Management Success – The Power of Gratitude

There is nothing more powerful to impact employee motivation and employee retention than to say, “Thank You.”

It’s been consistently reported that many employees don’t feel valued and appreciated.  Please know that does impact their ability to really give their best. Only the unique few will do their best inspite of the absence of appropriate thank yous.  And I believe, at some point, that won’t go on forever.

One manager I met in one of my pubic seminars shared that she had written 100+ hand written notes to her whole department!  Wow….what does that say about her besides the fact that she has a strong writing hand?  I’m sure you could come up with a constructive list.

The irony?  Companies spend thousands and some millions on employee incentive, reward and recognition programs.  Yet a simple “thank you” cost absolutely nothing!

Coaching Questions: Does every member of your team feel appreicated?  When is the last time you gave a heart-felt thank you to members of your staff?

One cool idea: One company due to extended work hours, sent thank you gifts to the families of those working all those long hours.

Source: 1001 Ways to Reward Employees You can get a discounted version at Amazon by clicking the title link.
TSUWAEE7ADR5

Management Success Tip – Pay New Hires to Leave – Huh?

Want a counterintuitive route to management success?….well you may or may not. But, you may want a creative way of enhancing employee motivation, increasing employee retention, and accessing a management best practice.…If so, read on...

Though this article was written sometime ago, I think it flew under the radar for some time.  I’d like to resurrect it.  At the end of this post you’ll find the link to the full story.

The headline? Why Zappos Offers New Hires $2,000 to Quit. Now at first blush you might be thinking…what?…it cost me money to hire them and now I’m going to pay more money to let them go…encourage them to leave?

This thought begs an essential question regarding profitable management and here it is, “How much does it cost to keep an employee who is underperforming, has proven to not be a good fit, has proven to not be coachable and is now disruptive?”  Might I suggest way more than $2,000.00. If nothing else think of the ripple effect on fellow team members and their productivity.

The cost is more explicitly spelled out in a study conducted by The Future Foundation. You can find the key findings via an article at this link. The Hidden Cost of Poor People Performance. It worth your time to read!

It’s been my experience as I’ve connected with thousands of managers across North America, that it is a very common practice to keep these kind of employee way too long!  Now there are many reasons for that, but the point is it’s happening more than it should and it absolutely does hurt a companies bottom line as well as the morale of the direct reports and fellow team members.

In this new economy where there is a crying need to be innovative in all areas of business practice, more innovation regarding this people part of business is essential as well.

I am going to consider this a potential best practice.  Here is the link to the full article: Full Article

Coaching tip: See how this practice can be implemented or modified in some way or see how the spirit of the practice can be applied in your situation.

Employee Rewards, Awards and Incentives – Customize it!

It’s that time when as managers and leaders, we’ve got to get creative during these challenging economic times.

We may not have the resources at our finger tips as in the past to give out the kind of rewards, awards, and incentives we’re use to.  BUT that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.  In fact – IT MUST BE DONE – now more than ever!

We’ve got to make extra effort to keep our retained employees positive and productive.  So, here’s a creative way to have reward, awards, and incentives – customize it!

How?…in two ways.  First customize individually by surveying each team member and asking them the 5 top ways they would like to be rewarded…you can guide their answers by offering several contexts.  Ideas of categories:  less than $25.00, free, an intangible..(ie. Choice of a pet project, title change, a “snooze card” where they get to come in late)…OR you give them a sheet with a variety of options and ASK THEM to check off their top 5 choices.

Additionally, customize it with the entire team.  Ask the team to come up with interesting and creative awards, rewards or incentives that are within realistic boundaries for your organization.

Let’s be creative and pull together.  Now in the spirit of best practices, let me know what you come up with and I’ll be happy to post it here.

Book Rec: 1001 in Ways to Reward Employees is a great resource for ideas gathered from companies across the country. You can review here..1001 Ways to Reward Employees

There are also additional books written by the author Robert Nelson, who is considered the “guru” of employee motivation.