What IS motivation, anyway?

What is this thing called motivation? Webster says it's "an inner drive or impulse that causes one to act; causing motion." So motivation is something within us that drives us to do something, or think in a particular way. It's internal. No one can make another person motivated. However, we can make the conditions right or better to encourage motivation. We really can't force anyone to do anything, can we? It's truly a matter of helping create an environment where people feel good about their work, their opportunities, and their experiences! Having a motivated work group makes sense from every perspective! Here are just a few reasons why motivation at work "works": - Higher morale and productivity - Greater retention - Less interpersonal conflict - Increased time to concentrate on your people and your work - Better teamwork - Less stress and fatigue - Fewer sick days - Fun! - Impact to the bottom line! These benefit you, your team, your clients, our company. Well worth the effort! Want some GREAT NEWS? * It doesn't have to take money. * You won't have to work at it alone. (Remember P.Com?) * It doesn't have to have gizmos and gadgets. * It doesn't have to take more time. It's really about making some adjustments to what you're already doing adding some personalization, flavor, pizzazz! Read on..

The experts say.....

The good news is that we have influence over all of these, right? The bad news is
that as managers and Team Leaders, we may not be doing such a hot job. Take a look at the rest of the survey findings. Employees responded: 58% 76% 78% 81% 92% seldom, seldom, seldom, seldom, seldom, if if if if if ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, received personal thanks from their manager received written thanks from their manager received promotions based on performance received public praise in the workplace participated in morale-building meetings

Which ones can you take part in? That's part of the good news: plenty of opportunities for your influence here! - Everyone appreciates appreciation some sort of recognition for work well done, growth, great efforts, attitude. The simple thank you is very powerful, especially when linked to the specific act! Check out the ways Convergys' P.com program can help you make recognition easy and fun! - Occasional thank you notes, personalized not email, not mass-produced certificates just a note. It is physical evidence of your appreciation, of a productive work relationship. Doesn't have to take hours either. Visit your P.com Ambassador for a supply of Power of One notes to have on hand; consciously plan their inclusion into your day's activities. You'll be amazed at the results. Get into the habit! - Promotion based on performance sure you play a part in that! By coaching and developing your people, you'll be developing your future peers. - Public praise in the workplace. Incorporate this at every opportunity. Also remember to sing your team's praises even when they are not around! - Morale building meetings? Remember that a meeting takes place with as few as two people. Are you building some time for this into your team meetings, your preshifts, even your greetings as folks come on to the production floor?

Coffman and Buckingham (First Break All the Rules) These authors believe that the best managers have employees who can generally answer "strongly agree" to the 12 Questions provided below. Their responses indicate to some extent how motivated employees feel in the workplace. (Remember these discussion points from Team Leader Development Training, Phase 2? For more focus on these points, click into Section 2, Transition, in SuperCharged.) 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work? 11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? 12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow?

Glen Tobe & Associates (Heart at Work) These researchers asked employees what factors motivated them in the workplace. All of these were important, certainly. After these ten were identified, employees ranked them in order of importance. Take a look. 1. Appreciation 2. Feeling in on things 3. Understanding attitude 4. Job security 5. Good wages 6. Interesting work 7. Promotional opportunities 8. Loyalty from management 9. Good working conditions 10. Tactful discipline

As a Team Leader or manager, do you have you influence in these areas? If you've answered yes to all ten, you are correct! Interesting, isn't it, that appreciation comes before money? Simply expressing thanks for specific things, warm greetings and conversation, notes go a long way in helping others feel appreciated! Let P.com provide you with tools you can use to express your appreciation! These are available at no cost to you. Many are available in soft copy - access some of these via https://mycvg.convergys.com/convergys/portal/hr/pcom.nsf (you will need to log in to MyCVG). After the P.com page loads, click on Recognition! on the lefthand side of the screen, and select the links that appear. - Provide information to your teams as you can, keep them in the loop, ask what they think - Being understanding simply means remembering we're all human - By coaching your team members and helping them develop their skills, that surely impacts their job security and ability to earn wages and increases - Talk about the work we do as a company, explore and share ideas about how to make work better, find ways to provide experiences to those who need some growing room

