Posts Tagged ‘Employee performance’
Motivating “Distance Employees”
Blogger Jason Christensen linked to a recent BNET.com article interview I gave regarding “Can’t Pay Your Employees What You Like? Praise Them Instead“
You might want to check out Jason’s article on motivating and building the morale of remote employees, I found it pertinent. He offers up a number of useful ideas especially if you have employees scattered about. See: ON A BUDGET: Motivating your team, bolstering loyalty & elevating morale. (Full Series) « “Life as a Remote User”
Motivating, managing distance employees presents a few unique challenges like…
- Less face time to create open dialogue about work goals, problems, feedback, updates, etc.
- Communication is relationship and distance can impact building relationship and trust.
4 Powerful Words to Employees’ Ears
Short Article #29
“What do you think?” asked the manager to her employee. Surprised, the employee responded, “Well, I don’t know if this would work or not but I think…”
Those four words posed in the question, “What do you think?” may be more telling of one’s management style than any other sign.
Why? Here are four possible reasons, you may want to add one in a comment yourself:
- It’s a sign of whether you genuinely care to hear the opinions of others, or just want to appear like you do.
- It’s a sign of whether you lead by “getting others to want to do” OR “getting others to do” what you believe should be done.
Employee Disengagement or Low Morale?
Short article # 28
Is there a difference in disengagement and low morale? Perhaps, as author Terry Kabachnick asserts in her book, I Quit But Forgot To Tell You.
Low morale is not disengagement. Low morale occurs when an employee gets frustrated with the work load, the work environment or their supervisor. Disengagement occurs when an employee ceases to care, ie. Their heart’s just not in it anymore…!
How bad is disengagement? A Gallup poll a few years ago revealed that 74% of American workers admit to being disengaged, this costs U.S. organizations $350 billion annually in lost productivity.
What are some of the signs of disengagement?
Meet Intrinsic Needs
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
30 Ways to Say ‘Good Job’ (part 4)
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.
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 3)
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.
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 2)
![iStock_HappyEmpfemaleXSmall[1]](http://managemyemployees.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/iStock_HappyEmpfemaleXSmall1.jpg "iStock_HappyEmpfemaleXSmall[1]")
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!
30 Ways to Praise and Thank Employees (part 1)
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
“Problem Customers”
My view is that there’s no such thing as a problem customer. Why? Because there’s nothing to gain, and too much to lose when employees or their managers brand a customer, “problem customer.”
A more profitable perspective is that there are customers who will have problems (with our product/service) and will need a solution.
When employees label a certain person a “problem customer” – they end up treating him/her like a problem. Even the most highly trained professionals have trouble not letting their true feelings or thoughts eek out.
It comes out in our tone, body language, word selection, attitude or our facial expressions.
Customers can feel our irritation or sense the tension. To deal successfully with customers who encounter problems with our product/service:
- Listen attentively to your customer, give your undivided attention. Seek to accurately and fully understand the problem or reason for dissatisfaction.
Make Do With What You’ve Got!
What if you were told “No more budget” or “If you lose an employee you can’t hire a replacement” …or “You can’t buy any new equipment, you must make what you have work!”
As we wrap up 2009 no one knows what 2010 holds in store. But what we can probably be quite certain of a few things:
- Change will be continuous in the future not episodic as in past years.
- Pressure on bottom-line profitability across most industries will likely increase as margins squeeze thin.
