photo credit: Bob B. Brown

Many companies mistakenly assume that pay and benefits will improve business results.   Unfortunately this is not the case because comparable pay and benefits are typically treated by employees as “entitlements”.    Since most employees view them as such it is difficult, if not impossible, to increase business performance using pay and benefits. It takes a more focused effort to provide that little something extra to get employees to stretch their performance.

In order to reach a higher level of employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity, it is best to find methods to say “thank you” in special ways. That’s where employee incentives come in.

There a number of different incentive plans to choose from and before designing your incentive program, you should seek input from you workforce about what things they value most.   In some plans rewards are totally individually based and others have a team perspective.  Others have a combination of both reward types.

Every company culture is a little different but we have found the following 7 employee incentive gifts categories to be the most prevalent across many industries.

1. Gift certificates/gift cards

2. Electronic items

a. Cameras and accessories

b. Computers, software, and accessories

c. Home entertainment

d. Telephone related including cell phones

3. Trophies and Plaques

4. Watches and Clocks

5. Apparel including accessories

6. Food and beverage

7. Home/Garden/Garage and accessories

Although it is not exclusive, this list should give you some ideas about possible employee incentive gifts. There are lots of third-party incentive companies that can assist you in designing and administrating an incentive program. Don’t worry, there are plans to fit every size company budget.

If you want to increase employee productivity, increase retention, and motivate your employees to reach the next level, then implementing a company incentive program is a great first step.

Leave your comments below.  All comments are valued and appreciated.

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

There are numerous challenges in the business world today.  A manager’s resolve is tested daily as he must control these various challenges.  One particular challenge is developing his coaching skills.

Effective managers work at developing their coaching skills so that they can raise the performance level of their entire staff.    This type of on-going informal training leverages employee strengths while identifying potential opportunities for improvement.

There’s no “Magic Bullet” solution that works well for every manager and each manager is different and must find her or his own most convenient style.

How, then, could you make sure of getting the right results?

The answer is Applying Proven Methods

Doing practically anything is simple when you’re aware of the best way to do it.  Anything is simpler to master when you are well-informed in regards to the best methods.  So to get great results with developing coaching skills, you simply need to know more about how to embrace those skills that have proven effective for other managers.

Read more to improve your know-how.

The following are 5 tips for developing coaching skills of effective managers:

1. Practice Active Listening.

Why would this make a difference?

Active listening means that you are attentively focused on what is being said.  Repeating back what you thought was said gives the employee to correct or clarify what they just said.   Seek to understand first, then seek to be understood.

What usually happens when/if you follow these suggestions?

You can recommend a solution that addresses the real concern of the other party.   Additionally it builds trust between employee and their manager.   Communication should be two-way where ideas and opinions are openly shared and received.

2. Master Communication Styles.

This is important because communication is more than vocal.   Your gestures, tone and pitch of voice, and even appearance send a message to your audience even without vocal words.    Knowing when to appear calm and when to be enthusiastic are important skills for conveying the right message.

And it can be very important because a good coach practices asking the right questions and does not always give answers.   These guiding questions can help the receiver find the right answers by themselves which reinforces the value of the lessons that are learned.

3. Recognize and Appreciate Accomplishments.

The primary reason behind this is positive recognition of desired behaviors will encourage them to be repeated. Additionally, it sets the proper atmosphere for delivering more negative feedback on opportunities for improvement.

It’s also a good idea because recognition is a strong motivator for others within the group as well.  Most people want to get better in their jobs.   Seeing others being recognized and appreciated for their accomplishments will serve as an example for others to follow..

4. Be a Self-Improvement Role Model.

And just exactly why is this a good idea?

A manager who seeks his own opportunities for additional training and other value added experiences sets a climate where others will strive for continuous improvement as well.

Are there more reasons?

Yes,  people are more receptive to advice from others who don’t appear to “know it all”. It is okay to share stories of how you learned and developed throughout your career and to let other know areas that you are still working on to improve your own skill set.

5. Practice Visionary Leadership.

And what makes this important?

