Employee Motivation & Job Satisfaction = Small business Success

To Motivate - as a definition means "give an incentive for action."  For the small business owner, motivation is a huge factor for either the success or demise of your company.  You need to devise an "employee motivation program".

Positive Reinforcement

Showing your employees that you are willing to recognize there accomplishments and hard work is undoubtedly the simplest and least costly methods of employee motivation.  There are many ways to convey this to your employees.  Token gifts, Employee of the month awards, or a pat on the back, all show how much you appreciate them.  As you increase your employee's sense of pride and accomplishment he or she feels better about there job and in the end are more productive. 

When your employee's function as a team, think like a coach.  Reward the whole group for a job well done.  This will boost morale both personally and collectively.  Employee incentive programs such as small bonuses (time off, monetary), employee award certificates, etc, all serve to better the company as a whole.  Remember that everybody like to feel appreciated and special for the work that they do. 

Happy Employees

It's not illogical to determine that the more satisfied the employee, the better he or she will perform.  So the environment that you create for your employee must be one that is constructive to positive energy.  If your employee feels happy when they are working.then they will be naturally encouraged to work. 

Some of the methods for increasing job satisfaction include:

A)  Allowing flexible schedules. It is becoming common for the small business to allow there employees to work alternative schedules that don't follow the traditional 9-5 workday.  Job sharing or part time schedules - once a mainstay for the elementary teacher - is also becoming very popular in the small business environment. 

B) Telecommuting. Some jobs can be performed by employees who telecommute from their home computers a few days a week

C) Performance reviews - scheduled regularly - allow you to give your employee positive feedback and let them know what is expected in the near future.

D) It is also a good practice to encourage employees to do various tasks so that their jobs to not become routine and boring.

E) Permit your employees to improve and decorate their own workspace.

F) Encourage socialization through lunch time or after hour activities.

G) Stress that employees can move up and advance within your small business.

H) Portray an open-door policy, so that employees feel comfortable with asking questions or making recommendations.

I) Make donations to charities selected by the employees on behalf of the company, or sponsor a team or event that is of immediate interest to your employees.

Be clear when talking to your employee and let them know that there opinion or views are important in building a viable company.  Strong communication skills are necessary when assigning tasks to your people, so that the project is clearly defined and understood.  Don't overload your workers with information or demand that they try to complete tasks that aren't reasonably attainable. 

You will probably see better results from your employee if you sit down with them periodically and ask them for feedback.  To help manage this process use a CRM package such as Salesboom.com  With this type of software you can schedule your meetings with your employees, link them to joint projects, establish a consistent and open dialogue and log every issue on a case-by-case basis. 

Highly paid motivational speakers may be brought in for pep talks, but in the end you will be left to motivate them in an ongoing basis.  Find out what they like about their jobs, what they dislike, and what they would like to see changed or improved. Perhaps you can start with anonymous employee satisfaction surveys, which will allow employees greater latitude in communicating how they honestly feel about company policies, management and their jobs.  Would the employee do better if they had more training in there position?  Are they concerned about the equipment they are using?  Is the balance of supervision equal to there expectations?   Would flexible hours help employees who have long commutes or family responsibilities? Questions of these type are a good starting point to gain the necessary information from your people.

Why do employees become disenchanted?  Here are five common reasons:

1) They feel that there concerns, problems, suggestions or complaints are being ignored by management.

2) They feel that they are stuck in positions with no potential for advancement.

3) They are bored because the tasks are routine and they are not encouraged to take on new projects or new responsibilities.

4) They only receive negative feedback.

5)  The office environment has become impersonal and sterile.  The social aspect is gone.

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