how might managers successfully motivate their employees?

Years ago I attended a day-long seminar and one thing that I took away from that day has been huge for me. The seminar presenter said people are always asking him how to motivate their employees. He answered that your employees come to you motivated; we have to find out what we are doing as managers that is de-motivating them.

Think about your first day on any job - you're excited, ready to go, ready to be successful! When you hire a new employee, they are motivated on that first day! However, as the days and weeks pass, that enthusiasm might fade. Why? Something we are doing as managers or something about the situation is causing the problem.

What a paradigm shift this concept was for me! Many managers don't like this idea, because it puts the onus on us as managers rather than being able to blame the employee.

I like to open a dialog with my employees and discuss this idea with them periodically. Assuming you've made a good hire (of course you have!), the person ought to be able to tell you what discourages them at work. Find ways together to keep the enthusiasm going!

In addition, employee recognition and rewards programs can be very effective if used correctly. My suggestion here is to hire someone who's expert at this. I'm not! If I tried to come up with some type of program on my own, it would be a disaster I'm sure! A poorly designed recognition program can cause lots of damage.

Team bonding times can also be great. I worked for a CEO one time who held a Fourth of July picnic and had trash cans full of water balloons. We all had a BLAST beating the heat, laughed until we cried, and shared a common experience that brought the team closer together.

Good luck!

I have over 10 years of management experience and these things have always worked for me:

1. Promote positive employee morale. Show them you will perform the same duties as them, with a positive attitude. Let them know they are valued, and if you see them following a good daily routine tell them good job from time to time. It's so easy to only point out the things an employee did not do and that's isn't going to promote employee morale. If they have opinions and ideas, keep an open door policy so they feel comfortable to come to you.

2. "If you like me as a manager, you will do what you're supposed to". Yup, I told them that at every meeting. Because where I worked we had monthly audits, and everyone was involved with being in the audit, they could easily have gotten me into trouble. Plenty of managers got fired over a bad audit. But instead they valued me and were even more nervous than I was the day of the audit. Basically, I showed them respect and they showed me respect in return. I treated them equal to me. The employees new my expectations (they were written down and told verbally on a monthly basis), and enjoyed having a defined routine at work.

There is so much more to being a manager, but for me those are some of the key points. It has gotten me far and I feel like I climbed the ladder the right way. I didn't have to step on anybody to get to where I am today. I started out as a telemarketer in college and I've come a long way.

First, give the employees a clear goal. Too many times people end up just being cogs in the machine and have no idea what the big picture is for the overall company's goals. Every employee should know what the basic long term strategy for the company and where they fit in to reach those goals.

Next, give them the ability to see how their contributions are useful. What has their department and/or their own personal contributions done to help the company. The happiest employees are the ones that can see what they have accomplished over the course of their work day. If this were a construction site, the builders would see how the project came closer to completion that day. In and office setting, this is not always obvious. Find ways to show your employees what they have done/ accomplished over the workday.

Give honest praise. Or, if the employee needs to improve his/her performance, give praise, then offer criticism, then praise again. Then let the employee know they are a valued member of the team and you want to see them succeed (and you should!).

all of it comes right down to understand. coach your workers the recognize that you favor them to coach you. under no circumstances communicate right down to them or push aside their reviews as unimportant. Ask them, those doing the artwork, their recommendations for paying for better their product and their artwork surroundings.

Rewards. Tell them they're awesome