An effective coach shares a clear vision of what is possible to his team.

By setting expectations for himself and his staff he sends a strong message of what behaviors and actions are needed to achieve success.   This is critical in building the confidence of the team so that they can see themselves attaining the goal.

What other significant reasons will there be?

Managers who celebrate the small improvements (wins) re-energizes his staff to push further.   It is very important that progress is tracked and acknowledged to keep the team motivated.

As you follow these 5 tips carefully you are more likely to have very satisfactory results with developing your coaching skills.   You can expect great results and a more efficient, dedicated, productive and energized staff.

As always you comments below are welcomed and appreciated.

photo credit: CERTs

Being a good people manager involves being able to motivate your staff to reach peak performance.  There are many ways to do this, but frequent performance feedback is a proven coaching method that works.

Feedback keeps the manager and employee aligned on priorities, objectives and desired behaviors. Without it the chance of successfully achieving performance goals is minimal.

Although a formal feedback session should be held on some frequency basis, utilizing only that technique is not efficient because issues can develop between sessions. An effective addition to this method includes taking advantage of daily opportunities to reinforce behaviors that are working by using informal employee recognition techniques.

Recognizing a desired behavior immediately following the behavior encourages repetition. It also demonstrates to others within your staff how to perform in a similar manner.

Listed below are six examples of employee recognition techniques that can be used to give frequent performance feedback.

Give them a try!

1. During a group meeting, acknowledge an accomplishment by mentioning why is was important and what behaviors helped it be successful. This will reinforce the behavior and provide an incentive for others to practice the same behaviors in a similar situation. It is also a good idea to ask the employee to elaborate on what they did.
2. Read letters from satisfied customers during a department meeting. An outside perspective lends credibility to good behavioral practices and there is not better endorsement than a customer. After all, without them no business survives.
3. When introducing new employees to current employees, describe each current employee with an example of something great that he or she did on the job.
4. Practice Spontaneous appreciation. Send an email message to the employee with a copy to his peers and other managers.
5. Establish an “Employee of Month” program. At each month’s award ceremony, give examples of why the winner was selected.
6. Give out employee pins or buttons that recognize specific accomplishments. When you give it to the employee tell them why they are receiving the reward. Not only what they did but how they did it.

Let’s face it; most employees want to do a good job. It is the manager’s job to let them know how they are doing and the more frequently that is happening the better it is for both the employee and his supervisor.

The six employee recognition ideas above each provide an opportunity to reinforce desired behaviors. If you begin to practice them you should experience increased employee productivity and improved morale.

photo credit: Chuck “Caveman” Coker

As an manager, you understand the employee behaviors that create success, but how do you motivate your employees to apply them more consistently?

Maybe the tool you need is an employee incentive plan with the right rewards.

An incentive plan ties employee behaviors and company performance to employee rewards. As an employee recognition method, an incentive plan provides maximum leverage for increasing employee productivity, loyalty, and morale. By coupling performance and reward together, your business gets employees who are driven by accomplishing goals rather than who just show up to do minimum work and get a paycheck.

Below is a brief description of the most common employee incentive plans for you to consider. Select the combination that best fits your business objectives.

Productivity Based Incentives

In this type of plan, the objective is to increase production on a time basis. As an example, if you make widgets, then if production increases by 10%/month, then the team gets a reward. If it increases by 20% the team gets a larger more valuable reward. These types of plans can be tailored for either team or individual performance.

Industry Comparison Incentives

In this plan, incentives are based upon how a person or company exceeds some average industry benchmark by a certain percentage. Typical examples are sales goals and safety goals.

Internal Company Metrics Incentives

This type of incentive plan rewards employees for exceeding certain internal company metrics. Typically these metrics have been identified as critical success factors for your business. They can range from things like recruitment goals, first pass quality goals, or absenteeism goals. In most cases, the goal is based upon a certain percentage improvement over the previous best performance.

Employee Service Incentives

This type of incentive plan rewards employees for years of service to your company. Typically the rewards increase in value as each year milestones is reached. These types of plans increase employee retention and loyalty.

