Manage My Employees

Archive for the ‘Leadership tips’ Category

People make improvements for their own reasons and that includes making efforts to increase job performance. You can certainly influence this transformation and have astounding results, if you understand the intrinsic (natural, innate) motivations you need to meet.

One well-researched study (Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000) maintained that people have three innate needs: the need for competence (ability to attain desired results), the need for autonomy (work independence) as well as the need for

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The reader comment by RStone below, referencing a quote-gem by Mother Theresa (see post 10 Inspiring Quotes On Leadership | Manage My Employees) provides an apt reminder that our ‘words etch in the minds’ of our employees.

 RStone:

January 9, 2010 at 9:00 am (Edit)

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- Mother Theresa

I’ve led a number of seminars on “Giving Praise” and I’m struck by how many managers, can recall years later, the words spoken to them by a former supervisor, military commander or other authority figure. Those words, as Mother Theresa put it, still ‘echoed’ in their minds and more often than not, merely recalling those words stimulated

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Everyone knows times are tough, but what will your organization do exactly to keep employee morale and performance high?

I’ve provided a link (Engaging Employees Tops Leadership Priorities in Tough Economic Times) to a nice article on what leaders can do to rev up workplace attitudes. In addition, I’ve added a few tips you might want to comment on…

Definitely, be a straight shooter on what these tough times mean to your company, and the department. Don’t spin the truth one iota.

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One industry, healthcare, has all but escaped the draconian impact of the economic recession. However, healthcare is, as other industries are—battling low employee morale.

According to a survey by CareerBuilder (referenced in this article: Healthcare employers battle low employee morale | Healthcare Finance News) nearly 4 of 10 healthcare employees report low motivation and 1 in 4 say they have no loyalty to their employers.

Losing good employees costs the leaders of any organization dearly. This is especially true in healthcare where job knowledge and experience is valued so highly (or it should be).

What can healthcare employers, or any employer for that matter do to ramp up morale:

Get innovative about employee incentives. Think in terms of low-cost but meaningful rewards. Don’t stop your recognition program just because the budget doesn’t permit you to reward like you once did, instead revamp.

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Recently I was asked in a media interview whether losing employees was something businesses really needed to focus on that much, today. The reporter (from CBS) was curious whether or not employees, given the current 10 percent-plus unemployment, would really be looking around that much for another job?

I told him, “There’s always the threat of losing your top performers, they’re more marketable, and savvy competitors may be waiting for the right opportunity to lure them away.”

I also shared with him that businesses simply cannot afford to lose better employees, the cost is exorbitant and the damage left behind can be devastating to the bottom-line with a ripple effect sent throughout the team.

Here are four of the points he and I discussed in that interview (see what you think about them and comment back if you like):

Lost expertise. When good employees leave you, they take their ideas, knowledge, problem-solving abilities, relationships, and creativity to another employer.

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Adapt your business to the changes for 2010. Mainly I’m referring to:

• Uncertain economies (we ‘hope’ the recession is giving way to better times… but we don’t know yet).
• Cautious consumers + cautious business owners and executives means more hesitancy to spend or invest.
• Customer power. Customers, have more suppliers pursuing their business than ever before and consequently enjoy more leverage.

To me, this establishes the need for revamped customer care strategies in 2010. Here are three pertinent strategies that have immediate merit:

Reassess the steps your customers must customarily take to purchase from your business. Honestly assess whether those steps are designed to make it easier or more efficient for your operation, versus make it more pleasant and time efficient for your customer. There’s a delicate balance between the two—make sure you’ve taken this into account in 2010.

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Saying ‘Thanks’ and/or giving praise doesn’t come as naturally to some managers as it does for others. I started out thirty years ago in my career being one of those managers who found giving ‘praise’ harder than giving correction.

I’m better at it today, and yet, I’m certainly not perfect. The results of improvement have been remarkable—especially in how it helped me create a more positive tone and relationship with others at work, or in my personal life.

It helps to have a few reminders of how easy praise (saying ‘Good Job’ or ‘Thanks’) can be when we pause to look for it, then share it with our associates.

Here are ten more examples of how you could say Good Job!…

• Thank you for backing my leadership on this project, I really appreciate it.
• You project enthusiasm to our customers for their business… and I really appreciate that.
• You have a lot of qualities we admire around here, like…
• You did a great job on that project, you got it complete under an intense deadline!
• Let me compliment you on how well you calmed that customers down, you did it with professionalism and a whole lot of tact.
• You do a great job on follow-up, I never hear a complaint from anyone in the company about the communications coming from your area.

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In part 3 we’ll look at a few tips for revving up our praise or thanks to employees. Next, we’ll look at ten more ways to say Good Job.

3 Tips on Revving Up Praise:

• Be sincere. When you see something praiseworthy – praise it. On the other hand, if you don’t, then avoid feeling like you need to come up with something that won’t be in earnest.
• Don’t wait until something’s perfect before you acknowledge it with appreciation or praise.
• Be timely. If you wait to say it later…you may forget. When you see it, say it.

10 Ways to Say “Good Job”…

• You’re catching on fast, I like the effort you’re putting in.
• Super job on that report, it was exactly what I was looking for.
• Thank you! Your input was really helpful for me to hear… I like other viewpoints to consider.
• Actually, it doesn’t bother me when you challenge the status quo around here, because you do it without being confrontational. I know your purpose is to help us grow, get better.

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Take time to look for good behavior as well as good attitude, then recognize your employee for it.

Good behavior or good attitude doesn’t have to be recognized with $$money. A verbal or written praise/thanks is especially meaningful, and it lasts.

Mark Twain said, “I can live for three months on a good compliment.” Here are 10 ways to say “good job”…

• Thanks for getting back so quickly, you saved me some time.
• I really appreciate the questions you ask, it shows you take genuine interest.
• Your work on that project was nothing short of Fantastic!

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A recent question from a journalist interviewing me on ‘praising employees’ brought an interesting point to mind: what if you know you ought to thank or praise your employee, but you’re not exactly sure how to say it?

In a four-part series my posts will cover: Part (1) 10 Activities That Merit Thanks or Praise?  Parts (2) through (4) will have 30 Phrases of Praise or Thanks, plus some best practices.

What Activities Merit Thanks or Praise? Here are ten possibilities (of course there are a lot more instances which are deserving)…

• Going beyond what you asked
• Hitting a deadline or exceeding a goal
• A consistently positive attitude

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