September 4, 2018 | Posted in: Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully

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Try engaging employees by aligning their passions and values with your organization and supporting their need to be a part of the community and have a heart at work. Two of my past clients, Fannie Mae and Washington Mutual offer several hours per month for each employee to provide community service and volunteer activities of their choice to help provide goodwill in the community. Having each employee choose their project provides them with more choice over their time instead of the organization selecting a neighborhood cleanup or other project where the hearts and heads of the staff may not be so concerned. Give your team choices and they will give you their best effort.

• Ensure that recognition is timely and immediately follows their accomplishment

 

• Praise individuals versus entire groups – it carries more meaning when each person is singled out for exactly what they did instead of telling the whole group ‘they done good’

 

• Be specific in your praise and highlight details of the accomplishment to show you noticed and understand what they did

 

• Write a note home to the team member’s family telling the family of the staff member’s accomplishments

 

• Give recognition that was actually earned to make it more meaningful and avoid giving acknowledgement before it was actually earned in order to motivate an employee

 

• Give a welcome party for a new team member instead of throwing them a party only when they leave

 

• Sincerity is a key ingredient to the success of any recognition gesture. Actions lose their effectiveness when done in a tone of insincerity and if you spell names incorrectly or get dates wrong.

 

• Employees feel most productive when they feel their contributions are valued and their feedback is welcomed by management.

 

• An unsupportive atmosphere can lead to reduced performance levels and higher turnover for business.

 

• Another poll by Maritz Research found dissatisfaction with the way employers offer recognition. The survey of 1001 adults nationwide found 34% of them do not feel they are recognized for their work performance in ways that are important to them. Only 40% felt they were adequately recognized.

 

• Other findings indicated 26% of employees are unhappy with the way they are managed and 32% intend to change jobs.

 

• Accountemps, an international staffing services firm conducted a recent worker satisfaction survey and found that 43% of executives from large firms believe that an employee’s relationship with their manager has the greatest impact on job satisfaction – far more than any other factor.

 

• 5 tips to combat the uninspired, unchallenged worker who is wasting away:

 

• Spot It – perform stress audits and appraisals regularly

 

• Prevent It – match the right people to the right job for a better fit with skills and challenges – screen new hires for a better fit

 

• Lead It – don’t allow this type of culture in your organization – be aware of prevention

 

• Confess It – take a look at your own behavior and role modeling and if your attitude is slipping

 

• Risk It – revisit your purpose at work and your definition of success and take some calculated risks to put you on the edge of vitality again

 

What are you doing to inspire and empower your employees? What is keeping them from walking? A Deloitte Millennial survey found that 70% of Millennials see themselves as working independently one day? What are you doing to encourage them to stay?