Long-term Compensation Incentives

These type of incentive plans offer delayed rewards for employee who remain with the company for a certain time. Typical examples are stock options or company equity positions for loyal employees.

The primary values of these plans are to prevent your most desirable employees from leaving and to reward them for helping the company succeed over a longer time period. Employee ownership and retention are improved because it is difficult to leave for a small percentage increase in pay when the potential long-term reward is significant.

If you would like to create an employee incentive plan, there are many third party companies who can help. Most offer assistance in plan development, plan evaluation, reward selection, and even plan administration. They really make it easy to implement the right plan for your business.

Feel free to leave your comments below.  All comments are valued and appreciated.

photo credit: quinn.anya

In today’s competitive business environment, companies are seeking every advantage that they can to increase productivity. Even with reduced staffing levels supervisors are still expected to lead their subordinates and accomplish the tasks at hand.

The goal is to get employees to perform their jobs at peak efficiency on a consistent basis.

One way to get more with less is to use proven motivation techniques to energize and engage your employees. These do not have to be complex or costly to be effective.

Below are 53 Motivation Techniques that work.

Why not give them a try?

1. Implement an Employee of Month or Week process.

2. Give special parking space to employee of month or week

3. Start a Contest. You can hold a contest on just about anything.

4. Hold a Team competition. Sometimes peer pressure not to let the other team members down is the best approach.

5. Hold an Off-site meetings or retreats. A change of scenery can boost productivity.

6. Practice Recognition and Rewards frequently.

7. Assignment as team lead of important task force or project

8. Assignment as team member of important task force or project

9. Delegate as your substitute while you are on vacation

10. Provide off-site Training opportunities

11. Assign as a trainer for others

12. Encourage employee to publish an article in an industry magazine

13. Represent company at industry conference or event

14. Post article about employee in company newsletter

15. Post a photos of group on a Bulletin board.

16. Hold an open house for family and friends of employees.

17. Organize an off-site team building exercise like golf or bowling.

18. Let team develop a department motto or slogan.

19. Give out employee pins for significant accomplishments

20. Give out team member pins

21. Read customer comments at staff meetings

22. Distribute an commendation email about an employee to his peers and other supervisors.

23. Send a thank-you letter home to an employee’s family.

24. Introduce them by name to important visitors like customers and company executives.

25. Practice saying “Thank-you”.

26. Practice giving written thank-you notes

27. Give them a book related to their job

28. Subscribe to industry magazines or publications

29. Pay for certifications/licenses

30. Handshake and pat on back

31. Hang a banner at entry with employee’s name

32. Department pizza party

33. Bring donuts or kolaches for breakfast

34. Let them participate in new hire interviews

35. Give out apparel with company logo (i.e. shirts, caps, jackets)

36. Give a personalize a coffee cup

37. Send an online greeting card

38. Allow a dress casual day

39. Make a presentation to executives

40. Establish an employee incentive plan

41. Give Birthday cards to team members

42. “Welcome Aboard” Cards from team for new employees

43. Offer some floating holidays

44. Offer Compensation time for salary employees

45. Offer Flex time off or flex starting or ending time program

46. Perfect Attendance Awards

47. Insert thank-you notes in paychecks

48. Deliver Raises and bonuses in person.

49. On hot days, give out “freeze pops”

50. Schedule routine performance feedback dialogs

51. Let them work from home occasionally

52. Acknowledge stressful situations like family or personal illness. Just asking will show you care

53. Recognize significant improvements not just top performers

As you can see, the possibilities of motivation techniques are endless. Most require little if any money to implement. Some do need a little help from your corporate folks. However each one has been proven to work and motivate employees to increase productivity.

Go through the list again and pick out your favorites. Then start practicing them. If you follow that advice you will have better employee attitudes, improved employee morale, and an energized team.

Leave your comments below.  All comments are valued and appreciated.

photo credit: examplecg

Awarding Employee of the month certificates has been a common recognition technique for many companies. Unlike money which is remembered until it is spent, an employee recognition certificate has long lasting value.   However there are some keys for getting the most benefit from them.

