FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - July 10, 2007
Contact: John Tschohl
E-mail: quality@servicequality.com
Web: www.customer-service.com
(952) 884-3311Note to Editor: Feel free to use all or parts of this news release. John Tschohl also is available for personal interviews.
HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES?
Recognition Trumps Money
By John Tschohl
How do you motivate employees?
Employers have been asking that question for decades and, all too often, they have failed to come up with an answer that provides more than a temporary upswing in productivity. In fact, you could probably double each employee’s salary tomorrow and performance probably wouldn’t go up even 5 percent. While you must pay your employees well in order to keep them with you, money is not a motivator.
So, what is? Recognition. It is the most powerful tool you can use to motivate employees to improve performance and productivity. And, it’s free. You don’t have to get approval from the number crunchers or the CEO. It’s also effective because we all have a need to feel important and valued, to feel that what we do is important and noticed. The more effort you put into showing your employees that you appreciate them, the more productive and loyal they will be.
All too often the only time employees get any attention from their bosses is when they make a mistake. Words of recognition and praise are scarce. And yet, when employees are praised, they want to continue to do well, which will have a positive impact on your business. When you have a workforce that is motivated to do the best possible job, your customers notice, they do more business with you—and your bottom line improves.
Recognition, however, is more than a pat on the back and a “thank you.” To be effective, it must be positive, sincere, and timely: “Emily, that report you delivered yesterday was terrific. It is just what we need to move ahead on the Landmark project. Thanks so much for your hard work and the extra time you devoted to completing it on time and with such attention to detail.”
If recognition is not timely, it will have little or no impact. If Emily’s boss had waited a month to recognize her for the report, it would have been meaningless. In fact, she might even have been resentful, thinking, “I put in 50 hours of unpaid overtime to complete that report by the deadline and my boss can’t take two minutes to thank me for my effort. Next time I won’t be as eager to do such a thorough job.”
It’s also important that you recognize your employees in front of their peers. It’s nice for an employee to know that his work is appreciated, but it’s doubly nice if his coworkers are witness to the praise he receives for it. In fact, that public recognition will motivate other employees to do well in hopes of receiving similar praise.
Another way to recognize employees is in a letter—with copies sent to the employees’ manager and vice president—or in the company publication. The added benefit of recognizing an employee in print is that your words of praise are permanently recorded. You would be surprised at the value employees place on those letters and articles and how many save them to share with family and friends.
I must also issue a warning when it comes to recognizing employees: Don’t mention money. You might be tempted to say, “Rob, you did a great job with the Halvorson account. I know we aren’t paying you what you are worth, but I do appreciate your top-notch work.” Once you introduce money into the conversation, the focus becomes the money rather than the recognition. Most employees already think they are underpaid and under-valued; don’t reinforce that opinion.
While all employees deserve to be praised for their good work, your top performers are the ones who most need recognition. They will respond most to it—and they are the people who are most apt to be stolen by your competitors. Recognition goes a long way in instilling loyalty to you and your company. People work hard for people who appreciate them.
Motivating your employees is simply good business. It builds a solid and loyal workforce. It results in increased business and soaring profits. It also is good for your own career. If you motivate people to do well, you will be recognized as an effective team leader and you will be promoted. Recognize your employees and they will help you achieve your own goals. It’s win/win situation.
John Tschohl is an international service strategist and speaker. Described by Time and Entrepreneur magazines as a “customer service guru,” he has written several books on customer service, including Loyal For Life, e-Service, The Customer is Boss, Achieving Excellence Through Customer Service, and Ca$hing In: Make More Money, Get a Promotion, Love Your Job.
You can contact John at 952-884-3311 or e-mail him at quality@servicequality.com .