Motivation and Productivity

By P E Cavanaugh

If we believe that happy employees are motivated employees then here are 8 ways to keep them motivated.

- Start with good employees, if you concentrate on character rather than skills you are then more than half-way to motivating your employees

- Learn to evaluate and talk to them, this is not the praise or rewards, but feedback about the task they are presently doing.

- Praise, acknowledgment, if one of the top reasons why employees quit is lack of recognition, then recognition for good work seems to carry a lot of importance.

- At the same time you need discipline, if a good employee sees unwanted behavior going unpunished, then that good employee loses his own feeling of being better.

- When you give clear instructions, you get clear results.

- Listen; really listen to your employees.

- Write letters to them mentioning their good behavior; keep track of who does what, not just the bad. Keep track of the good behavior

- Make a presentation or award them, make it public so their coworkers see.

If we look backwards from the reasons that employees give for quitting, and take those negatives and reverse them, we come up with a rewards system that empowers our employees. When people feel empowered and confident, and they know that their empowerment and confidence come from recognition in the workplace, they are happy individuals.

The funny thing is that when I first thought about motivation, I thought about monetary rewards, and that is still effective, but all of these motivators cost nothing. The only thing that they cost is a little thought about the individual.

Aren't we all happy with some personal recognition?