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Winter Blues: Motivating Employees

Guest post by: Jennifer Loftus

Article Overview: Although the winter season is mostly noted for its joyous holiday festivities, in the workplace this time of year can signal a time for slowing down. Many employees become distracted due to seasonal merriment or the exhaustion the festivities often bring. This issue of Astronology takes a peek into how HR leaders can motivate employees, even when there are economic hardships, distractions, or exhaustion present within the organization.

Winter Blues: Motivating Employees

Although the winter season is mostly noted for its joyous holiday festivities, in the workplace this time of year can signal a time for slowing down. Many employees become distracted due to seasonal merriment or the exhaustion the festivities often bring. This issue of Astronology takes a peek into how HR leaders can motivate employees, even when there are economic hardships, distractions, or exhaustion present within the organization. Is There Really a Need for Motivation?

Many leaders believe that employees have to find or create motivation for themselves within the workplace. This is not entirely true. Inc. magazine, which focuses on business resources, highlighted in an online article that employee motivation can be summarized into one idea: "finding out what your employees want and finding a way to give it to them or to enable them to earn it." Although attracting and retaining self-motivated employees can be a strong organizational asset, it is important to realize that as leaders, we play a role in helping employees find and heighten their motivation. If a lack of motivation is part of an organization's environment, disinterest and discouragement often accompany it. Employees with these attitudes will not want to exert effort towards building the organization, and in the end may poison any possible organizational success.

Higher costs are another bottom line impact resulting from a lack of motivation. Unmotivated employees may eventually move on to work in organizations that will give them the motivation they crave. Turnover is a resulting consequence. Take time now to compare the costs between hiring and training a new employee versus spending the time to find and then increase motivation within your current staff. Many HR leaders can plainly see it's more cost effective to spend time increasing motivation within the organization than addressing turnover issues.

How to Build Motivation:

Not sure where to start when creating a more motivating environment? Here are some easy tips:

Say Thanks!

As mentioned in the recent Astronology article "Giving Thanks to Top Performers", a fundamental method in building motivation is to give some sort of thanks to employees for a job well done. Ed Hess, author of the book, So, You Want to Start A Business? 8 Steps to Take Before Making the Leap mentions, "A lot of business owners take their employees for granted, a sincere 'job well done' is a small price to pay for that extra bit of effort that makes all the difference." Everyone likes to be acknowledged and appreciated. To maximize this method, why not send handwritten thank you cards? It should certainly brighten anyone's day to find a simple thank you note on their desk instead of another batch of paperwork. And in today's high tech world, a handwritten note stands out, and recalls a simpler, more thoughtful time period.

Include, Don't Exclude

Inclusion is another technique to build motivation. S. Kenneth Kannappan, CEO of Plantronics, described his first job right after high school at an electronic repair shop where employees used tools from the same "tool bin" and placed all completed repairs in the same "finished bin." Such an atmosphere made the employees feel as though they weren't part of a team...they were merely working for an income. As a result, Mr. Kannappan points to communication as a key factor in motivation. "The way I believe you motivate people is to make it clear not only what goals the company is trying to achieve but also why the goals are important to society." Letting workers know that their contribution is considered valuable stimulates productivity. Through the use of employee satisfaction surveys, "town hall meetings" and an annual summer management conference, Mr. Kannappan uses a variety of channels in order to communicate with all of Plantronics. More importantly, when he receives feedback, he takes measurable action steps. An article from Inc. comments, "feedback from employee-satisfaction surveys led to changes in his company's vision-care policy, retirement plan, and training budget." The action taken after employees voiced their opinions helped promote a concerned, yet industrious environment.

Implement Incentives

Incentives are one of the oldest and still effective motivational tools. The great thing about incentives is that they can be presented in a variety of ways. The more creative and personalized the incentive, the more appreciated and energized the employee. Some creative incentives include the following:

• "Work From Home / Half Day / Day Off" Coupons

Handmade cards that can be delivered to employees who've earned them. Like normal coupons, you could put stipulations such as an expiration date or other restrictions (such as not using it in the middle of a time-pressing project)

• Gift Cards / Tickets to Current Events

Gifts cards and tickets send the message to the employee that not only is she being acknowledged and appreciated for her work, but also the organization she works for knows her likes and dislikes. This type of recognition lets employees know that the organization has a personal interest in them. As a result, employees feel motivated to work with leaders who are concerned about them as a whole person, not just a worker.

• Secret Listener

Why wait until the annual office Secret Santa listing to give gifts? This particular incentive engages the entire organization, inspiring employees to be concerned for each other...to motivate each other, creating a work-family so to speak. Such a bond will also create loyalty and teamwork within the organization.

Say No To Micromanagement!

A creative approach in building motivation within the workplace includes eliminating micromanagement. By permitting employees to make their own decisions on creative elements as appropriate to the tasks, you demonstrate that as a leader, you trust your employees and respect their input in making clients happy by providing quality service. When employees realize that they are trusted, enthusiasm and confidence increase.

As a substitute for micromanagement, perhaps the organization can invest in creating an in-house mentoring program. Matching up employees with a senior counterpart can give both individuals a motivating boost. The senior employee reaps the benefit of using his / her years of knowledge to improve the organization in a unique capacity. The junior employee will learn how to set goals and begin to achieve them through assistance from the senior employee. Everyone wins something through the exchange.

Gleaning the Benefits from Planting Seeds of Motivation

Like with many things, enjoying the benefits from implementing various motivational assets will take time. The important idea to remember is that the overall, long-term benefit is ensuring the organization will grow internally and externally. Employees who are happy will perform at their best, stay loyal to their organization, and speak up if they have a creative idea, which will raise the organization's quality of service. These benefits not only improve the current organizational environment, but also attract clients. Given these rewards, laying the groundwork for open communication through motivation is worth the effort. Use motivation today to overcome those organizational growth killers called economic hardships, distraction, and exhaustion!

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Article Tags: astronology, bottom line impact, current staff, discouragement, disinterest, distractions, economic hardships, employee motivation, exhaustion, finding a way, holiday festivities, hr leaders, increasing motivation, joyous holiday, lack of motivation, merriment, organizational asset, organizational success, time of year, winter season



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