According to a
recent study, there is a clear connection between the productivity and the
motivation of the employees. Pure common sense. However, very few SME (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) managers
and owners consider this topic their priority. Perhaps it is a simple lack of
time or thinking, but the truth is that only a minority manages employee
motivation in a professional manner.
If we accept the expression "we have what we give", we should also accept that
a mediocre people management will report us also mediocre performance results. We
expect from our employees professionalism, commitment, initiative... and in
compensation we only offer them an economic remuneration. This was never enough
but nowadays much less. We should not forget that motivation is key to bound
drastically the absenteeism, retain the best people and increase the quality of
the engagement.
I can easily
imagine a small business owner thinking: "I have more than enough
bringing business daily to maintain the company alive to think on keeping
employees happy. They should bring the motivation from home! Who does motivate
me?" It's true that the principal source of motivation must be yourself
and your personal attitude is the main ingredient. However we can't expect a
high level of people engagement if we do not promote an inspiring leadership.
What can I do
to increase my team engagement?
First of all, communicate.
When was the last time you met all your team to inform them about details
of the company strategy or objectives? As an initial step for your employees to
accept the company's objectives as their own, you have to be sure they know and
understand them. According to a survey from Manchester Consulting, one of the
strongest confident builders is open communication about company's vision, values
and objectives. And it is clear that trust is key to generate commitment.
Secondly, transparency (be clear). In the SME environment all employees know each other and it is
quite easy to detect when something is hidden intentionally. The lack of
transparency creates mistrust and therefore lack of objectives alignment. You don't need to explain everything , but at least you should share the basic information that can make your
collaborators feeling the project as their own.
Third, empathy.
Are you hoping your employees perform to the limit if they do not receive
or feel a minimum of empathy from your side?
Let's remind that people are driven by emotions and therefore a reward and emotional reinforce is
mandatory. When was the last time you congratulated one of your reports for a job well done? We say very often that the most important element for the
company success is the people. So let's put it into practice.
A few tools to
better manage the talent
There are some
ways to align the team towards a common objective and make every employee a
true ambassador of your company.
Remuneration. How many of your employees are paid based in
the business they bring to the company? Including a variable retribution scheme
in accordance with the results is a tool that really works. We are not talking
of paying more for nothing: the rule is to compensate for the additional
business. If we want a more commercial organisation, we should remunerate it. For example, why not compensate the administrative staff
who is in contact with the customers if they bring business?
Training. One of the SME managers biggest problems in a new employee search program is to identify the valid person. In a present time with a high unemployment
rate, this task could look very easy, but it is not. They try to indentify candidates
that can be ready 100% for work from the first day but unfortunately that is
often very difficult to achieve.
It is mandatory to invest time and resources
in the staff development, not only in technical but also in other skills and
company values. In many occasions we hear SME owners complain about the lack of
employee motivation, commitment, ambition and passion. Why not try to train
them in these values? The managers can be the best trainers for that. We know
that this requires time and adeptness. Time can be found with a little effort
and concerning the skills we should not forget there are external companies
that can help. We know it is costly but the return is clearly justified.
Development
(future plan). Do you have a
future plan project for your business? I am sure you have. At least you'll have
expectations, dreams for whose you are working hard every day. Fine: your
employees are not different than you, they also have expectations and if these are not fulfilled in your company they will move to other when the
market situation improve. Have you ever considered that your employees have profesional aspirations and if they can reach them in your company they will keep
engaged? If not yet, do it. The development programmes in big companies are
complex but in a small ones are much easier. Try to identify the talent, ask
and offer a true future link to a challenging plan. I give you some examples: “If you perform in the actual position you
will have more responsibility next year” or “you will have a x % of the company if in x years you double your sales”.
In summary, it’s
true that the employee motivation should come from home, but at the same time
it can also be developep in the working space.
The keys? Communication,
transparency and empathy.
The tools? Remuneration, training and a development
plan.
Nothing in
this article is fiction science. It’s easy to accept to any small business
owner that the lack of motivation of the staff causes a lack of productivity and
effectivity and to achieve the business goals we need a motivated, engaged and
committed team!
I know that most of the companies use some of these tooIs,
but they often do so in a non-structured way. In these cases, the challenge is
to integrate all of them, add what is missing and create a follow up action
plan aligned with the company goals.
Versión en español aquí
Versión en español aquí
