Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 774 Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:18 am Post subject: What's Wrong With Joe? Trying to Better Understand Our Staff
When most people do things for others, they tend to expect some sort of recognition. Payment, a thank you, maybe a future return-favor. This may simply be human nature, an unwritten rule of reciprocity. As long as the give-and-take remains nearly balanced there is seldom a problem. Problems can develop over time when either or both parties fail to understand the arrangement.
For instance, an employee always comes in on time and when needed stays a bit after. They never miss work and always do a good job. The employer may feel the employee is paid for their effort so everything is fine. They may even credit themself for making such a wise choice. The employee may feel they are going above and beyond and have built up a measure of “good faith.”
One day the employee ask a ‘favor’ and may feel they have built up enough “credit” to expect it. To them this is quite understandable. They ask for a day off, the employer feels they can’t grant. Now, ill feelings may pursue. These may be forgotten in a few days or can result in, “After all I’ve done for you,” feelings. It can even escalate into a good employee leaving the employer, taken to extreme.
Some of the best employers realize this. Rather than letting these gestures accumulate, they try to reward them as they go. By this I mean recognizing extra effort. Regular thanks and even monetary rewards for extra effort can help keep the ‘psychological books’ more in balance. As an employer, doing just a bit more than expected can be a good investment in harmony.
As a great employer, perhaps it is wise to always give a bit more than we take. It may also be wise to guard against expectation of gratitude; just the cost to be the boss. Perhaps Dale Carnegie put it best when he advised, “Expect ingratitude.”
Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 11 Location: Ketchikan, AK, USA
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:48 pm Post subject:
Keep employees motivated!
A motivated employee is the only one worth having. I pay my employees at a decent wage, but the unexpected bonuses are what make the difference. I also reward them with a commission check based on their production. Then there are things I simply give -that are not based on their production; like gift certificates, tickets, turkeys at Thanksgiving, etc. I've also found that sometimes incentives are not necessarily monetary, but also recreational. Having our business involved with several volunteer community projects has been a positive way to enforce teamwork toward a common goal.
Most importantly however, it is important to give genuine compliments, and let your employees know that they are valued and appreciated.
Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 774 Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject:
Hi Dwayne,
dharman wrote:
Keep employees motivated!
A motivated employee is the only one worth having. I pay my employees at a decent wage, but the unexpected bonuses are what make the difference. I also reward them with a commission check based on their production. Then there are things I simply give -that are not based on their production; like gift certificates, tickets, turkeys at Thanksgiving, etc. I've also found that sometimes incentives are not necessarily monetary, but also recreational. Having our business involved with several volunteer community projects has been a positive way to enforce teamwork toward a common goal.
Most importantly however, it is important to give genuine compliments, and let your employees know that they are valued and appreciated.
There was a local independent shop, many years ago that grew to over 200 employees and two locations. The owner finally retired and sold the shops to a large National concern.
His policy had always been that every employee had their birthday off with pay, every year. A small thing but it apparently meant a lot. He had employees that had been with him for forty-years. One shop is now closed and the other is a shadow of it's former self. Few if any of the original staff remain.
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