The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. - Ralph Nader
Rewards are an excellent way to reinforce employee behavior and productivity motivation. A reward is a work outcome of positive value to the individual. It is common for many organizations and companies to have a reward system given to those employees who perform excellently, conducting great deals that are proving worth for the company's ideals. There are two types of reward systems.
Extrinsic rewards are rewards and motivators that are received "externally." These are rewards given to employees when one's outcomes are perceived as outstanding and best and are usually provided by managers or supervisors. Examples of extrinsic rewards are pay bonuses, promotions, time off, special assignments, office fixtures, awards, verbal praise, and so on. In all cases, the motivational stimulus of extrinsic rewards originates outside the individual.
Intrinsic rewards are something that comes from the "inside." These rewards make a person feel "special" or "high" after completing a job. That person feels good because she has a feeling of competency, personal development, and self‐control over her work. In comparison with extrinsic rewards, intrinsic is compelled not by other people's actions signing consigning Jobs.
Though jobs and employment are important, people who go to work daily do the same thing making the job seem mundane and boring. Some individuals who experience this call it "burnout." This is common in any company, either small or large, but an intelligent manager can manage this situation if he knows what to do.
The job redesign concept requires understanding the human qualities people bring to the organization and applying motivational theories to the work structure to improve productivity and satisfaction.
When redesigning jobs, managers look at both job scope and job depth. Redesign attempts may include the following:
Job Enlargement
Job enlargement is not adding more tasks but simply setting up lists of various functions included in their employment. It does not increase the job, quality, or difficulty but instead decreases boredom and monotony of the tasks at hand. With this, it helps reduce inactivity and improve work quality of productivity.
Job rotation
This method allows people to experience different tasks in the company. However, this is not permanent but will enable employees to be exposed to the company's other jobs, add variety, and decrease boredom among employees. Job rotation can encourage higher levels of contributions and renew interest and enthusiasm.The organization benefits from a cross‐trained workforce.
Job enrichment
This is also called vertical job loading, but besides adding or giving a variety of tasks to an employee, it also includes added responsibility and more authority. If the skills needed to do the job are skills that match the jobholder's abilities, job enrichment may improve morale and performance.
Creating flexibility
Leadership is something you earn, something you're chosen for. You can't come in yelling, 'I'm your leader!' If it happens, it's because the other guys respect you. - Ben Roethlisberger
Personal Time: Employees also need this and fight for it. They need it for many reasons, such as family time and emergencies. The traditional nine‐to‐five workday may not work for many people anymore. That is why give "flextime." This gives employees the choice to set and control their working hours. It is a foolproof method for any company to accommodate its employees. Here are some other options organizations are trying as well:
A compressed workweek is flextime that allows a full-time job to be completed in less than the standard 40‐hour, five‐day workweek. Its most generic form is the 4/40 schedule, which gives employees three days off each week. This schedule helps the individual through more leisure time and lower commuting costs. The organization should benefit through lower absenteeism and improved performance. Of course, the danger in this type of scheduling is the possibility of increased fatigue.
Job sharing or twinning occurs when one full-time job is split between two or more persons. This often happens when employees work for half-day, but it can also be done weekly or monthly, depending on shared arrangements. When jobs can be split and shared, organizations can benefit by employing talented people who would otherwise be unable to work full-time. For example, parents or mothers who need to care for their children or elders are willing to work half-day. Although adjustment problems sometimes occur, the arrangement can be suitable for all concerned.
Telecommuting, sometimes called flexplace, is a work arrangement that allows at least a part of scheduled work hours to be completed outside of the office, with work‐at‐home as one of the options. Telecommuting frees the jobholder from needing to work fixed hours, wearing special work attire, enduring the usual commuting constraints, and having direct contact with supervisors. Home workers often prove increased productivity, report fewer distractions, enjoy the freedom to be their boss, and appreciate the benefit of having more time for themselves.
Of course, when there are positives, there are also negatives. Many home workers feel they work too much and are isolated from their family and friends. In addition to the feelings of isolation, many employees think that the lack of visibility at the office may result in the loss of promotions.
There is no limit and varied factors on how to motivate your employees in the workplace. A manager's responsibility is to understand his employees' needs and fin, find effective ways to relieve their stress, e their daily working lives more relaxed and comfortable. All these things will make for a pleasant and more productive workplace.
People Empowerment Secrets: Recognizing Achievement
Theories and research suggest and have been proven that giving out praise and recognition to employees is one of the main reasons they leave certain
companies and organizations.
Though increasing salary and adding bonuses are already important motivators, companies must also recognize employees" achievements for the company at least once or twice a year. You can do this in diverse ways. Events and celebrations highlighting and awarding the achievements of employees or teams are one way to do it or give added rewards for their achievement.
Leadership and motivation work and comes together when it comes to managing employees. Focusing on the Bigger Picture, motivation cannot be quickly obtained without proper leadership since it is essential to understanding motivation.
Peter Drucker said that leadership is the quality of examining work to ensure that effort is not placed where there are no results.
According to this definition, leadership is the skill of setting up priorities and marshaling resources to achieve worthwhile goals. While some may disagree with this definition, few will argue that Drucker's view is unreasonable.
Supervisors have the complex and primary task of deciding what is essential in their organization. Drucker recommends that they forget about yesterday's services, keep today's breadwinners, and, as managers, emphasize and nurture tomorrow's aims. Indeed, a fundamental rule of leadership is to delegate yesterday and undertake tomorrow. Those expensive experiences in management ego, in developing and keeping services and collections long after analysts have revealed their failure, must be avoided. Leadership is the art of recognizing mistakes, even one's own, and correcting them before it bleeds the institution.
