Corporate America loves to build relationships based on the almighty dollar. Relationships based solely on money are fragile and often short lived. Many recent studies consistently show that employee management motivated by money alone lack longevity, commitment and are fickle. But your employees come to work for a paycheck right? If you pay them more they will work harder and be happier right? Your investors want a return, your employees want to get paid more and the investors are squawking for financials…all money based elements. How can it not be about money?
Take a step back, look at your company, staff and company culture, now remove money from the equation and inhale deeply. Why are you in business, what makes you excited about your company? Why should your employees care about your company? If you have built a company simply for direct profit, you’re taking the longest road to real wealth and ignoring key elements of building a successful enterprise.
Responsibility with Accountability
We all know micro-managing is the enemy but what does its opposite look like. Giving staff members control over their work can be an incredible tonic. Allowing employees to make choices on the fly can be powerful and is always the most efficient. How can you let your staff know which decisions are appropriate for them and which need administrative approval? When “knighting” your staff with freedom specify they may need to explain their choice. If they have a good reason why they made a seemingly poor decision they will need to explain why. If your staff is unsure and can’t come up with clear reasoning to base a decision then its time to involve senior staff. This methodology also “teaches employees to fish” if the decision factors are explained thoroughly. This employee management strategy is a key secret to building an award winning and truly vested staff the right way.
Physical Workplace Environment:
Creating an amazing and exciting workplace atmosphere is a tall order but it’s doable with any size company at any stage of development. Small things like a having a nice break room can be huge. Make this space amazing with nice coffee station, comfortable seating and stocked with basic fresh snacks. Your employees will automatically gravitate more toward this area for breaks instead of leaving the building and will see you appreciate and respect them. Also, don’t skimp on office furniture, create a place your employees want to be that you’re proud of.
Team Atmosphere
If you think offering a few company picnics during the summer creates a team you are sadly mistaken. The easiest way to create a strong team and build camaraderie is to do two simple things, listen and share. Share what is going on with the company, challenges and public accolades for employee accomplishments. Do this regularly at a weekly staff meeting with all staff, yes all. Even your entry level staff will surprise you with a great idea. You’ll find your employees will be legitimately more engaged, concerned and dedicated. It’s also a great tool to learn more about your staff’s capacity in many areas.
Hiring Based On Motivation
When reviewing candidates attempt to determine if they are mainly concerned about money. Of course we all need to make a fair wage but you’ll need to have your HR team actively determine if it’s their main focus. Finding employees that enjoy camaraderie, true teamwork with high quality standards are worth spending more resources on and will be more likely to flourish in this environment.
The employee management techniques and systems mentioned are fairly easy to apply if starting a new company. Large companies attempting a switch from profit motivated management to an employee empowered system will certainly need to strategize a responsible rollout. Creating synergistic relationship environments that empower employees will energize your staff, create ownership and it will trickle all the way down to a consistently great customer experience on the front end. With a strong team, happy customers and little to no turnover, you’ll see sales skyrocket and innovation flourish.
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Nice Travis! I really appreciate your work. Your knowledge is so vast about employee engagement. Please keep your writing up. Thanks again