The Corporate Couch - July / August 2010

Dear Dr. Mimi,
What are some things I can do to ensure a positive work environment for my employees?
– Concerned Manager

Dear Concerned,

Keep your employees informed. The more information your employees receive, the less they assume … and the less chance for miscommunication and useless rumors and gossip.
• Transparency: Don’t hide things. If the goal is to work as a team, access to information is essential to success.
• Honesty: Information that you pass on to your employees must be true 100% of the time!

Balance criticism with praise. Correcting an employee’s mistakes is necessary and deciding on disciplinary action is appropriate, but also understand that people need to hear the good things they have done as well. People are motivated when they hear at least two praises for every criticism. Public vs. private. Praise in public, and more importantly ... criticize in private. Don’t over-work. Emphasize the importance of getting work done on time, meeting deadlines and being productive. However, don’t forget the human factor. Unexpected circumstances occasionally arise and flexibility and caring build loyalty. Learn to laugh. Laughter is good for you. Smile. Tell an appropriate joke here and there. Remember that if you are poking fun at someone, it needs to be yourself. We spend way too much time at work to not enjoy the people we have around us.

Motivating Your People

When we think of motivation, we think of praise and awards, but there is a more to ensure that members of your team know their importance.
Recognition won’t work without respectful relationships. There’s no excuse not to know all your employees’ names, what they’re working on and what their aspirations are. Once you solidify a superior relationship with them, it can be as simple as verbally reinforcing positive behavior. With under performers, discover what they do well and recognize them for it and they are more likely to do more things well.
Research has found that the cornerstone of meaningful recognition was actually opportunity. “An award may be a tangible sign of recognition, but employees see an opportunity as a sign that their manager truly values them”
Opportunities don’t have to be expensive. It could be as simple as trusting employees with important customers and/or assignments, introducing them to an instrumental figure within the organization or having a training event.
If you can reaffirm your employees’ value while your organization is having difficulty, you will keep your best people. Some people believe if you praise someone, that person is naturally going to say, “If I’m that good then I should get a raise.” This simply is not the case. They do not go hand in hand because employees can see the economy around them. They know what things are like and they just want to feel valued.
Then again, if a company starts to bring in a ton of money and doesn’t distribute some of it, people will get conflicting messages and think they’re not actually appreciated. How do you know if your “motivation program” is working? Ask your people. If you have built the relationship first, they will let you know.