What Motivates Employees (continued)

 Articles, Management  1 Comment »
Jul 132008
 

When in March, 2007 we looked at factors motivating employees salary (i.e. money) came out on top. A year later InformationWeek has conducted a survey focusing on Information Technology workers and affirms the same.

In a survey of 9,653 IT professionals “base pay” ranked as #1 on the list of things that matter the most to employees. It was most important for 57% of staff and 50% of managers. The ranking is rather similar for both management and staff ranks, except “challenge of job/responsibility” which matters the most to 45% of staff (ranked third), while it stands at 55% for management!

The same survey finds that the median raise percentage this year is 2.9%, down from last year’s 3.3% which is possibly reflective of the difficult economic times. managers, in the meantime, are getting a median raise of 3.7% in the United States.

The survey is a confirmation of my assessment that the current generation of workers is looking for base (pun intended) benefits that are concrete and tangible. The millenials and, to some extent, Generation Xers have been raised in a more secure and confident environment and thus have higher demands.

While other factors remain important and helpful it is the amount of money on the pay cheque that determines the level of motivation and happiness of most employees. Once again, let us not kid ourselves.

What Matters Most To Staff

Base Pay 57%

Benefits 52%

Challenging Job 45%

Job Stability 42%

Flexible Work Schedule 39%

Respect 33%

Source:
http://www.informationweekanalytics.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=42

*Things That Need To Go Away: reserved parking for salesman of the month – unless a salesperson likes the idea.

Keeping Your Employees Happy

 Articles, Management  Add Comments »
Mar 282007
 

It is not a secret that many managers find assisting, supervising or directing their employees a frustrating task. Given the prevalence of management books, courses, articles and the evolving nature of human relationships the effort apparently is not becoming any easier. Yet, there have been numerous studies and surveys in recent years basically telling us what it is that motivates employees. The answers are not surprising. They confirm what we have already suspected.

Employees are not motivated by fuzzy intangibles. Motivational gurus conducting training or vague promises of the future do not motivate employees. Here is what polls and surveys tell us actually makes employees happy, ego productive, ergo valuable:

Number 1: Money – Saving money by underpaying salaries is not only stupid, but also counterproductive to the business. Employees who do not get paid well lose their motivation, productivity and help you to consequently lose staff. If paying fair wages is impossible, then managers, department heads and business owners need to think out of the box. We are talking about work flexibility, time for personal projects or extra vacation time.

Number 2: Respected – This one is in many ways the easiest to achieve, although one has to bear in mind that different people have different needs and react differently to different things. Managers need to figure out to what individual (not the department or the company) employees respond and personalize the way they tell respective employees they are appreciated. If a public shower of confetti is not be the way to go, then it might be time to ask the employee what he or she would like to see and hear. Hey, perhaps the employee would like paid time off to attend a special course or training. This is possibly the ultimate win-win.
Hint: Show appreciation; do not feed egos and alienate people with random acts of silliness like the granting of a vanity parking space. Centre in on how to make a personal connection with your team.

Number 3: Promotion – many managers preach this, but do not act upon the mantra. Apparently, management often finds that the grass (talent) is greener (smarter) outside one’s own company. Managers need to ask themselves whether it is really intelligent to hire someone from outside into a top position and create resentment at the same time? Are the skills truly not available in-house especially if the newly subordinated have to train the new person? An outside hiring is often justified based on new developments, geographical limitations and unforeseen business imperatives, but there are few reasons why an outside hiring is called for outside those areas.

Number 4: Health – This surprisingly is rated fourth, perhaps because employees are people and people take it for granted. Healthy and happy people are more productive and more liable to contribute positively to the work place. Managers need to help their staff catch up on sleep, exercise, have fun and remain healthy. Hot-dog Fridays? So 1979. Fruit-bowl Afternoons? Now we are talking.

