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| Greetings!
In last month's Clean Team Pro Newsletter, we discussed training. We explored what it takes to be a great trainer -- and just how much it can cost you if you're not.
While good training is a critical way to boost employee retention, this month's newsletter is focused on another factor that is equally important: Motivation.
Our feature article lays out ten essential strategies for keeping morale high and motivating your employees. There's also a second story on four common reasons employees lose their motivation mojo.
After you've had a chance to read our ideas, I'd love to hear from you about what motivation strategies work for your team. Please tell me about them at jeff@thecleanteam.com, so I can share them with the rest of our readers next month.
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The Motivation Puzzle
Top 10 Strategies for Motivating Your Employees
To motivate: to give an incentive for action.
As a small business owner, your employees are your greatest assets. And their motivation is your company's greatest determinant of success.
Almost 50 years ago, a sociologist named Frederick Herzberg studied employee attitudes and motivation. He published his conclusions in a book called The Motivation to Work, in which he outlines the factors that cause on-the-job satisfaction. These factors include achievement, recognition, challenging work, responsibility, advancement and growth.
What does all of this mean for you and your housecleaning business? The factors that Herzberg identified have been confounding companies large and small for centuries. Managers and employers have frequently and mistakenly adopted disincentives to poor work, rather than incentives for good work. Instead of using a carrot and stick to motivate their team members, many places of employment -- and this is especially true in the service industry -- use just the stick and forget about the carrot entirely.
There are legitimate problem situations, like tardiness, sloppy work and even theft, that need to be addressed with the "stick". But what Herzberg learned -- and what the Clean Team's experience in the field proves -- is that the "carrot" is a far more effective way to motivate your employees and maximize your company's greatest resource.
Now how do you turn all that theory into practice? Here are ten motivation strategies that you can start using today to give your employees an incentive for action.
#1. Lay a Good Foundation
Good professional training is the essential foundation for any motivation strategy. See the Clean Team Pro's July newsletter for more ideas on how training can raise the bar and let your employees know you expect great results.
#2. Share Your Goals
Share your goals for the company with your employees and lay out the steps it will take to achieve them. By including your employees in your long-term strategies, they will feel more appreciated. And this feeling of appreciation will motivate them to want to be an active part in reaching your goals.
#3. Learn About Your Employee's Goals
You already know that you can't reach your goals without your employees. So, take a little time to figure out what makes your employees tick. Explore ways that you and your company can help them attain their goals -- whether it's going back to school or working toward a management position. By doing this, you give your employees the message that you are invested in them for the long term; and that enables them to make the same long-term commitment to your company in return.
#4. Keep the Lines of Communication Open
Hold regular meetings with your staff and make sure that those meetings are productive and meaningful. (You don't want your employees to think you're wasting their time!) Prepare a written agenda, start on time, and establish yourself as a leader - while listening to and considering everyone's input.
#5. Compensate Fairly
Money is an important component of employee motivation. But it isn't the be-all-and-end-all. Even more important is how you treat salary issues: Do you provide a fair wage? Do you offer bonuses or raises - and do your employees know how to earn them?
#6. Keep the Ball Rolling
Remember Newton's law: An object in motion stays in motion? Make sure that your team stays in motion by being ready for your team the moment they walk in the door each morning. Have their schedules ready and their supplies set. Having to sit around while you scramble to get organized is definitely not motivating for your employees!
#7. Set Clear Expectations
If you want your employees to live up to your expectations, then they need to know what is expected of them -- and how to meet those expectations. Communicate this information clearly, through good training (see #1) and periodic review sessions. Use feedback sessions as an opportunity for your employees to communicate their questions and concerns as well, so that you can all be on the same page.
#8. Promote From Within
Keep an eye out for potential team leaders from among your cleaning staff. Promoting from within promotes more than just great leadership -- it also promotes trust and loyalty from among your employees.
#9. Say Thank You
Remember that simple lesson your mom was always trying to instill in you? These two words are a powerful, motivator. No matter what else is going on in your hectic day, find the time to offer a heartfelt thank you to your teams and team members.
#10. Reward Your Employees
Besides your appreciative word (which is golden in terms of employee motivation), you can also boost morale with special activities that recognize and reward good work. Ideas can include selecting an Employee of the Month, hosting a company picnic, splurging for pizza on Fridays, or giving out a surprise bonus (say, $10 per team member for a non-complaint week.) The list of possible ideas is long, so be sure you achieve a balance between those rewards that honor your entire team and those that single out individuals for special recognition. Also be careful that these rewards are in fact perceived as motivating -- and not as a source of division between employees.
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Why Do Employees Lose Their Motivation?
Here's a quick look at four reasons your employees might lose their motivation -- and a quick fix for each one.
Problem: Employees have concerns or suggestions that they feel management is ignoring.
Solution: Hold frequent meetings with time allotted for employee input. Also schedule one-on-one reviews, where in addition to giving your feedback about an employee's performance, you also actively seek his or her perspective.
Problem: Employees feel they are stuck in a dead-end position, with no room for growth.
Solution: Promote your team leaders from within, so others will know that good work is rewarded. And since you can't make everyone a team leader, look for ways to keep their jobs challenging. Offer training on new equipment or encourage employees to take on new areas of specialization, etc.
Problem: Employees feel they only hear from you when something is going wrong.
Solution: Commit to giving more positive feedback than negative. Be mindful of the message in your compliments: "The Smith house was a real challenge today, but you made it look easy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate knowing I have such an efficient worker in the field!" is a lot more motivating than a generic "Good job!"
Problem: Your employees feel they can't relax back at the office, since the environment is cold and sterile.
Solution: Keep your office surroundings professional but social. Spring for bagels on Monday morning, post cheery artwork or motivational sayings around the walls, and host an office picnic or holiday party. Your employees may or may not want to socialize outside of the office, but do your part to create a convivial environment while they're at work.
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Thanks for reading us this month! Come visit us on the web at www.thecleanteampro.com.
Sincerely,
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Jeff Campbell
The Clean Team Catalog |
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