How do you motivate your employees?

1. You can't. If you haven't realised it by now - if you cannot motivate yourself, how on earth are you going to motivate other people? As long as you are enthusiastically going in the right direction, people will want to join you. Of course if they don't "want" to, then little you do or say will help. What happens then is the resolve of line managers and the HR department to come to an agreement on any course of action you need to take.

2. Employee of the month. Employers use all sorts of tactics and tricks to motivate employees, including the embarrasing pictures of "employee of the month" hanging on the wall in the lobby. Have you noticed that sometimes those pictures don't change for months on end. What sort of "motivation" does that signal to the employees?

3. Incentive schemes. Do not reward people for doing the job they were employed to do. Limit rewards for behaviour and actions over and above their normal duties.  However, you should also be consistent. Don't start something you are not willing to continue for the long run, as this introduces resentment. Beware also, some employees "expect" bonuses and gifts, and if those gifts do not meet expectations then that too can be met with resentment.

4. Team building days. Employers also try "firing up" their employees by hiring motivational speakers, or doing some kind of team building activities, both of which have little or no long term lasting effect. Motivating others is impossible if the people do not want to be motivated. If they are doing a job they hate, with people they dislike they are not likely to bond with these same people on a raft in the middle of a river now are they?

So what can you do?

Well you could lead by example:

1. Fire people up with your enthusiasm: If you have a job you enjoy doing you are more likely to fire other people up with your enthusiasm than any other way that I know. But make sure everyone is excited about the best thing!

On the other side - if you have a job you hate. Before you get a new one, ask yourself a simple question - is your attitude towards your job the problem? Or is it the job? If it's your attitude it doesn't matter where you work, you'll always hate what you do. You could be earning thousands a week and still be miserable. So check the attitude factor before you chuck in the job.

Oh and -

Don't take your personal problems to work, don't snap at people and then try and be nice when you want something - guess what - it doesn't work.

MMO1