Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees

Keeping and Motivating the Best Employees

In "You Win With People" we talked about the need to hire the very best people to build your team. Now that you've done that the question becomes, how do you keep them, and how do you keep them motivated.

Much has been written about Employee Retention and about Motivation. But most of what has been written has been written in terms of the average employee. In fact, if you are measured at all by your company in this area, it's almost always a measurement of employee retention. But all turnover is not bad turnover, so a retention measurement is actually a false measurement of how you're hiring and firing practice helped the company.

So back to the question. How do you keep and motivate the best employees that you've hired? All human beings have basic needs that must be met, starting with food and shelter. So it's obvious that you must pay a fair wage and provide adequate benefits or people won't be able to stay with you. But once the basic needs are met, does it require more money or more elaborate benefits packages to keep the best employees?

In reality, neither are truly required.

Pay and benefits only go so far, and the best employees, the intelligent, self motivated, team oriented, results oriented employees are not out to squeeze the last dollar from their employers. The best employees have other needs that must be met and the good news is that you, their manager can meet these needs yourself.

Recent studies of highly motivated employees show that once their basic needs are met that other factors keep them motivated and interested in their jobs. Here are the 12 questions that the best employees want to be answered:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work

right?

3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best

every day?

4. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise

for doing good work?

5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about

me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job

is important?

9. Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about

my progress?

12. This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn

and grow?

It's important to note that of these 12 questions, 11 of them (all except number 8) are controlled locally by the employee, the manager, or the supervisor. This means that the first and second line managers have enormous control over their ability to motivate and retain the talented employees that they've hired. You can even argue that you directly impact number 8 based on how you represent the company.

Look back at your own career and think about the people you've worked for and which one's you were most willing to follow. Were these the needs that that leader met for you?

Goals and Objectives

Picture this scenario and see if it seems familiar to you.

"Dave, I need you to give me the goals and objectives for your group for the new year".

"Sure boss. What would you like them to look like?"

"You know. The usual. Increase productivity by 10%. Reduce your headcount by 15%. Implement some new controls. Oh, and I need them in two days."

Frankly, I've had this discussion about 25 times in my career and it always made me just a little bit crazy. Without any real look at what is going to happen this year, or any idea what the top executives are shooting for, I'm going to lay out my department's goals for the next year. Then I'm going to drive my people to meet these goals so that I get a good review and an increase in salary.

Not only does this scenario ignore the direction that should be set by the top executives, but it also misses the single most important reason you are in business..... The customer. So, while you're out doing the victory dance for meeting your objectives, your customer is sticking sharp pins into a voodoo doll that bears a remarkable resemblance to you.

Let's cut right to the chase here. When you create your departmental objectives based on the above conversation, the only thing you are really thinking about is getting the task complete so that you can check it off your list. You're not thinking about customer satisfaction, or how you are going to improve quality, or even major initiatives that you know (or don't know) are coming your way. You're thinking about getting the boss off your back.

And why not? The exercise above is just that, an exercise.

So, how should objectives really be set?

From the top down. The very top. The CEO of your company should be sitting down with his top executives and laying out the 2 or 3 top priorities for the company for next year. Those priorities represent the vision for the company. Each executive takes those 2 or 3 priorities and determines what they can do to support the vision. Working together the executives assure that the goals that they are passing down to the next level of management are consistent with each other and with the overall company goals.

Nothing can do more damage to a company and its customers' then major functional areas with conflicting or unrelated goals and objectives.

After the buy in has been received at that level, those visions and goals are passed down to the next level of management, where more specific goals and objectives are designed and shared with their customers. It's critical that everyone in the company see and understand the vision from the top, and that everyone understands what they are doing to support the vision. By developing a company vision at the top and then developing goals and objectives that explicitly support those goals you can then be sure that you are supporting the companies true goals. Then when you look at what you have accomplished for the year you and your customers will be looking at the same results.

So, how should you act on this?

Start now. And start by asking your boss for the goals and objectives of your senior executives so that you can stay in synch. Plant the seed that you would like to see them to make sure you are marching down the right path and then share what you have developed with your customers. If nothing else it will highlight where you and your customers are going.

Remember, developing goals and objectives for your team that are fundamentally aligned with the companies strategic objectives is a fundamental part of good management.

David Meyer, owner of Coaching for Tomorrow, has more than 25 years of management and leadership experience, having worked for companies such as Nobil Shoes, McDonough, Allied Stores, MCI and Nextel Communications. His mantra, "You Win With People" is based on the deep-seated belief that hiring, developing, and promoting the right people can lead to organizational and financial success. As a management and leadership coach, David works to instill that same passion in his clients by helping them understand the importance of strong leadership, strong teamwork, and strong players.

David has a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Elmhurst College and has been certified by both ACTION International as a Business Coach and the Coach Training Alliance. He also has received his CTM from Toastmasters. He is an Officer in the Denver Coach Federation and a facilitator/trainer for the Coach Training Alliance and ACTION International of Colorado. He is also a co-author of the book Creating Workplace Community: Motivation.

