Tips to motivate employees

However managers need to adapt these tips to their workplace, the main tools for motivating employees include:

• Approval, praise and recognition
• Trust, respect, and high expectations. Simple respect is important for balancing work/life issues. They include clear expectations, sharing information, and positivism.
• Loyalty.  For example, create an organizational culture.
• Removing organizational barriers.
• Job enrichment. For example, post all job openings and provide opportunities for gaining new skills such as language courses, etc.
• Good communications.
• Financial rewards

These tools are arranged in order of importance. First, employees want to be appreciated for the work they do. Both large and small, there are many examples for praise accomplishments. For example, give the employee a banana with the words, “Well done. Congratulations. ” Applying this tool to employee rewards is not quite silly as you might think. Praise at least four times more than you criticize, don’t delay, and do it sincerely.  Recognize performance with public praise and encourage initiative. For example, some effective ways to show approval is personal thanks, written thanks and public praise.Rewards include promotions, bonuses, insurance plans, awards programs such as money- saving ideas, stock purchase plans, medical benefits.

Specific steps that managers can take to motivate employees:

• Stay focus on what people want when people complain or blame others
• Engage in acts that give others ownership because people commit to that they own
• Confront passive behavior because often it means aggression
• Create a vision for the future

Grimme’s top 10 tips to motivate employees:

• Pay employees fairly and well
•  Treat each and every employee with respect
•    Praise accomplishments
•   Clear communicate goals, responsibilities, and expectations. Never criticize in public- redirect in private.
•   Recognize performances appropriately
•   Involve employees in plans and decisions
•  Create opportunities for employees to learn and grow
•   Listen to employee’s concerns- both work-related and personal
•    Share information-open communications
•  Celebrate successes.

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