
co-worker.
Sometimes, the best recognition can be a boss
saying, “I know you had plans for this evening
and that staying here to fix that problem was an
inconvenience. I want to let you know that I really
appreciate your effort on this. Thank
you.”
Any Recognition is Better Than No
Recognition
Look for ways to recognize the groups and individuals
that are going the extra mile and helping to produce
tangible results. There is nothing like getting
recognized for a job well done that can help motivate
employees to continue to put forth their best
efforts.
Here are some tips to help you motivate your
employees to even higher levels of productivity and
creativity.
- Keep it interesting. Even in a
fast-paced company, work can become monotonous. As
previously mentioned there are many ways to create
a dynamic work environment.
- Make it public. Recognition is one of
the most effective and fulfilling
motivators—no matter how simple. If you
recognize your employees by posting a “wall
of fame,” make sure that everyone can see it
and that it is current.
- Make it personal. Rather than purchase
some standard gift from a catalog that includes the
name and logo of your company, pick out something
special for each employee that you want to
recognize to ensure that it will be a truly
meaningful gift.
- Share the wealth. Money can be a
powerful motivator, but make sure you take into
account the tax considerations of large monetary
rewards.
Look for ways to recognize individuals who go the
extra mile to help produce tangible results. When you
recognize your employees for a job well done, it can
go a long way to ensuring they make their best
efforts every day.
 A nationally recognized
customer service expert, author, and trainer, RON
ROSENBERG, CSP, recently founded
Drive-You-Nuts.com, a Web site dedicated to helping
people get the service they deserve and to teaching
companies how to provide it. He has been featured in
publications including The New York Times,
Smart Money, and Real Simple and has
appeared as a guest on nationally syndicated radio
shows including “Dateline Washington” and
the “Gary Nolan Show.” For more
information, visit his Web site at www.drive-you-nuts.com
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