Motivating Employees _ Bringing Out the Best in Your People - Barry Silverstein [20]
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“It’s awful to fire people. But if you have a candid organization with clear performance expectations and a performance evaluation process…then people in the bottom 10 percent generally know who they are. When you tell them, they usually leave before you ask them to.”
—Jack Welch
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Reprimanding an employee doesn’t require you to be angry or upset. In fact, your demeanor should stay calm, even if the employee becomes emotional. Remain firm yet fair as you explain the reprimands. Make it clear that you will take additional disciplinary action if the problem is not corrected.
If the reprimands fail to work, termination is warranted. Good written documentation of past unresolved problems is essential when you are ready to terminate someone. Be sure you have an adequate and justified reason. Be aware of your company’s policy, and of any federal or state laws relating to termination.
Whatever the reason for the termination, deliver the news calmly and objectively. While the meeting should be private, it may be appropriate to have an HR representative present for support and as a witness.
An employee’s reaction can range from disbelief to anger to an outburst of tears. Be compassionate yet firm; make it clear that the decision is final. Preserving an employee’s dignity during a termination is the objective.
Essential Skill III
Rewarding Motivated Employees
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“There’s always the motivation of wanting to win. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.”
—Pat Riley,
NBA basketball coach
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Most parents use recognition and rewards to encourage their children to behave well. The concept of recognizing and rewarding employees is essentially the same, with some important differences.
While the employer–employee relationship is somewhat parental, the employee works for pay. Pay and associated benefits rise as the employee’s responsibility grows and job tenure lengthens. The competitive environment may influence remuneration as an organization strives to keep good employees from going to a competitor.
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CASE FILE
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THE RIGHT REWARDS
At telephone headset manufacturer Plantronics, some 2,400 employees have continuous input into benefits and rewards via satisfaction surveys. The surveys have led to changes in Plantronics’ training, retirement, and vision-care benefits.
S. Kenneth Kannappan, CEO of Plantronics, encourages employee involvement via both surveys and face-to-face encounters. He conducts monthly town-hall meetings and holds an annual management conference every summer. Kannappan believes employees’ lack of motivation is due in part to management’s failure to communicate.
SOURCE: “In a Former Life” by Ilan Mochari, Inc. Magazine (June 2001).
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Pay and benefits are the foundation of an organization’s recognition and rewards program, but they form only the baseline. Most human resources experts agree that an organization with a motivated workforce tends to be one in which recognition and rewards encompass more than these basics.
RECOGNITION VERSUS REWARDS
There is a distinction between “recognition” and “rewards.” Recognition of an employee’s efforts can come in the form of private words of thanks or public praise, via written notes or certificates of appreciation, or in other nonmaterial ways.
Rewards are a specific form of recognition. In most organizations, rewards are monetary, or at least material. Must recognition always include material rewards to be motivational? This question is open to debate. Some research has shown that employees who receive praise or attention from their managers feel more appreciated and motivated than