Below are 5 key elements to consider for an employee of month certificate program.

1. Present the Certificate in a group forum. This is very important because the recognition can encourage the recipient as well as others in the work group.  Take the opportunity to leverage this event and see if you can raise the level of the entire group.  It always best to give the award in person, but you can reach even more people by posting in a site or company newsletter.

2. Personalize The Certificate. Make the certificate more personal. Consider including a photograph of the receiver.  If you can find one of them doing a hobby or demonstrating the behavior that earned the award, this would be nice touch.

It is also worth mentioning that a nice frame for displaying the award is an expectation. Many people post the certificate in their office and every time they look at it, a pleasant memory is rekindled.

3. Include the Basis for the Selection. Identify a key performance area that formed the basis for this month’s employee-of-the-month certificate.  Share some specific examples of why this month’s winner earned the award.  See element 1 above for the reason why.

4. Solicit Peer Input For Selecting Winner. Input from peers in selecting staff members who deserve recognition adds to the perceived value of the certificate.  Everyone likes to know if their peers appreciate their hard work.  Additionally, peer recognition adds a lot of credibility to the selection process.  They know what really counts and who is really a top performer.

5. Combine Certificate With An Award. If at all possible combine the certificate with a high quality award.  This will add value to those who receive the certificate.  There are many employee recognition gift ideas to consider.   Just be sure it is something that the winner would value and appreciate.  If you can’t think of anything, then consider a gift card or letting the winner select from a recognition gift catalog.

If you keep the 5 elements in mind, then your staff will eagerly await the presentation of your employee of the month award and you will have a more loyal and energized staff. If you don’t you could be missing a great opportunity to reinforce behaviors that could improve your department’s performance and improve your employee retention rates.

Feel free to leave your comments below.  All comments are valued and appreciated.

photo credit: vcalzone

Every company knows the value a recognition program can bring to their company in terms of increased productivity, lower employee turnover, and improved employee morale, but in the daily rush to get things done, it is so easy to forget. Finding effective employee motivation techniques can be challenging even for the most effective manager.

So how do you get your staff to raise their performance?

Using employee recognition certificates is a proven way to improve staff productivity when used as an employee incentive for a specific company initiative. You can use them in a variety of ways.  Below are 23 Creative Ways to Use Employee Recognition Certificates

Creative Ways to Use Employee Recognition Certificates

1. Reward successfully completing training

2. Making a significant improvement suggestion. Both a significant individual suggestion and a certain number of suggestions

3. Team participation such as on a task force.

4. Organize and lead a team.

5. Induction into “Hall of Fame”

6. Top Sales Producer (largest sale, most sales, most improved, most sales dollars, most new customers,

7. Employee of Month winner

8. Perfect attendance award

9. Quality Award

10. Customer Service award

11. Service or Time on Job

12. Recognize Accomplishment or Achieving a Goal. (i.e. Customer Satisfaction score improvement, absenteeism reduction)

13. As part of a promotion ceremony

14. Community Service award

15. Retirements

16. Part of a “Roasting ” event.

17. Congratulations on personal accomplishments (new baby, new home, highest golf score at charity tournament,)

18. Show appreciation to family, (dinner certificates, movie certificates)

19. “Time off” certificates

20. “Caught in the Act” coupons for any initiative. Any time someone does something exceptional, the supervisor immendiately gives them a coupon describing the observed behavior, which the recipient can later redeem for gifts from a catalog.

21. Discounts to Sporting Events

22. Discounts on Company products or services

23. Travel Related perks like free parking , subway or bus fare discounts, cruises

These are just a quick sample of the possibilities for effectively using employee recognition certificates. Establishing recognition rituals like recognition certificates is a low cost way to keep a company incentive program thriving.

If you have some more uses for employee recognition certificates, feel free to leave a comment below.

photo credit: familymwr

Low employee morale reduces productivity, creates an unpleasant workplace, and decreases employee retention. In short it is a costly situation for any business.