The leader is also the person who must ask himself and the members of his administrative team to redefine the purpose and role of their institution regularly.
The leader must clarify the institution's goals and aims and remind his team of those ends. The leader must ensure the team knows the goals and strategy to succeed. (Excerpt from SUPERVISION OF EMPLOYEES IN
LIBRARIES: Leadership and Employee Motivation by Donald J. Sager; pages 45-46)
Leaders today must learn and expert new skills adding up to the traditional leadership methods to lead their teams and employees to the company's success. Continuously mentioned in this book is that motivating employees is imperative and thus a skill any leader must buy. It can be costly, but the proper usage of tools can be helpful for all and most organizations. Leaders must employ these tools and resources appropriately to achieve their goals.
When it comes to motivating employees, one leadership trait is the ability to infuse inspiration into each member/staff or employee; besides sharing one's vision and directions, asking for opinions and ideas is a beautiful way to build trust and relationships and inspire each other. It can be called a "successful leadership relationship" and must be effortless when motivating employees. Following an effective leader, people conduct and achieve more than they may ever have dreamed.
The foundation of this successful relationship is the leader's ability to make people feel important. So, influential leaders need to prove these practices.
Pay attention to people using common courtesy. Simply saying "Good Morning" or replying to each turn will inflict positive feedback. Asking how their weekend was or their family's is a powerfully simple tool to practice building relationships with your people.
Listen to your people. Rather than leading and them listening only to you, the leader, start listening to your employees/staff or members and give full attention when needed. Set meetings to listen to their needs better. Moreover, you can hear more of their ideas and opinions about the organization and oversee what works for their comfort. You make people feel special when you listen to them without distraction.
Positive, powerful languages. A simple "Thank you" or "Great Job" is a positive and powerful phrase to say to your employees that can positively affect their daily lives. It encourages them to work harder and better for the companies and their welfare. Other phrases can include but are not limited to, "Your contribution saved the customer for the company." "We couldn't have accomplished the goal without you."
Put praise in writing. A "thank you" note to the employee, with a copy of her file, magnifies the impact of the recognition.
Keep true to commitments. Make sure never to cancel except in an actual emergency. Good raise or bonus? Never fail it.Do not keep promises or commitments you cannot meet.
Give credit to employee contribution. Remember suggestion boxes and meetings? When a great idea is presented, made, or suggested.
"Too often, the solution seems to be a higher salary, but this is not necessarily so."
Most people and even companies" think that money is already a good motivator for employees to stay in their companies. Most pretend. Still, if you change the reward, you can change people's behavior.
Researchers argue that to motivate employees, you should be able to give them happiness. However, Duke Psychology Professor Dan Ariel argues that both happiness and money are both motivators, and simply categorizing them based on money and happiness will oversimplify things and miss the crucial factors of what motivates people.
People think that, in the end, motivation is all about money, for all that people pretend otherwise. If you change the reward, you can change people's behavior.
Others argue that it is all about finding happiness. Duke psychology professor Dan Ariel argues that both play a part but that those explanations wildly oversimplify things and miss what motivates people.
In a recently posted TED talk, he points to finding meaning in work and being able to see progress as significant motivators.
This means managers play a huge role in the quality and quantity of someone's everyday work, and they must be very conscious of their behavior. "Ignoring people's performance is almost as bad as shredding their effort in front of their eyes, "Ariel says.
Nothing destroys people's confidence and motivation more than busy work, and nothing gets them going more than constantly seeing their progress and caring about it.
In an experiment, Ariel had participants build a series of Lego figures, paying them successively less for each one. Group A had their finished figures put under the table and were told they would be broken down later. Group B had their work broken down right in front of them and had the disassembled pieces given back to them if they chose to build another one.
The difference in meaning was slight. Both figures would end up being broken down. It made a significant difference in people's motivation and willingness to work. Group A built eleven figures on average, and Group B, 7.
Not only that, but the latter condition also made even people who loved building Lego dramatically less productive.
This translates directly to the workplace. Ariel once spoke at a Seattle-based software company to a team that had been tasked with innovating the following big product for a company. A week before Ariel’s visit, the CEO canceled the project.
Acknowledgment is essential, and even the briefest notice and attention make an enormous difference. It is about remembering that workers are humans, not machines.
Money is a powerful lever, but it is not the only one. The best managers and companies figure out how to use everything.
Recognize Employees
One method that most leaders and managers often forget is to recognize the efforts and achievements done by employees. Employee recognition goes a long way toward increasing and keeping achievement. Studies show that when employees feel valued or recognized for their achievements and contribution, they are more likely to strive and desire to contribute to the company's success. Managers who never thank their employees can cause a decline in motivation. It is not essential to give extravagant gifts, but just the thought of being recognized is motivation enough. Other ways to recognize employees include a paid day off, a card expressing gratitude, and flexibility into n work schedules.Instead, employee recognition is more effective with sincerity and if you give them fair wages rather than just increasing their salaries.
Quality of Life
A comfortable working environment and understanding of employee needs have shown increased productivity with higher results. It is a common issue and problem for employees to manage and balance work and personal lives, which may negatively affect their morale and work performance. Managers and leaders can give a comfortable working place by implementing flexible working schedules/hours or the schedule to work at home. Incorporating quality-of-life strategies in the workplace allows employees to focus on completing their duties.