We had an interesting question on one of our open management courses recently. The activity was about staff motivation, and a delegate asked what she could do when she had no money for bonuses to recognise the input from high-performing staff.

She noted that praise and recognition was a good motivator for some, but she didn’t know how to use it effectively, beyond the usual ‘thanks for a good job’. Could any of the delegates help her, please?

The comments were backed up by other delegates, so we came up with a checklist that would support this very important leadership aspect of motivation within the workplace.

We all know that affirmation is a key principle in our self-worth. We all like to feel we have made a difference in some way, and when our efforts are recognised by our peers and management, it boosts our self-esteem and our self confidence.

Here’s a quick checklist to ensure your praise and recognition of your team’s efforts is carried out correctly and effectively:

Find something to praise in every team member: This will help you focus on looking for the good, rather than always looking to find fault.

Do it spontaneously, but only if it is deserved: You have to maintain credibility with staff. Praising them for getting back from lunch on time is seldom seen as boosting self-esteem; praise has to be a reward for success or accomplishment. You lose respect and credibility if praise is seen as patronising.

Praise specifically: Tell people what you liked about the job they did. Rather than ‘Well done for that’, say ‘I thought they way you handled that call was excellent. You really kept your cool under pressure’.

Praise for skill development: If you are looking for the team member to improve in a particular skill, look out for opportunities to praise that skill. A small amount, given often, will subliminally affect the team member for the positive.

Praise effort, not just achievement: This will help people see that their efforts are being noted, even if they don’t always succeed.

Praise individually and in public: Letting others know how well someone did will encourage the team to support the individual and drive them to higher levels of effort. Be careful, though, that the reasons are given for the praise, so jealousy doesn’t set in with some.

Show praise in a variety of ways: A quick hand-written note, a non-verbal nod and smile, a mention in the newsletter or on the intranet are also ways that praise can be shown.

Don’t use praise to cover over a criticism: ‘Well done on that call, Phil, but watch out for raising your voice when you’re frustrated’. Phil will only remember the criticism there. So don’t try and soften any critical remarks with praise; separate them out, or your team member will become suspicious of any praise you give in the future.

Praising, then, is a skill that is simple, inexpensive and inexhaustible. It can have a ripple effect on people, who subconsciously look for other ways of creatively carrying out the work that was noticed. Remember, praise needs to be given in the right way, at the right time and for the right reasons.

Thanks again
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

During your time working with your team members and employees you are going to find that some are more motivated than others. During those times when certain team members seem less motivated you are going to have to find ways to get them back on track. Before you can do so, it will help you to understand that there are three main types of motivation.

The first type of motivation is the promise of some type of reward. The reward may or may not be tangible (recognition, an extra few hours off, or financial). Regardless, people are sometimes more motivated when they believe they are working towards a goal. A paycheck, in this example, simply isn’t enough.

The next type of motivation is the fear of loss – or a fear of being punished if the job isn’t done. You may find that you have to pull a team member aside for a meeting or review in which you lay down an ultimatum – start getting your work done or you may lose your job. This is, of course, an extreme example but in the end those who fear they’ll lose out on any level at all (no bonus, no extra holiday) tend to stay motivated.

Finally, those who have a sense of responsibility or obligation tend to stay motivated. They feel as though they have a sense of duty. Some people can find a sense of responsibility on their own while others may need help finding their purpose. The point is that once they have a sense of purpose they’ll begin to work for and with it.

Are you and the members of your team motivated? If not, what can you to do give them a little push in the right direction?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Uh oh! You thought you hired someone who would turn out to be a superstar, but it turns out he’s nothing more than a deadbeat. He frequently calls out and doesn’t schedule time off in advance and does just enough work to stay on the company’s good side – but not enough to make a valid contribution to the team.

He thinks only of himself and, while he does enough to keep his job he really doesn’t help the team or care about growing individually. He’s obviously there to get paid and go home. Sometimes deadbeats vocally criticize the company in front of others as well. Eventually, their attitudes may begin to bring down the entire workgroup.

Here’s the problem. When you hired Mr. Deadbeat he was excited about his job and did everything you asked for the first few months. So what went wrong that changed his attitude? It’s your job to find out – especially if you’d like to see him return to his previous state rather than continue the way he is.

The kicker is this – no matter what you think, you or your organisation are the cause of his unrest. This may or may not actually be true, but in his mind either you (personally, as his manager) or the company did something that made him unhappy. You popped his “happy employee” balloon and things started to spiral from there. Can you identify exactly when his attitude changed? Do you remember what the cause was?

Once you’ve identified the reason for the attitude (if there is one) you should work with your employee to improve his performance. Try to:

• Give your employee a reason to improve his performance; whether he’s working towards eventual promotion, a raise, or some other objective;
• Make sure you are supportive. Some people are bitter because they simply feel as though no one cares about them;
• Set some short-term goals. Feeling as though he’s reached some positive goals will make your employee feel accomplished and may help to shift his attitude.

Coaching your employees may be difficult, but it’s only made more difficult by employees with bad attitudes. Do you have potential new managers working their way through the system? If so, make sure their management training courses include information on how to deal with difficult employees as well. Not having the tools to address these situations can mean the difference between a great day at work and a miserable experience.

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Being able to effectively manage the performance of your employees or team members rests largely in part on your ability to communicate effectively. Your team members need to know exactly how they will be judged so that they can set an individual goal based on those requirements while striving to achieve the standards you’ve set forth.

Simply put, you need to design and implement a definable performance standard. In most cases this means setting minimums for both productivity and levels of quality.

Setting minimum productivity levels means telling your employees that they must complete a certain amount of work throughout the course of any given day, week, or month. This may mean researching a set number of reports, making a specific number of sales or phone calls, or producing a set number of widgets. Productivity levels can be easily measured.

Measuring the quality of someone’s work is not quite as simple. You may have to create limits regarding the number of errors a person can make within a set period of time, the number of (justifiable) complaints management can receive about a customer service representative before corrective action is taken, or even the number of times an employee has failed to meet established performance standards.

I usually take the time to outline expected performance standards on an employee’s first day at work or as part of the team. I stress that I recognize it will take time to meet these standards, especially as he or she is learning their new job function, but that he will be expected to be able to meet these standards within a certain period of time.

No one person is perfect and everyone is going to make a mistake at some point. You may even find a need to adjust the standards you have set based on trial and error. However, without setting standards by which we can manage performance we will not be able to monitor our teams in order to encourage growth.

What standards have you set for your team and how often, if ever, have you had to adjust them?

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”