For any business, your employees/staff are the most valuable asset to keep the business going and to make it grow. The motivated employees can create wonders but to ensure this, a lot needs to be done on your part as the owner. There have been conscious efforts on the part of those in the higher positions to ensure that they do not do things that can de-motivate the employee and vitiate the working atmosphere.
But what are these things? We thought of sharing few such tips that can be a good guide to create a good working atmosphere in your company.
Let us discuss the tips one by one. While reading what is given below you have to be honest to yourself, or else the exercise will be a waste, because only when you accept a problem, you can actually solve It.
Don’t Do This to Your Employees:
a) Put your employees down. If you are doing this to prop up yourself, then it can be even more damaging as you may lose the moral authority to lead them. If you do have to reprimand, always do so in private. If you need a witness (because of possible dismissal action later), then have a witness, but again, still do this in private away from other staff and customers.
b) When talking to one team member, talk negative about the other team members in their absence. Keep such discussions restricted to issues on hand, without directly naming or blaming anybody. Because when you do this, people wonder if you may be saying such things about them also in their absence. It is not good for your reputation.
c) Set a bad example, because if you do so they may do the same thing to you. Like if you cheat a customer then it will not be surprising that you may catch them stealing from you, after all you have set such bad example for them.
d) You are the owner of the business or a person in controlling position, you may work for 10 to 15 hours a day, but expecting the same from your staff may be too much. The business is not theirs, it is yours. It will be even difficult to have extreme commitment if the remuneration for the work is not very good.
e) You may expect your staff to take an additional responsibility and strive more than what they are doing at present, but this is possible only when you give them chance to do so. It is of no use to tell your employees to do certain things but don’t the required responsibility. After all you must also be ready to take chances with them, and only then can they perform without fear of failure. Teach them well and then trust them to do well.
f) If they are wrong you should not tell them. You need to tell them their mistakes but it does not mean that you fail to praise them. A few words of praise for good things and initiative, however small they may be, will go a long way to motivate your employees to give more. Saying “thank you” or “great job” costs you nothing.
g) Don’t listen to their suggestions. There may be some criticism, as an improvement needs objection to current practices and be ready to improve. Do not downplay or make fun of their ideas. If you do this once, they are never going to come out with suggestions. From experience, some of the best ideas have come from my team. Two heads are always better than one, five better than one, etc.
h) If they do something good, just let it pass. You should give the praise to them. Never commit the mistake of stealing the credit for their work, and where possible make the praise public, either in front of customers or at least other staff.
The above few tips can be of great use to help you have a motivated work force. If you expect them to work hard be ready to set a good example, only then can you make a difference.
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