5 Tips to Keep Your Employees Motivated in 2012
Think of these 5 tips as your new year's resolutions as an employer. As 2012 goes into full swing and the economy and job market continues to struggle and maintain instability it is important for the success of your business and your employees that you keep employees motivated this year. 1. Act as a role model to employees, this will help inspire them and help employees realize their work passions. 2. Clearly define the organizational vision, mission and strategy as well as employee goals and objectives. This helps keep motivation specific and focused. 3. Delegate challenging and meaningful work. Minimizing busy work, and maximizing meaningful projects helps employees see their direct impact on the company. 4. Create individualized personal development plans with employees. This shows employer dedication and commitment to employees. 5. Monitor employees progress toward goals and reward good behavior. Rewards do not need to be big, a small denomination gift card can be just enough to reinforce the good behavior without costing the company too much.
For more on how to motivate employees check out the Forbes.com article.
Recognition That Resonates: Low-Cost Employee Appreciation in Tight Times
Even when budgets are tight, appreciation doesn’t have to be. In fact, during periods of change or economic pressure, thoughtful recognition becomes even more essential to maintaining morale, trust, and team cohesion.
Targeting Smaller Workplace Incentives as a Strategy
In this slow recovering economy, trends in the incentive industry are leaning towards caution and scaled back rewards programs. Safety rewards, which used to garner large incentive travel programs, or other large rewards, are now are being scaled back to much smaller incentive rewards programs. According to the latest Incentive Research Foundation survey, incentive rewards program administrators' confidence levels are down to lows not seen since 2008. The survey indicated the following specifically about travel rewards programs:
Employee engagement is down...what does this mean for your business?
It is widely known and accepted that employee engagement is critical to productivity and improving your company's bottom line. As 2011 draws to a close and we look to 2012, and a (hopefully) improving job market, employment agency Randstad released some concerning numbers this week. In their annual "Employee Attachment Index" survey, which measures employee-employer attachment, it appears that employee engagement is decreasing and that many employees are looking to move on, as soon as the market is more stable.
Keeping Workers Happy During Holiday Shifts
For many small businesses staying open on the holidays is a key way to compete with major retailers. In doing so, this often causes obvious strain on employees and employee relations. It is essential to the success of the company that these difficult situations are handled properly, and that employees needs are kept in mind. There are some pretty simple ways to say "thank you" to employees. When assigning holiday shifts, keep flexibility in mind. Things like allowing employees to request certain shifts or switch off holidays among employees can go a long way toward boosting morale and making workers feel appreciated. Another way to say "thank you" is by giving small denomination gift cards, as a token of appreciation. Giving small gift cards is like a small bonus, and the trophy value makes employees feel like they have done enough to earn something as a reward. This motivates employees beyond the holidays, and into the new year. Be sure to be sensitive to your employees this holiday season and it will benefit your organization long after the holidays have ended.
To read more about employee rewards and holiday shifts check out the Fox Business article.