Often management thinks everything is okay until a problem arises. Then they attempt to manage it by giving “lip service” and maybe throwing some more money into the paycheck. They are surprised to find out that giving money no longer works and that morale continues to deteriorate. But there are easier and more effective solutions that when applied over time will cost less and deliver better results.

Involve Employees in Decision-Making

Employees who are involved in some of the decision-making processes are more interested and dedicated.

Many employees with little or no direction can make very qualified decisions. They feel that their ideas and opinions count and are appreciated by management. No matter what position they hold, an effective manager will find an area where he can delegate authority to an interested employee. As they gain confidence, then they will request more responsibility and you will have more time to work on higher level issues. When  employees are given some leeway in making decisions, they feel more empowered and receive a morale boost. Their attitude can quickly become contagious and infect your entire department.

Decision-making involvement is a  creative employee recognition idea that can reap huge dividends.

Beware How You Address Employees

Employees appreciate being recognized appropriately. If a manager refers to them as subordinates, low level staff or “my people”, then they begin to feel inferior. Instead use phrases like “associates” or “co-workers”. These are a much more positive way to increase employee attitudes.

Often unintentionally, a manager’s conduct can come across as condescending .

As an example, there is a positive and not so positive manner to even request coffee for a meeting from an assistant. A positive method is to introduce the assistant to any meeting guests and make the request in a civilized manner. The other method is to just buzz the assistant and say something like “Bring us some coffee” then not even acknowledge the assistant’s presence when the coffee arrives.

Little things like the manner requests are made can assist in either increasing or decreasing employee morale. If you want to be an effective supervisor consider honestly how you treat people. Have some meaningful conversations with those who report to you and let them know you value their contributions and respect them as individuals.

Manage Stressful Work Environments

Although your business may be growing and prospering, the increased pressure to meet deadlines and other demands can create a stressful work environment. Over time this type of situation will erode employee morale and decrease productivity. There are a number of simple morale boosters a manager can do to decrease stress.

Conduct Routine Employee Job Satisfaction Surveys

Employee job satisfaction surveys identify the underlying causes of job satisfaction. They allow the manager to target those areas that will provide the most benefit in increasing loyalty and productivity. Often what the manager thinks is most important may be far different than his work group. A satisfaction survey can be morale-boosting for those who may not have many other opportunities to confidentially express their views.

Although these recognition methods are simple to implement, they will take consistent effort to be effective, but the positive effective on employee morale, retention, and productivity can be immense.

Feel free to leave your comments below. As always, they are valued and appreciated.

photo credit: alancleaver_2000

Companies face a lot of challenges across the globe nowadays. Some things are easier than others to cope with.

Improving employee morale and reducing employee turnover is a challenge faced by plenty of organizations.  There are usually experts researching most challenges, looking for good ways of managing them. Just how then, could you be assured of having the top results?

Know-How Is The Answer.

Doing practically anything is easy when you know what to concentrate on.

And certainly it is simpler to perform for firms who are well-informed about it. In the same manner, one of the keys to getting great results with improving employee morale and reducing employee turnover is a lot more understanding of what really works.

Read more to enhance your know-how about using communication opportunities to improve staff morale and reduce employee turnover.

Listed here are 5 effective tips for improving employee morale and reducing employee turnover with better communication:

1. Clearly Communication Expectations during the recruitment, interview, and hiring process.

Why is this important?

When expectations are mentioned at the beginning, it is much easier to hire the right person. Take this opportunity to let potential candidates know how things get done at your company. Things like dress code, delegating of authority, benefit plans, office space, expected working schedules including the percentage of travel should all be discussed during this time.

What happens when you adhere to these tips?

The candidates who are really not interested will drop out of consideration and you will be able to see who is ready to join your team..

2. Conduct A Thorough Employee Orientation.

This is very important because you want to ensure the employee gets off to a good start. Make sure to discuss benefits, informal and formal communication norms, share organization charts with an explanation of job functions.

It is really a good idea to have the new employee schedule some time to meet everyone who they will be working with closely.   This helps to start building relationships. Some companies have a mentoring program so the new person has someone besides their boss to ask questions.

