Page 52 - How to Motivate Every Employee

Hire for the best fit: The best way to counter de-motivation is to
prevent it, and sometimes the problem can be with the people you
hire. There are folks who tend to get de-motivated quite easily or
who are just negative in one way or another. Since you can’t count on
overcoming a person’s psychological issues, it’s best to avoid hiring
such people. Put some time into screening out candidates who seem
likely to suffer from motivation problems.
Hold on to your best employees by creating an environment that
offers lots of feedback and builds confidence: Losing good people is a
definite de-motivator. To avoid that, give your employees accurate
and honest feedback and praise. Feedback strengthens employees
and builds confidence, even when it’s corrective. Ask your employees
how they would like to receive feedback from you. You’ll be establish-
ing a foundation that helps to avoid surprises and minimize de-moti-
vating discomfort. Managers who create an environment rich with
honest feedback and praise encourage employee cooperation and
trust and higher levels of performance and productivity.
Protect people’s dignity and self-respect at all times: One of the
greatest de-motivators for employees is having their dignity under-
mined. Create an environment that encourages employees to respect
one another. Some tips for doing this: never criticize an employee in
front of others; offer corrective feedback only in private; never point
a finger at someone—it’s demeaning and unprofessional; never use a
condescending tone of voice; never attack someone personally; focus
on professional behaviors and performance only; and finally, if you
expect others to respect your sense of dignity, you should show them
the same respect.

“There’s only one way to know how strong employee
motivation is throughout your company—ask the people
who actually work there. If the de-motivators are seeping
in, then it’s time to put the kibosh on any and all de-
motivators in a hurry!”
—Anonymous

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