Number 5 – Information – Managers need to think proactively about connecting their teams with the company by keeping them informed and being honest. Employees cite being informed and in-the-know as one factor in terms of their happiness and identifying with their managers. Let everyone (even the quiet guy in the corner) know where he or she stands, what is expected of him or her and how he or she can attain even more. Nip rumours in the bud. Then ask them how this measures against their perception of themselves, you and the company and ask them to compare it to their vision and plans. Furthermore, managers can delight their staff by genuinely asking for employee input, but only if there is a plan for implementing much of it. Otherwise, the lack of follow-up will give rise to cynicism. Talk about backfiring!
Information, of course, is need to keep employees abreast of their positions and assure them that they are being treated fairly and objectively.

It is essential that managers listen to what their employees say brings them happiness. It is also vital that the above be considered and acted upon proactively. It is easier to keep staff happy than restore the outlook of dejected individuals. That is why managers should zoom in on why employees stay with a company, rather than why they leave.

*Things That Need To Go Away: Hawaiian shirt/casual/jeans days

Motivate Your Staff, Your Team And Yourself

 Articles, Management  1 Comment »
Mar 042007
 

Study after survey shows that while remuneration and pay raises are important they are not the only way to motivate and lead a team.
Silly ideas like mandatory pub nights or weekend getaways (which only serve to remove the team from their respective families more than many would like) aside, here are several tips for leading a motivated, happy and energetic team:

1- Education and skills upgrading
Most people do not like the feeling of stagnation. If your company does not have a provision for compensating employees who upgrade their skills and education then either look into it or find a special budget for it. Time and time again time and monetary allowance for courses and updated education list as top employee priorities.

2- Extra time off
Surprise your team with an extra day off once in a while. While the idea of giving employees a whole day off might seem expensive the manager will find the time off more than an adequate investment in terms of employee loyalty. Moreover, a motivated and happy employee will return the favour by putting in many extra productive hours.

3- Take on extra personal projects
Entertain your employees’ suggestions and allow them to set time aside to work on those ideas and projects that they have brought to the table. Not only can such projects add meaningfulness to the employees’ work, but they can also positively affect the company’s bottom-line. Companies like Google and 3M have in fact mandated such activities.

4- Realize that a healthy body comes with a healthy mind
Encourgage everyone to exercise, have fun and be active. There are subtle ways for a company to do this such as gym allowances and bicycle subsidies. A tired or ill employee is not going to function well, while a healthy individual will surely translate into gained productivity.

5- Give your team opportunities to lead
Allow the team to shine and showcase their leadership skills and instincts with every opportunity. The independence and sense of trust will lift the employees’ spirits. Do not micro-manage unless an employee is new and inexperienced.

Re-Training For The Senior Account Executive

 Articles, Management, Selling More  Add Comments »
Mar 032007
 

It is increasingly understood that sales professionals need training to begin and advance careers in sales. The old adage that ’salespeople are born’ is now partly debunked. Most organizations realize this and dedicate a lot of time and money training employees in soft sales skills and target market specifics.
What is more difficult and less understood is how to train, or shall we say re-train, senior and experienced sales staff. What is meant by training to begin with?

Here are suggestions on how to choose targetted training for senior sales staff:

1- Be specific and zoom in on one particular topic.
Be it ‘Managing Meetings With CFOs’ or ‘Understanding The Needs Of Service Companies’ the experienced salesperson would probably benefit more from and appreciate a targetted lesson more than general topics.

2- Share insights
With all the accumulated wisdom within the company by the senior salespersons and management is it not time to share the wealth? Why not organize regular sessions where the team can expand on each other’s experiences?

3- Buddy up
When senior and junior salespeople embark on a day (or more) of joint sales calls and meetings everyone learns and benefits. To further the concept when was the last time the senior salesperson shadowed his or her VP of Sales?

While training can be useful forcing sales staff to go through basic or repetitious training could result in resentment and the feeling of wasted time. It is time to get creative and motivate the sales staff instead of forcing employees to undergo hours of unwanted training.

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