In an ideal world, employees should be satisfied, motivated and productive. The guide presented by the fastcompany.com website can help you to get closer to this ideal state. Here it is:
1. Show employees that they are doing something truly meaningful. According to research, this is more important for people’s motivation than earnings or recognition. You can usually accomplish this through good communication of the company’s vision and goals.
2. Effectively communicate and share information. This is the only way you can expect people to make the right decisions. You can publish the monthly KPI results, for example.
3. Employees must have clear job descriptions and clearly assigned responsibilities. They should also know their tasks and objectives.
4. Constantly provide and ask for feedback. Do not blame. When things are not going well, don’t ask “who messed up” but rather “how can we prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future?”
5. Trust your team and show them that you trust them. Otherwise they won’t trust themselves. You can accomplish this, for example, by providing autonomy for certain types of decisions. You must expect that they’ll occasionally fail yet not get too upset about it.
6. Listen to employees and respect their needs. Ask them and listen to them well.
7. Show your recognition to those who deserve it. It’s one of the strongest motivational tools and has greater power than financial compensation.
8. Provide fair compensation and pay for the performance you want from your employees. We usually talk of a base pay with a system of bonuses based on clearly defined parameters.
9. Support innovations. Most innovations actually come from employees at the lowest levels of the hierarchy.
10. Implement fair company policies that facilitate the attainment of company goals. If, for example, you support a process of continuous employee learning, you can’t ask them to use their vacation for training.
11. Get information from the employees. Let them co-shape the company’s goals, state their opinions on key decisions, etc. They will have a greater feeling of solidarity and you will get valuable information, even though you don’t have to abide by their opinions, of course.
12. Avoid micromanagement. You have to manage people, but you don’t have to micromanage them. Differentiate between control and continuous supervision. Don’t order them every step of how they should work on their project. Allow them a certain feeling of free will.
13. Support teamwork. Most projects require a contribution by several employees. They should work as a team, not as several individuals.
14. Adapt your management style to various types of employees. Some need to have their hands held, some just need coaching. Take their individuality into account.
15. Provide opportunities for personal growth. People who have the opportunity to increase their qualifications also gain more self-confidence in their profession. Support them.
16. When it becomes necessary, fire people. When someone is not doing what they are supposed to, it can seriously hurt the organization. The others see that some people get away with bad results without any problems, and they also stop trying. Firing someone can also motivate the team, if you explain the reasons clearly.
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