Coach Train Learn

Motivated Employees - What Are They Really Worth?

A business is really only as good as its employees. When you find good employees it is worth valuing them, investing in training them and grooming them for bigger and better things.

It takes far more money and time to keep finding new employees than it does to work on the ones you already have and improve staff retention rates.

Employee motivation comes when employees know that they are valued by their employer and they are treated with respect.

Employees are more motivated when they feel like their work is being appreciated, they are treated well and that above all, they enjoy their work and like to contribute fully.

While looking after employees well is not rocket science, actively motivating their people is one that is often overlooked or not deemed particularly important by many businesses and organizations.

They could not be more wrong: high employee motivation leads to better performing businesses, because of the well-being of those employed there.

Sound pretty obvious really.

The Power of Positive Feedback

When I’m working with managers, I often ask them what they feel when they hear these words from their boss.

“Would you like some feedback?”

To be frank, their answer, like mine when I was a manager, would usually prefer to be ‘No, thanks!’, yet we always say, rather hesitatingly, ‘Yes, please!’ and wait for the painful words!

The reason for our apprehension is that if and when the question is asked, we just know that something painful is about to arrive!

Feedback is almost always perceived and ‘bad news’ when it is offered, because it is only offered when there is some criticism about to hit home.

Feedback has a bad press.

It has that poor reputation because it is so often used as a sad epithet for a way to tell you off! It isn’t valid feedback at all. It’’s used simply as a license to complain, criticise or otherwise get bad news across.

The good news is that for you, there’s a different way, that is much more valuable.

Only give positive feedback to your people!

At least to start with and even when there is something that they might need to change, you sell it much differently.

‘There’s one thing that would make things even better.
You might want to consider (or think about), reviewing
the preparation for the presentation next time
and see how it goes’

Now isn’t that nicer and more valuable!

For the moment, spend a whole week offering positive feedback and see what happens - more, see how you feel.

In week two offer the alternative feedback when things could have gone a bit better if they thought about alternatives, using the words above.

Your people will love it - and you - for the kind and encouraging things you say.

And above all, it’s a far nicer job for you to do as well.

Time Management Skills For Increased Productivity

Time management can be very difficult for some managers, causing them to keep putting off tasks that they don’t want to do, however important they are.

Others may take on too many things at once and struggle to accomplish anything of value much of the time. Managing your time to balance work and play can be difficult for many.

Of course you can’t actually manage time, only what you are using the time for. For us all, there are only 24 hours in a day and no matter how much it might be useful to have more, that’s is all we get.

By determining where you are wasting time you can quickly create more for yourself, just by being aware. One of the worst culprits is to spend too much time on valueless e-mails or phone calls.

You need to spend a little time, ironically, to figure out how you are wasting time, before you go about fixing it.

Confidence - The Holy Grail?

Giving your employees confidence is absolutely crucial in assisting them to reach their potential at their jobs, because having confidence probably affects job performance (and thus satisfaction) as much, if not more, than any work component.

Having the confidence to do the job well also makes a significant difference to turnover rates and absence, particularly in highly stressful roles. So, it’s a great skill to develop!

There are some great ways to help build the confidence of your people and you are able to deliver them all! Here are six easy ways you can build confidence in your team members - why not try one or two this week?

1. To start with, by offering them effective training opportunities before they begin their jobs, they will be able to hit the ground running and feel good about themselves and their contribution from the start. When you are able to continue to offer relevant training to challenge and expand the capabilities of them, their confidence will soar as they grow in their job!

2. As a manager, giving constructive feedback is very helpful to your employees, whether it be how to do a particular task in a more efficient way, or just encouraging them on a job well done and how they might be able to complete a task even better in the future.

3. And to really boost their confidence, it’s as easy as noticing what they have done, taking the time to say ‘thank you’ and commenting positively on their accomplishments from time to time.

4. Where appropriate, offering specific incentives - prizes even - is another great way to develop employee confidence further as well as enabling your team to have some fun along the way as well!

5. As a precursor to building confidence, every one of your employees needs to feel comfortable doing their job. When they feel insecure at all, they are less likely to do the task well and failing will only cause a loss of the confidence they have built.

6. When you are a manager and you have a team under you it’s vital to be approachable. You will encourage your people to take ownership of their work and feel some pride in doing their job well, without the fear that they are going to feel inadequate if things don’t quite go to plan. If they are intimidated by you, they are unlikely to be as productive because they will fear trying new things out. Those very new tasks that when they are successfully accomplished, will rapidly develop their confidence and encourage them to try more.

Employee confidence is probably the most essential asset to the success of your team. When your people feel confident, they do their jobs much better, are prepared to take on new challenges and above all, enjoy the work they do with you, building loyalty and commitment, which these days, are very valuable commodities in themselves.