When I was on my entry-level job, I was contented with what I had then. Maybe this is a normal course for a fresh graduate when the only short-term goal is to land for a job no matter what. I had no rants or whatsoever then. A couple of years went by and I get to be more concerned of what I am being paid over what I have done for the company. Co-workers expressing more dismay of the company somehow influenced me. I once asked, why is this company not mindful of their workers? Didn’t the management know that if not for the effort of everyone, the company won’t succeed? I told myself that the management should know how to handle their employees to make them work harder and do their responsibilities better.
An opportunity knocked and I had to step on a different responsibility on a new company. Like any other starting employees, I had to work hard and earn for recognition. I was under supervision and monitored always. I was transferred to different teams until I had the responsibility to managing people. Now it was my time to be in the shoes of and be a part of the management team.
I didn’t realize that managing people is not an easy task. You have to make sure that you maintain good rapport with your people without sacrificing your responsibility of supervising their tasks, progress and accomplishments. Playing between being strict and lenient is a challenge on my part. Different personality I will witness and handle in the team, and I need to balance them to make it harmonious. And I think I will find it hard to handle conflicts with those that are really good in their responsibilities, fear that I may lose them in the team.
All these hesitations and concerns fall back again to the question of how to motivate employees. I have been there on my first years of working. Which reminds me now the reasons why I moved out to search for something better.
Promotion. The very first reason is promotion. It is very hard to get a promotion on a rank or was there really any position you would want to apply for promotion? I meant no offense for people who are contented with what they have until the end but it is challenging to work for something new and get reward for what you have accomplished more than what was expected of you. Isn’t this always the case?
Authority over work. Again, I meant no dismay to people who just wanted to take and take and take tasks and follow instructions how they do it. But for me, I am motivated if I am empowered. Being able to work on your own and be responsible over it is fulfilling. A supervisor may annoy me if I am always monitored daily, well of course if I am still a trainee this should be.
Trainings/Seminars. This is still a part of empowering an employee but still is a part of motivating. These I do not get from any of the companies I have been but I wanted to get some of these. It does not only adds new information and skills but also boosts an employees confidence over work, thus, making him more productive and efficient.
Incentive and Bonus. Productivity bonus, performance evaluation bonus and the like are definitely a motivating factor for me. Rewarding a staff in tangible things, money or trips, will make him love his work and company more. The drive to keep working is high. All because he wanted to be recognized and rewarded. The last time I had in the company we had our quarterly productivity bonus that we get every end of the year. But this was changed and so all increase will only depend on performance evaluation and promotion. I don’t mind the change but it would have been better if the company gives both bonuses. But it draws back to the financial capability of the company.
Praises. I always believe that recognizing employees gives them more morale over their work. I never fail to say “Thank you”, “Good job!”, “Perfect!”, “Keep it up!”, or any motivating statements to my team. For I know that beyond imperfections, they did their best and have worked very hard for any project. Intangible rewards are important too. It may not be as big as tangible ones but it is always best to keep the spirits of all workers up all the time.
There are still a lot of factors and ways to motivate employees but in so far I have experienced, these are the ones that let me see and think in and out of the box.
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