Married with two adult daughters, David is active in his local Kiwanis club and Crossroads Community Church. He enjoys reading, golf, scuba diving, and Civil War reenacting.

www.coachingfortomorrow.com

---

Management Apathy

I recently received a most interesting phone call.When I answered the phone, I immediately recognized the name of the company as one of the most visible distributors... Read More

Before You Head Off, Make Sure You Know Where You Are Going - The Importance of Clear Objectives.

The title of this article sounds like simple advice, but so often we undertake activities and projects without really understanding how they are going to help us... Read More

Understanding How Change Has Changed

There seems to be an assumption that change is a single traumatic event that is thrust upon us and over which we have no control.In the recent... Read More

Document management : A dream of paperless office

What is document management: When we think about "Document Management" we usually see a picture of paperless office. It is not an easy task to make an... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative

This short story, Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how important cooperation, collaboration, and communication... Read More

The Dripping Faucet in Every Organization

Each day millions of workers spend 8 hours or more at their respective jobs with many contributing to the dripping faucet within every organization. This faucet much... Read More

Knowledge Management - Capturing And Structuring Knowledge Into Reusable Assets

Many organizations have an approach for identifying and recording lessons learned, perhaps as part of a post-project review or similar process. Unfortunately, lessons learned reports have a... Read More

Dealing with Difficult People

You know, this would be a great business if it weren't for having to deal with people all the time?OK, so maybe I've exaggerated things a bit,... Read More

Does My Bum Look Big in This?

If a good manager asks his workforce for their opinion of him he will receive their expressions of approval and be satisfied that he is doing a... Read More

How To Use W Edwards Deming

Human beings and the way they interact are extraordinarily Complex. Deming tried to define that complexity.We have since learned the impossibility of defining natural events in a... Read More

The 70% Solution: Practical Testing and Version Control

"What do you mean you need to push back the launch date?" Says the CEO. Says the CFO. Says the user community. CTOs, CIOs, and all officers... Read More

ISO 9001 and Total Quality Management

Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality Management, or TQM, has become one of the most frequently discussed topics in current business literature. Because of the competitive pressures created by... Read More

How to Use an HR Consultant

Bringing an HR consultant into your organisation can often be the only way to get a particular objective achieved. It may be a project that needs to... Read More

Will a Workplace Bully Bankrupt Your Company?

Safeguard Your Company Against Harrassment ClaimsTwenty-five percent of employees suffer with peer to peer bullying and its on the rise, according to the National Institute of Safety... Read More

Outsourcing NOT Just for Big Business

Outsourcing has become a controversial issue and a hot topic among presidential candidates this year. But have you stopped to think how your business can benefit from... Read More

Inspirational Power ( Part 1 )

The Fundamentals of Strategic Marketing, Some Key Traits for Greater EffectivenessProbably, the greatest challenge to marketing management in the next five Years will be to change quick... Read More

Can What Someone Does Off-hours Affect Your Business?

Q: How much do I have to worry about what people who are part of my far-flung "virtual" corporation do when they're not working directly for me?... Read More

Leadership Styles - the Ten Top Qualities the Best Leaders Show

Top leaders...Are Visionary Top leaders have a very clear understanding of where the organisation is going and a clear strategy for getting there.Communicate Really Well Great leaders... Read More

HRM: Contributing to Well-being or Ill-being at Work?

If you were to take the people out of an organisation you would be left with some stock and machinery that would be of little value, and... Read More

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Project Management Skills

Solving a big problem is a project: you're far more likely to solve it successfully if you treat it like one. That means you'll need to identify... Read More

Organizational Capital in Politics, War, Sports and Business

Intangible Corporate Assets such as Organizational Capital, Blue Sky and Brand Name Capital, actually they all have a common thread in my opinion. Here are some thoughts... Read More

A Renewed View of the Modern Business Culture

Life can sometimes be unexciting if not refreshed by the will to create according to one's own conscience and freedom. Often, the power of passion fuses into... Read More

How to Meet Quality Standards with ISO 9001

In today's hectic business environment, it is vital that we are all on the same page, right? But how do we know if we meet those standards?... Read More

Bolster Credibility with Investors--Avoid These Phrases in Your Business Plan

Remember Papa John's commercial on TV with the slogan "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza"? Well its nothing more than puffery: general, non-provable, inane claims. The problem is puffery... Read More

Difficult Employees-Poor Performance - 10 Tips for Dealing with it in the Workplace

I personally struggle with the term 'managing people' - because I firmly believe that people cannot be managed ? only processes and systems can. How many times... Read More

How Businesses Can Stop Wallowing in Bad Debt and Prevent It in the Future

"Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting customers involves more than advertising. Michelle Dunn presents examples of credit procedures and policies to... Read More