The importance of our employees sometimes gets lost in the shuffle between focusing on the bottom line, meetings, focusing on your customers, meetings, focusing on your brand and yes more meetings! Employees directly impact your organizations bottom line. They are the ones that bring your brand to life. They are the ones that take care of your customers. They are the ones that often get missed.
If your employees could write you a “Dear Santa” letter, I bet the following would be on it.
Your employees WANT:
1. To know what you expect
You may be thinking they know what’s expected, it’s on the job description. All it really takes is common sense. Let me ask you, when was the last time you reviewed your job description? Does it really tell you what is expected? Or does it tell you about the job duties? And common sense, well let’s just say it’s not all that common any more. What you consider common sense is not what someone else may consider common sense. Clearly state your expectations and do it often. Effective leaders coach to the expectations.
2. Training
Employees need to be given the tools necessary to be successful. Make sure they get all the training they need to meet and exceed your expectations. Teach them what success looks like. Even top performers benefit from training. If an employee is exceeding your expectations that’s fantastic! Don’t just pile on more work or forget about them. Help to develop other skills outside of their job duties. Training helps to develop knowledge and skill sets. What are you doing to help develop your employees?
3. Feedback
Feedback can be both positive and developmental. Either way, be sure you give it to your employees and frequently. Employees want to know every single day where they stand in terms of their performance. Don’t wait for your annual performance review or even your quarterly review to provide feedback. Let each person on your team know what they are doing well and where they need to improve. Believe it or not employees want feedback and want it frequently. Make providing feedback to your employees a priority!
4. Recognition and rewards
Most employees aren’t motivated long-term by money. A personalized, hand written note goes a lot farther than that 5 cent an hour increase in pay. Recognizing employees both in public and private goes a long way in teaching them the right things to do. And guess what, they keep doing those things! When you recognize or reward an employee make sure you focus on specific behaviors and the impact of those behaviors on the expectations. This way you will come across as sincere and the feedback is personalized. Let your employees know you care and care enough to recognize and reward their efforts.
5. A coach and mentor
Employees want to be challenged. A great way to do this is to coach and mentor them. As we are challenged we need on-going support and guidance. Ask your employees what their goals are. Find out what will help them. Ask for their input and feedback. Show your employees the potential they have yet to realize. We all have potential sometimes all it takes is someone to help us unlock it. Set goals, review goals, celebrate successes, engage your employees by talking to them. Provide the guidance they are craving, even if the craving hasn’t hit them yet.
6. A fun work environment
Fun at work?! Yes, fun at work. We spend a lot of time at work. A sure fire way to engage your employees is to make work fun so that the work is fun. My good friend Tim Porthouse recently wrote a great article on creating fun at work. It’s not about having games or contests or team building days. It’s about connecting with team members and customers. It’s about igniting a passion. It’s about creating an environment where people want to come to work, especially on a Monday!
What else do you think employees want? How are you giving your employees what they want? We would love to hear from you, I am sure we have only scratched the surface!
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Excellent blog Kelly! Keep up the GREAT work!
Kelly,
This is a great list. I think you did well covering the topic. I had to think hard about this in order to add to the list. One that really hits close is wanting to be more than a figure on the bottom line.
I have a friend who worked 11 years for HP, until he left last summer. We would get together with a group of guys every Thursday morning for coffee and talk business. One morning he tells us that he’s moving offices. HP, famous for their HP Way corporate culture, was consolidating offices and he was put into a small cubicle. When we did not believe him, he invited me to visit and I did.
Around the same time, here in California, a proposition on the ballot was passed with space requirements for housing chickens. I looked at my friend and told him that his cubicle did not meet those requirements, as he did not have space to spread his arms.
My point is this. HP had been a company that was known as a great place for employees. Here they were taking away from employees to improve the bottom line, and maintaining a healthy stock price. This was a small, but visible, example of the cutbacks and sacrifices the employees were forced to accept.
I say they want to be treated as human beings and not a number.
