Employee Motivation - Always Get Your Basics Right First

Motivation is a huge value to create in the employees who work with you and when it's in place, a momentum develops where almost anything is possible. The focus for creating motivated employees needs to start from a humble place. It's not possible to build motivation when there are gaps in the core expectations of your people.

While many managers do a great job to set employee standards, there are pitfalls in assuming that what your people expect as basic requirements. Indeed many managers think they are delivering what their people want, simply because nothing is said that would make them think differently.

This raises a challenging issue for managers. How do they really know that their people are happy enough with the basics that their employment provides?

There's an easy solution which most managers fail to appreciate - let alone implement - with the people in their team. Asking them about their satisfaction levels, on a one-to-one basis, is a simple tool which managers so often feel is beneath them, so they don't bother.

So often in the corporate world, the fall-back mechanic is the annual 'Employee Satisfaction Survey', a usually sterile document which line managers are mandated to have completed (often targeted by % completion too!).

Once done, the organization carefully massages the numbers to make their workplace a slightly better place each year, without addressing - or even asking about - those minor issues which are the ones that cause so much irritation at the sharp end.

When core needs aren't met, motivating a team will be all the more difficult, so what exactly are 'core needs'?

Well, this list might have most managers crying out that they already do all of this. An easy mistake to make. For what happens is that a manager puts into place processes that are supposed to deliver - and often fail to do so.

This disregard for the truth makes managing much more challenging, yet many managers simply do not have the common sense to pay it their best attention, often in an arrogant and dismissive manner.

Managers also fall into the trap of assuming that the employees who support their team are effectively delivering these basics too - so often employee relationships are not regarded anything like so highly by minor administrative employees.

Here are fifteen items (there are probably a few more too!), that good managers check and recheck, on a personal basis, to ensure the core is present, even before they start thinking of other ways to motivate their team to the next level.

1. I am paid accurately and on time

2. I have the right temperature to work at

3. I get all my breaks

4. I get all my vacation time

5. I get to leave work when I expect to

6. I always have all the resources I need

7. My manager speaks to me at least once every day

8. My good work is recognized, even in a small way

9. I have development opportunities if I want them

10. I am treated with respect and my voice is heard

11. My manager recognizes specific challenge there are to do my job well

12. My manager listens to me, making me the priority

13. My manager knows my name (and gets it right)

14. I can express frustrations to my manager

15. If I need corporate workwear, it is always available for me

Where managers get these employee basics right - all the time - they will be well ahead of the curve in whatever industry they are in.

Then - and only then - can they call in the way they treat their people well, to move upwards to the level where motivational activities will drive super success in their business too.

Employee Motivation Always Get Your Basics Right First - To learn more about this author, visit Martin Haworth's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Tags: charisma, employee development, employee motivation, management development, motivation, team building

---

	No article feedback found.
	Leave Your Feedback

---

Stephanie Horne My company, Horne Financial Services, offers a wide range of bookkeeping services while my website is a great resource full of bookkeeping tips that can help save you money, including an online store offering great discounts on bookkeeping software and bookkeeping supplies. Below are the services that I offer to my clients along with a brief description. As the list below is by no means all-inclusive, please feel free to inquire about a bookkeeping service if you do not see it listed. If it is not a service I provide, I would be happy to refer you to a qualified professional. * Online Tax Preparation * Tax Services * Bookkeeping/Write-Up * Notary Public Services * Profit and Loss Statement * Balance Sheet * Financial Forecasts & Projections * Cash Flow & Budgeting Analysis * Compilations * Accounts Payable * Accounts Receivable. For more information please visit my Bookkeeping FAQ page. Thank you and all the best to you! - Visit Stephanie Horne's Website

Dave Kurlan Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development.  He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling (Dan Seidman), Stepping Stones (Deepak Chopra and Brian Tracey) and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (David Riklan). - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

Casey Gollan Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website

To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

Martin Haworth Subscribe to Martin's articles (Visit Martin's Website) (c) 201- Martin Haworth is a business and management coach and trainer. He is the author of Super Successful Manager!, an easy to use, step-by-step weekly development program for managers of EVERY skill level. You can get a sample lesson for free at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com. Martin Haworth is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com

Martin Haworth's Complete List Of Business-Coach Articles Name Email If you enjoyed this article, get Martin Haworth's Complete List of Business-Coach Articles For FREE! More Martin Haworth No Time for Cold Feet 10 Great Ways to Motivate Your Employees As You Go Key Management Insights Take Ownership Of Your Outcomes Results A Managers Real Bottom Line Ten Steps To Effective Meetings 8 Great Tips For Managers To Manage Your Time Effectively Top Effective Decision Making Tactics For Managers Plan for Business Success 6 Reasons to Succession Plan Ten Key Facts About Dealing With Difficult People You Must Know Management Development About Experiencing the Sharp End