TreyMarkel

I was having lunch with my aunt the other day and she was telling me how she can’t figure out why she fails to grab the attention of teenagers when it comes to their faith.  She is a youth minister in Chicago.  I asked her what some of the the topics she was talking about with these youngsters.  When she told me the kind of topics and activities she was doing, I started laughing.  She got kind of mad at me actually.  I told her that people, no matter what age they are, want to be engaged with topics and activities that are interesting and fun to them.  This will draw out excitement and motivation.  The same goes for any employee.

In the past, businesses spent quite a bit of time and money competing for customers so they can grow their business.  Little did these companies realize, if you spend the time and money on the employees, the business will come.  Business is all about people, or human capital.  Human capital is what makes it all happen.  When starting a new business and trying find a partner or hiring a new sales person or even a secretary, finding that right person is tough.  When you do in fact find the right employee that you believe has what it takes, retaining that employee needs to be the focus.  Treat your employees better then you would treat a customer.  Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Training – There is nothing worse for a human being then being hired onto a company that looks great and has a awesome vision, to find out they have no training program whatsoever.  The employee is asked to get on the phone the first day of work and “figure it out”.  How stressful.  I see this quite often with cereal entrepreneurs that are trying to hire and manage a sales team.  1% of the earths population can take the bull by the horns and figure something out with no training.  When you hire a new employee make sure you have some documentation on your business and how it works.  Videos are also a great way to train employees.  This allows for you, the entrepreneur, to get back to work sooner.  Camtasia has a great program for creating videos.  A good training program will express to the employee that the company is interested in his or her success.  The more information you give an employee about their job description, the better they are going to be.

Compensation Plan – Compensation plans can really make or break the motivation of any employee.   When creating a compensation plan make sure its simple.  I see these brilliant entrepreneurs create compensation plans where you  need a PHD in physics to understand them.  Keep it simple.  Add goals with bonuses to your compensation plans.  This will keep the employee motivated during each working day and will also keep the employee motivated about next weeks or next months bonus package.  Bonuses don’t need to be crazy expensive trips to Hawaii.  If you can afford it, then go for it, but if you’re like me and have no money, a simple $50 gas card will go a long way.  Money doesn’t motivate every employee.  Create conversations with your employees about their weekend and what they like to do for fun.  You may realize that money is the last thing they want.  Listen to your employees and their compensation package should be easy to create.

Work Hours – Many of your businesses will require your employees to come into the office to complete their work.  However, if this isn’t so, think about flexible work hours.  Can the employee work from home two days out of the week?  The way I see it; if you hit your numbers and you’re doing what I’m asking of you, I don’t care if you work from the bottom of the ocean or 40,000 feet in the air.  Reward performing employees with flexible work hours.  This should also motivate other employees to work harder.

Communication – Believe it or not, employees are human beings.  Some I know, may seem to mimic machines with the jobs they perform, but they have feelings and want to be treated like a human being.  Talk with your employees.  Ask them how their weekend was.  Take them and their families out to dinner every now and then.  Spend some time each week asking them their opinions on the business and their job.  Take the time to listen to how they feel and how they think.  Try to draw out their strengths and weaknesses and spend time with them on their weaknesses.  They are already good at their strengths and will naturally improve in that area.  Also, be honest with your employees.  If it’s not working out, tell them in a respectful way.  If their doing a good job, communicate that to them without making them seem like they are kings or queens.

If employees are treated like they are respected and have a place in a business, they pass that attitude on to customers.  Remember, its all about people and their attitudes.  A good positive employee always has the capacity to generate more revenue then a negative one.  What has your experience been with managing people?  What incentive packages or tricks do you use to keep employees motivated?  I would love to hear from you.