Tips To Motivating Staff

A reader asks: "How do I motivate my workers to show up for work and do the assigned tasks while staying competitive?"

This has been an ongoing challenge since the first employer hired their first employee. His/her goal was to duplicate their own efforts with the same knowledge, commitment and passion that they had. Unfortunately, much has been lost in translation from ownership and taking ownership.

There are different types of employees including those who simply want to get paid and go home when the work is completed. There are others who love to “game the system” by doing as little as possible while still getting paid. Then there are those whose motivation to work stems from a sense of pride in what they do so long as they are compensated for their efforts.

What type of employee do you have on staff? The answer is probably all of the above and a few other variations I did not mention. In the next few articles we will look at some suggestions for motivating employees while recognizing that there is no magic bullet that will work every time for everyone.

Yes, money is near the top of the list although most surveys indicate that it is not always the most important. My reason for listing it first is the simple question: Why do your employees work? The short (and long) answer is money, money, money. Most people who win the lottery do not keep going to work and putting up the inherent hassles of the day to day grind since their financial needs are met. They are now looking for other ways of finding satisfaction in their life.

We will continue this analysis in a future article.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.