- Promotional opportunity today doesn't necessarily mean a change in title it means opportunity for growth, learning, experiences anything we can offer to help someone grow if not now, then someday into a different position - Loyalty are you true to your word, can you be counted upon to champion the cause, do your words match your actions? - Are you observant about the environment? Do you take steps to keep it safe, positive, and clean? Is the emotional environment healthy? Do you project a positive attitude, joy in the workplace, energy for your people? - Tactful discipline doesn't mean no discipline it means fairness, respect, consistency

Alexander Hiam (Motivating and Rewarding Employees) Hiam believes people ask questions about their environment all the time: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Am I treated fairly? Am I respected as an individual? Are my managers committed to a course of action? Can I achieve something meaningful here? Am I safe from threats and risk? Do I have access to the information I need?

How do you answer? How do you think your team members would answer? What areas can you influence?

Kanter and Jick (Motivating Your Employees, 1992) "Compensation is a Right; Recognition is a Gift." Seven Simple Insights for Motivating Your Employees 1. You get what you reward. Be sure you have clearly defined what you want to get, then use rewards and recognition to move toward those goals. 2. What motivates people, motivates people. What is motivating to individuals varies from person to person. To be on target, ask employees what they want. 3. The most motivating rewards take little or no money. Try a sincere thank you, providing information, involvement in decision making especially as it affects your employees. 4. Everyone wants to be appreciated. Competent people, quiet people, even managers want to know that what they are doing is important and meaningful. 5. All behavior is controlled by its consequences. Positive consequences will most quickly lead to desired behavior and enhanced performance.

6. Management is what you do with people, not to them. Tell employees what you want to do and why. By involving them, you'll more easily gain their commitment and support. 7. Common sense is often not common practice. It's not what you believe or say it's what you do. Practice recognizing people and their achievements on a daily basis.

Communication is key
One of the greatest motivators in the workplace is open, honest, timely communication. People want to be involved, to be in the communication flow. Share information when you have it. Find ways to keep in touch with all of your team. Personal contact is most effective: use team meetings, pre-shifts, huddle groups on the floor in down time. One-on-one meetings, side-by-sides, coaching sessions all provide chances for updates. Share responsibilities with other Team Leaders if you're not available during the shift one of your team members is working, ensure (s)he gets a message from another Team Leader. If you can't touch base in person, then consider some of the following to share general information: White boards, bulletin boards Flyers Recorded messages Posters, banners Messages written on balloons with magic marker Intranet Note on computer

Understanding your Agent's communication style preferences is also key. You'll recall that during the Interpersonal Skills module, we identified four categories or styles. (Click into Section 5 of SuperCharged for highlights of that material.) The four styles amiable, expressive, analytical, driver frequently communicate in different ways. We often show definite preferences in how we like to be communicated with, and also in how we prefer to be rewarded. This document provides a description of each communication style preference their tendencies, suggested strategies for working with each, and tips on how to reward/recognize them

Motivating at Work: Empowering Employees to Give Their Best (A Fifty Minute Series Book), Twyla Dell and Michael G. Crisp Motivating Customer Service Employees: A Hands-On-Guide to Help You Improve Morale, Motivation and Productivity in Your Customer Service Department, Leslie Hansen Harps Motivating Employees, Anne Bruce and James S. Pepitone Motivating Employees for Dummies, Max Messmer and Lynn E. Taylor Motivating without MoneyCashless Ways to Stimulate Maximum Results, Raise Morale, and Reduce Turnover with Your Telephone Sales and Service Personnel, Dave Worman Sharpen Your Skills in Motivating People to Perform (Sharpen Your Team's Skills Series), Trevor Bentley Streetwise Motivating & Rewarding Employees, Alexander Hiam Twentysomething: Managing and Motivating Today's New Work Force, Lawrence J. Bradford and Claire Raines Where Did I Put that Cattle Prod? Hiring, Motivating and Retaining Employees in the New Millenium, Robert K. McIntosh 1000 Ways to Energize Employees, Bob Nelson. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 1997. 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, Bob Nelson. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 1994.