Ideas for Motivating Employees

As I mentioned in my previous blog entitled "Employee Motivation - You Can't Push A Rope," I had promised to offer some ideas of ways to motivate employees. 

Engaging an Employee's "WANT TO"

Remember, that you cannot make an employee work; you can only influence his "WANT TO" work.  There are 3 dimensions of an employee:  His Hands, His Heart and His Mind.  If you want to engage his "WANT TO," then it should not be focusing on engaging his Hands.  It's all about engaging his Heart and his Mind. 

Fullfill His Heart

Employees are human.  Humans are emotional creatures.  We seek acknowledgment, involvement, and a sense of belonging.  This is the very core of what turns on the Heart.  Some ideas of ways to recognize employees:

• Paycheck Notes:  Every so often, before passing out paychecks to the individuals on my team, I'd write a personal handwritten thank you on the back of the envelope of each of their checks.  The message was thanking them for a particular action or behavior that I noticed during the course of the week.  I told them what I noticed, why I appreciated it, and how it impacted the business or others.  What a nice way to associate pay with performance!  You know what?  They appreciated the special message and I guarantee they showed their spouse what I wrote when they got home. 

• Remember Their Birthday:  Make a note in your planner (I-phone, Droid phone...whatever....) of your team member's birthday and recognize them when it's their birthday.  Get some helium balloons, a birthday card, or make up a poster announcing "It's Jane's Birthday Today!"  Send an email acknowledging this day.  As a kid, outside of maybe Christmas, my birthday was the most important day of the year to me.  It comes consistently on the same date year after year, and I don't forget it.  As a boss, you shouldn't forget it either. 

• "U-ROCK" Award:  Here's a simple way to spread a little recognition around.  Pick up a landscaping rock and paint it white (or your company's color scheme) and then paint a large "U" on it.  Hand it to someone that you noticed has done something special.  Tell them, "You Rock...I noticed you (fill in the rest)."  Tell them that they need to keep the rock for 1 day and then pass it along to someone else who "Rocks" by doing something special. 

Engage Their Minds
I've heard supervisors snidley comment, "I'm not paying you to think!"  How horribly narrow-minded these supervisors appear to be.  Your employees spend their entire day working with your product/services and they are constantly thinking.  Many of them are thinking of ways that they could improve the product, process, system or service.  Many of them have seen better ways to skin the cat.  But if a supervisor neglects to tap into this resource, he is losing a huge opportunity.  Furthermore, employees who are told not to think will resort to robot-like behaviors and you will have lost the opportunity to motivate/engage them.  Here's some simple ideas: 

• Involve Them:  Whenever I've had to make a decision that had impact to the team, I'd bring them in to the fold, tell them what was on the table for consideration and let them offer their opinion.  I may not have followed their recommendations every time, but I ASKED them.  Why not include your employees in decisions where they have a stake in the outcome?  They are more likely to buy-in and support the decision, even if it wasn't their first choice, because they were consulted. 

• Give Additional Responsibilities:  Yes, this aligns to the "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" philosophy, but truthfully, employees are honored when you believe in them and in their abilities.  Show them you have confidence in them by presenting them with a special project to work on.  Make sure that you hype it up with compliments in their capabilities and your complete confidence in them.  And when the project's done, don't forget to recognize them when they knock it out of the ball park!   

For additional ideas, you might want to pick up Bob Nelson's best seller, "1001 Ways to Reward Employees" which is chocked full of low-cost, creative ideas that companies around the world have implemented to motivate and reward their team members.  Amazon has the book for under $10.  

Summary:  To engage the hearts and minds of your team members, show them a little courtesy, kindness, and appreciation.  They don't usually cost much to do, but result in amazing engagement.  What ideas do you have for recognition?  I'm curious to hear what you've found worked well. 

Kathleen Lapekas - PHR
Action HR Consulting
For Personal Attention to Personnel Matters...
http://www.actionhrconsultant.com/