Also take this opportunity to discuss how the compensation process works. Things like overtime guidelines, timing of raises and how company incentive plans work should be discussed. .

3. Conduct Periodic Performance Discussions.

The main reason for this is make sure the new employee is on track and to identify any barriers or roadblocks that they may have encountered.

Also take this opportunity to recognize accomplishments. Employee recognition is a key to retaining good employees.

A manager and the new hire should meet at least weekly for first 60 days. Then schedule at least quarterly reviews.  It’s also a very good idea because waiting for an annual review is too late to correct problems. You want to address them before they become large and frustration sets in for both the boss and the employee.   These will help keep employee morale high.

4. Conduct Exit Interviews.

And just exactly why is this recommended?

Employees who are leaving may be able to give you insight into why they chose another competitor so you can improve your compensation or benefit programs before more people leave.

Are there more reasons?

Yes, most importantly they may share issues with your operation that you did not know existed. If conducted properly, you can learn a lot about how things really work versus what you think is going on in your operations..

5. Share Company Performance.

And why is this very important?

People want to feel that their job is secure. Understanding how the company is performing relative to its industry peers is important for reducing stress among your staff.

What are the additional reasons?

Employees become more engaged when they understand how their job and company performance are related. They offer recommendations and suggestions for improvements and exhibit a greater sense of ownership for improving their work areas. This creates a higher degree of company loyalty.

Just carefully follow the 5 tips above and you can expect excellent results in improving employee morale and reducing employee turnover. You may then expect to have all of the joys, benefits and fruits those great results enable you to get.

If you ignore these 5 tips, get ready for poorer results and concurrently lower benefits.

Feel free to leave your comments below. They are always welcomed, valued and appreciated.

photo credit: E01

With a shrinking workforce created by the aging of the Baby Boomer generation, Employee retention is increasingly becoming a key challenge for today’s organizations.

Although fair pay and good benefits still remain crucial in any company hoping to prosper, utilizing some of the employee retention strategies below can enable your firm to retain your best and most desirable employees.

Actively support local Charity/Social Events. Showing interest in community events demonstrates to your staff that your company is not just interested in profit. People want to be part of a company that is a good neighbor and they will return your contribution with increased loyalty. Give them something to “brag” about with their neighbors and friends.

Establish Stock Options program. The potential payout from stock options can be huge for those employees who stay around. Rewarding stock options on a routine basis is an excellent way to facilitate employees staying with your firm.

Offer College Scholarships/Assistance For Employee’s Children. This one goes a long way in establishing company loyalty and really endears the company to the employee’s family. Others will remain with the company in hopes of their children getting some college assistance.

Offer Company Discounts. Offer a discount on whatever your company sells. If you are in retail, offer an employee discount. If you are a dentist, offer an employee discount. No matter business you are in this method works really well. Some employees stay just for the discount.

Reward Sports Apparel for Special Achievements. Everyone loves to get a cap, jacket, or polo shirt with the company’s logo on it celebrating some type of special achievement. These type of employee incentive gifts create good feelings every time they are worn.

Establish an Anniversary Service Awards program. Commemorate years of service with a gift of increasing value for higher years of company service. Although this is not new, it still works. You can begin with something inexpensive like an employee lapel pin and include a travel incentive trip at the higher levels.. Believe it or not, it is not the value but the thought that really counts.

Offer Child care discounts. Whether you have an on-site childcare center or work with a local area center, this one can really differentiate your company from others.

Provide Subsidized parking or van pools. This one will work best if your office is located in the downtown area of a major metropolitan area. It can also work well for those with a long commute.

Provide Tuition Assistance/Reimbursement. A lot of employees are interested in furthering their education. Providing tuition assistance creates a sense of loyalty once the employee completes their coursework.

Provide free or low cost Company physicals. This strategy was more commonplace in the past, but is not offered in a lot of companies. Any company that still offers it will stand out against their competition.

To be effective, any company incentive plan requires constant attention and consistent application. Using these retention strategies will help increase employee job satisfaction, reduce employee turnover and improve morale.