Motivate Employees
With Superior Work Environment
By David Saxby
“If you create an
environment that motivates employees to turn the valve on full throttle, you
can outperform any competitor any day of the week. Because when you boil it
down, it’s the creativity, the longevity, the loyalty of the employee base
that makes it all happen.” – Aon Consulting.
Now that is a valuable piece of advice and it comes from one of the world’s
top human capital and management consulting firms. I’m sure most utilities
want to motivate their employees to do their best and that some of them
actually take steps to do so. But as they put fancy motivational programs
together, how many of them stop to think about the impact the work
environment has on motivation? Aon Consulting is right – the environment in
which employees must work day in and day out is extremely important.
If you’re trying to motivate your employees individually without ever
changing the environment they work in, you’re probably fighting an uphill
battle. Results can certainly be achieved when working one-on-one with
employees to get them to perform at their best. But much can be gained by
focusing on factors that influence your employees’ daily routines.
There are a variety of factors to consider: your management team’s skills,
your employee recognition program, the utility’s physical layout, your
program for developing the desired skills of your staff. These factors and
others shape your utility’s work environment, and the conditions under which
employees work have a huge influence in their motivation to perform.
Consider the following as you strive to encourage employees to do their best
on the job.
Display a clear vision of your company objectives. What are your company’s
values? What is your utility’s common purpose? Make sure everyone
understands what your vision is, as sharing a clear and common vision brings
people together. One simple way to do that is to have your utility’s mission
statement posted in every department. Better yet, give each employee their
own copy of the mission statement that they can put on their desk or display
on their office wall.
Continually review goals and objectives. Seeing the utility’s mission
statement every day is helpful, but employees also need to understand what
they should be doing Monday through Friday to support the company vision. Be
as specific as possible about each department’s goals but also be flexible.
Goals should be both short term and long term and should be reviewed at
least once a month. Employees will function better when they are clear on
what is expected of them. They will perform at an even higher level when
they understand how their work contributes to the big picture.
Emphasize continuous training. Training is not a one-time event. Training
needs to happen on a continual basis. The business world constantly changes
and that has an impact on how people do their jobs. No one can possibly keep
up on their own and that’s where training comes into play. Please keep in
mind that, during training, people are often asked to change their
professional behavior. But, as humans, most of us like to stay in our
comfort zone. What are you doing to support behavioral change for your staff
as they go through training?
Share information. If you want to enlist your staff members as partners in
your utility’s success, then you should treat them like they are owners.
More information is always better than less. Educate your staff on budgets,
projects, challenges, trends, etc. Keep them in the know. They will
appreciate it.
Make yourself available. Management should take a personal interest in their
employees. Listen to their concerns and problems and support their efforts
to find solutions. Listen to their ideas. The people who labor at your
utility are not just simply workers. They are human beings and should be
treated as such.
Provide continual feedback. Employees assume they are doing a good job if
they don’t hear otherwise from managers and that can lead to unexpected
problems. No one likes to feel ignored or unappreciated. Employees want to
know how they’re doing. By offering constant feedback – both positive and
negative – your employees will know how they are doing and there will be no
surprises.
Ask employees for their feedback. As they go about their jobs, your
employees see things that could be improved or changed. They often come up
with money-saving ideas. But in most cases, employees don’t offer
suggestions because they don’t think anyone cares. They doubt that
management will do anything. Hire an outside firm to survey your employees
anonymously. This will give them the opportunity to provide candid feedback
on a number of issues without fear of reprisal. Use the feedback to identify
the top issues that require company action. Taking action on these problems
tells employees that management is listening and willing to do what needs to
be done.
Reward achievements. Many managers dismiss rewards because they feel there
isn’t enough money to incorporate employee recognition into their budgets.
Big mistake! Rewards do not need to be monetary. The single most important
reward is praise and acknowledgement. Sometimes a simple “nice job” can do
wonders for morale. Still, tangible rewards are nice and have more meaning
if managers identify what motivates each employee and tailor these rewards
around individuals.
Empower employees to initiate projects. If you truly want employees who
demonstrate an ownership attitude in their work, give them the opportunity
to initiate and carry out projects. Let them give it their best shot. Above
all, understand that mistakes may happen but that mistakes are part of the
learning process. Employees will learn when they stumble and emerge from the
experience more knowledgeable. That will make them more valuable to your
utility. Allowing your staff to think and act like an owner will create
self-motivated employees.
David Saxby is president of Measure-X, a Phoenix-based measurement,
training and recognition company that specializes in customer service and
sales skill training for utilities. He may be reached at david@measure-x.com.
For more information on Measure-X, call 888-644-5499 or visit its Web site
at www.measure-x.com.
