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Help Wanted: Motivation Coordinator
By Gail Finger, Spring 2003
Have you ever wondered why your employees aren’t more motivated? Is productivity down? Maybe you don’t have enough “motivation coordinators” in your organization! Sound silly? Before passing judgment, read on.
This fall, I gave a brief presentation in Springfield, MA entitled Motivating Your Employees. In an interactive session, participants shared what motivates them and what shuts them down. Here is what the attendees - 35 business owners, managers, consultants and human resource professionals - listed. Even business owners and consultants were employees at some point in their lives, so they spoke from personal experience!
Motivators
- Recognition (bonuses, training, verbal, public acknowledgement)
- Knowing how one’s contribution fits into the big picture
- Good benefits
- Achievable goals
- Job Security
- Career growth opportunities and promotions
- Being appreciated
- Money
- Good leaders/managers
- Praise
- Having the right tools to get the job done
- Incentives
- Attractive & clean work environment
Shut Downs
- Managers/leaders with a “do what I say, not what I do” attitude
- Managers/leaders failing to follow through on commitments
- Unclear expectations
- Unpaid overtime
- Personality conflicts
- Lack of direction or too much direction from management
- Punishing mistakes
- Being yelled at
- Lack of acknowledgement for job well done
- Late paychecks
- Missed deadlines
- Poor tools
- Non-challenging work
- No privacy
- Too much negative talk and non-constructive criticism
- Unequal treatment or work distribution
Seminar participants all agreed that if there were more motivating going on, employees would be more productive, use fewer sick days and morale would be higher. It would improve the bottom line!
When asked who was responsible for making sure that there was more motivating and less de-motivating going on, the resounding answer was, “the leaders and managers!”
This makes perfect sense. In the many exit interviews I have conducted for client companies, the number one reason employees gave for leaving was “My manager.”
Having leaders and managers who can motivate employees will have a positive effect on the bottom line. Having even a single leader or manager who is not motivating employees will hurt your organization. So, what should you do?
Take a good look at your current leaders and managers. Do you have motivators or de-motivators?
If you are concerned that a manager or leader in your company is a “de-motivator”, it is imperative that you assess whether they are management material. Here are some simple ways to evaluate your current leaders and managers:
- 360° feedback
- Employee satisfaction surveys
- Cultural assessments
- Personality and work style evaluations
- Confidential interviews with managers and a range of employees
If you determine that some of your managers do have potential, but just need to acquire better “people” skills, invest in their development! If you don’t, you are setting your business up to be mediocre at best and to fail at worst. Management development programs return dividends ten times over in increased productivity, lower turnover, and better attendance!
Many companies promote technical experts to management positions because it’s the only available career growth step. Not everyone is suited to a supervisory role. Often such individuals are unhappy, yet loath to admit it. Who wants to complain about a promotion? The team suffers, the individual is unsuccessful, and the organization loses. It’s better for everyone to make a move, and quickly. Get buy-in from decision makers on feasible options then have a candid talk with the employee. Here are some possibilities:
- Would a lead technical role with no reports work?
- Might career counseling provide valuable ideas?
- Is it time to consider outplacement?
Be sure that every leader and manager in your organization has the aptitude and skills necessary to be a “motivation coordinator”. It is a critical success factor you cannot afford to ignore.
Read more about how to improve the skills of your managers through coaching.