Marty
Hi Marty,
You bring up an excellent point! Employees deserve and want to be treated as individuals and yes, human beings. Instead some companies view employees only as human doings. They constantly ask, “what have you done for me lately?” Employees are people and deserve to be treated as such.
The immediate impact on HPs bottom line may have helped them achieve what they were looking for. However the unforeseen costs of changing the workspace also impacted the bottom line and not in the way they wanted. So was it worth it? Probably not.
Leaders must take the time to create and build meaningful relationships with their employees. When they do, employee engagement and loyalty increases.
Another thought provoking comment Marty!
Thank you,
Kelly
Great article! If you are a manager, make working for you fun. Most successful people didn’t get that way because they hate what they’re doing. Try to have a good time and encourage your staff to do the same.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for another great article. I completely agree with the list you have put forward and agree that all of these things are vital for an organisation wanting to attract, retain and motivate employees. Furthermore, companies that can deliver all of these things for their employees are likely to be the companies that are best at satisfying and delighting their customers.
Like Marty I had to think hard for something to add to your comprehensive “Dear Santa” list and the only thing I could think of was the opportunity for progression. I strongly believe that companies that have a strong culture of internal promotion will have more focussed, motivated and loyal employees and if employees don’t see any chance of progression within a company they are more likely to leave. This obviously goes hand in hand with points 2, 3 and 5 in your list as employees that progress within a company will need training and support from managers, coaches and mentors within the company.
Jed
Hi Carl,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. When our work is fun, it doesn’t seem like work! Effective managers find ways to create an environment where people are focused on something meaningful. When we have meaning in our work, it is fun and we no longer dread Monday mornings.
Cheers!
Kelly
Hi Jed,
I always appreciate your perspective! You hit on very critical point and hidden benefit of engaging your employees. Engaged employees will take care of an organizations customers. If managers take the time to nurture the relationship with their employees, they are leading by example. Employees will see this and feel the effects which they will in turn share with their customers by finding ways to delight them and connect.
I also think the opportunity for progression within an organization is key for engaging employees. Managers are best served by preparing their employees for the next step within the organization. When you find out what’s important to your employees, where they want to be in a year, three years or five years and then help to prepare them, they will be more engaged in the organization which creates that win-win-win scenario.
Thanks for adding to the list. Make it an amazing week!
Kelly
I have visited hundreds of websites but no one can give information as much as yours,great posting!thank you! Can you tell me of other source of this information? Thank you very much and have a great day!
Kelly:
Solid like a rock. Two thoughts: 1.) I have been out of Corporate America a long time now, but still remember one of my best stops was in Chicago for a company that spent a fortune on me, training me in everything from brand positioning, to conflict management, etc. Again I stress best stops because the training I received still resonates for me to this day. I am amazed how during these fast paced times how corporations do not invest the money or time to help their team, thus take their eye off the big picture which is: “It is not about outsmarting the competition, it is all about out-executing the competition.” Execution takes training, ask any great athlete. 2.) An area of training that is totally over looked is feedback. Leaders/managers need to be trained in this area – the old sandwich technique.
Jimmy
Hi Jimmy,
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your experiences. The fact that you still remember the training received years ago and that it resonates with you to this day, shows the importance of nurturing employees and adding to their skill sets through training. It is an investment but it is well worth it for companies and they will reap the rewards. Some companies don’t provide training for fear that employees will leave the company after they invested in them. These companies are missing out on the bigger picture. It shouldn’t matter if they leave or not. What matters is adding that value.
Your point about out-executing the competition is fantastic and very poignant. Execution is what really matters and it starts with setting the expectations and keeping the focus around those expectations.
Providing is also one of those skills that many struggle with. Personally I think our own fears, insecurities and inabilities lead to inconsistent and untimely feedback. Managers have got to realize that employees are hungry for feedback and it’s their job to feed that hunger.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Kelly
Hello,I love reading through your blog, I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. Wishing you the best of luck for all your blogging efforts.
Very good post …..I like it….Thank you.
Very good post …..I like it….Thank you.
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Hello,I love reading through your blog,
Managers have got to realize that employees are hungry for feedback and it’s their job to feed that hunger.
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