10 tips for questionnaires on employee motivation

1. What is the 'primary aim' of your company?
Your employees may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business. Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your company's principles, priorities and mission.

2. What obstacles stop employees performing to best effect?
Questionnaires on employee motivation should include questions about what employees are tolerating in their work and home lives. The company can eliminate practices that zap motivation.

3. What really motivates your staff?
It is often assumed that all people are motivated by the same things. Actually we are motivated by a whole range of factors. Include questions to elicit what really motivates employees, including learning about their values. Are they motivated by financial rewards, status, praise and acknowledgment, competition, job security, public recognition, fear, perfectionism, results...

4. Do employees feel empowered?
Do your employees feel they have job descriptions that give them some autonomy and allow them to find their own solutions or are they given a list of tasks to perform and simply told what to do?

5. Are there any recent changes in the company that might have affected motivation?
If your company has made redundancies, imposed a recruitment freeze or lost a number of key people this will have an effect on motivation. Collect information from employees about their fears, thoughts and concerns relating to these events. Even if they are unfounded, treat them with respect and honesty.

6. What are the patterns of motivation in your company?
Who is most motivated and why? What lessons can you learn from patches of high and low motivation in your company?

7. Are employee goals and company goals aligned?
First, the company needs to establish how it wants individuals to spend their time based on what is most valuable. Secondly this needs to be compared with how individuals actually spend their time. You may find employees are highly motivated but about the "wrong" priorities.

8. How do employees feel about the company?
Do they feel safe, loyal, valued and taken care of? Or do they feel taken advantage of, dispensable and invisible? Ask them what would improve their loyalty and commitment.

9. How involved are employees in company development?
Do they feel listened to and heard? Are they consulted? And, if they are consulted, are their opinions taken seriously? Are there regular opportunities for them to give feedback?

10. Is the company's internal image consistent with its external one? Your company may present itself to the world as the 'caring airline', 'the forward thinking technology company' or the 'family hotel chain'. Your employees would have been influenced, and their expectations set, to this image when they joined your company. If you do not mirror this image within your company in the way you treat employees you may notice motivation problems. Find out what the disparity is between the employees image of the company from the outside and from the inside.

Source:Internet

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L – I – S – T – E – N - I - N - G

Hi Folks,

Came across this lovely article and would like to share it with you all..

In any walk of life, whatever the professiona you practice, if you
are human being, because God gave youthe power of listening,
understanding and responding (orally or written), unlike any other
living being on the planet. Then it becomes vital that we develop
this habit called L – I – S – T – E – N - I - N - G

Poor listening habits account for a large percentage of communication
breakdowns.

To Avoid Communication Breakdown L – I – S – T – E – N ..

How many times have you found yourself saying "You never told me?"

Avoid these bad habits and develop your listening skills. Listening
is a skill that can be improved with practice, practice, and more
practice.

If you want to listen so you really HEAR what others say, make sure
you're not a:

Responder - Rehearser:
You mentally prepare for "Here's what I'll say next" and subsequently
tune out what else is being said.

Evaluator - Judger:
The burden of listening is on the listener. Don't automatically
condemn a speaker or the subject as uninteresting; don't prejudice
your listening because you don't like the speaker's looks, hairdo,
and voice and so on.

Un-Conscious - Daydreamer:
You have that "deer in the headlights look" leading to an
embarrassing "What did you say?" or "Could you repeat that?"

Imposter - Placater:
Agreeing with everything you hear just to be nice or to avoid
conflict does not mean you're a good listener.

Deralier - Changer:
You change the subject so quickly that the speaker believes you're
not interested in what he/she has to say.

Chooser - Selector:
You filter out what you don't what to hear.

Rigid - Defender:
You don't hear all of what someone has to say because a single
comment made by the speaker has upset you.

Actor - Faker:
Don't pretend to be getting the message while your mind has made a
mental detour and is busy with completely different ideas. If the
speaker tries to interact with you at this point, you'll find
yourself completely lost.


If only your listening skills improve you will fidn that the rate at
which your career will "ZOOM" will surprise you too.

Happy L – I – S – T – E – N - I - N - G

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Top 5 Myths about Motivating employees

While motivating employees is a key factor in an economic recovery, many companies are failing to keep their workers fully engaged in their jobs because they share some common myths and beliefs, according to Suzanne Bates, author of "Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act!"
Employers must re-examine their beliefs about employee engagement if they hope to accelerate their business recovery and retain their top talent.

In a typical workplace, only 29 percent of employees are actively motivated and engaged in their jobs, while 71 percent are unmotivated and disengaged - either not engaged at all (54 percent) or are actively disengaged (17 percent) - according to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index.

The Top 5 myths about motivating employees, according to Bates and "Motivate Like a CEO," are:


Myth #1: Money is the number one way to motivate employees. "Salaries and bonuses have been the staple of motivation. Most companies relied primarily, even completely, on monetary rewards," said Bates. "Money is only one of many factors in motivation. Yet companies have become lazy about motivating people instead of giving them what they really crave, which is recognition, praise, and the opportunity to learn."

Myth #2: If you want to motivate people, don’t let them in on the bad news. "This is a particularly damaging myth. Bad news always gets out to employees. They hate it when you hide bad news; they consider themselves partners in the company, and they long for a chance to contribute and make a difference, especially in tough times," said Bates. "The surest way to motivate people is to empower them even with terrible news, so they can come to terms with reality, think their way through the crisis, and contribute to creative solutions going forward," said Bates.

Myth #3: Most employees know what motivates them. "Many people are searching for a larger purpose, and they are not finding it in their work," said Bates. "In challenging times, employers can become a powerful source of motivation and pride among talented people. In a downturn, leaders must talk to employees and help them discover who they are and what motivates them. Spend time with them; ask them why they enjoy the work, what they enjoy most, how they want to contribute, and where they see themselves in the future," said Bates.<

Myth #4:You simply cannot motivate everyone. "This was true in boom times, when organizations were bloated and some people you hired were marginal. Those days are over," said Bates. "Now that companies have downsized and are arguably leaner and meaner with the best talent, this is a damaging assumption. It is a leader’s responsibility to motivate employees. It’s time to stop blaming employees, and start looking to leaders to ignite the spark," said Bates.

Myth #5: People are just grateful to have a job, and this attitude will survive the downturn. "Top talent will always have a place to go, and while they may have had less mobility during the recession, your competitors are already looking around to see who is unhappy and ready to leave," said Bates. "Employers who keep believing their people are just grateful to have a job will be blindsided when their top talent walks out the door because they don’t have leaders who are engaging them, praising them, recognizing them, and giving them opportunities to grow."

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10 Powerful Self Motivation Rules!!

Image by stilllearninghowtofly - W W Tribe Psychiatrist via Flickr

Self motivation is the only way for you to get out of your current situation that you may not like. You need to have the inner drive to keep your momentum in achieving your goals in life. Without self motivation, nothing else matters. You can hire the most expensive motivator to tell you all the things you already know.

But, if you fail to realize that there is no one else except you who can change your life, then you practically throw your money down the drain by going from one seminar to another in the hope that you can change your life. What matters most is your own action. You need to create and develop your own self motivation to bring you the energy and enthusiasm to pursue the dreams of your life...

Self motivation is the only way for you to get out of your current situation that you may not like. You need to have the inner drive to keep your momentum in achieving your goals in life. Without self motivation, nothing else matters. You can hire the most expensive motivator to tell you all the things you already know. But, if you fail to realize that there is no one else except you who can change your life, then you practically throw your money down the drain by going from one seminar to another in the hope that you can change your life. What matters most is your own action. You need to create and develop your own self motivation to bring you the energy and enthusiasm to pursue the dreams of your life.

You need some kind of motivational drive in anything you do. At work, you may need your colleague or boss to motivate you to accomplish your task. At home, you may need your family member to share some motivational thoughts to keep you energetic in your pursuit of your dreams. They can sit with you all day trying to keep you motivated. Again, all these will be meaningless when you yourself fail to acknowledge that you need more lasting drive to really keep your enthusiasm, that is, your self motivation. This is the quality that will separate you from the rest of the people.

Most of you may be thinking that this is going to be a very daunting task as you do not have the slightest idea of how you are going to go about this. You will be surprised as how easy this can really be done. Here are the 10 things that you need to follow:

1. Do not worry if you make mistakes. Making mistakes is one way we can learn and improve in our life. There is no one that has never made any mistake. The most important thing here is you realize that you have made mistakes and do not repeat the same mistakes again. You learn more from mistakes you have made than any other way.

2. Feel happy about your life. Happiness generates more positive energy within you. This energy is important to keep you more optimistic and enthusiastic about your life. Happy people are always motivated to accomplish something in their life.

3. Get out of your comfort zone. You need to learn to get into unfamiliar surroundings to explore better opportunities. Do not just stick around with the same people, same known places, skills or work. Explore new things that will enhance your ability to achieve your goals and keep you stay motivated.

4. Think the unthinkable. Nothing will stop you from thinking of goals you want to achieve. You have to dream high in order to set high goals. Everything starts with a dream. Do not limit yourself in your goals and dreams.

5. Read and listen to inspirational materials. You have to start spending time reading motivational books and listening to inspirational tapes. But, you must also implement what you learn from your reading and listening. New things you learn from these exercises will give you excitement and energy to work harder toward achieving your goals.

6. Resolve problems instead of running away. Your ride to success destination will not be smooth all the time. You will face difficulties. Do not quit when you experience predicaments in your quest to achieve your dreams. Frustrations and setbacks naturally form as parts of your success venture.

7. Appreciate every moment of your life. Think of what your life really is as of now. Appreciate every moment you have currently. Thinking about the past or day dreaming about the future will not bring you anywhere. Appreciating your current conditions makes you feel much better and realize the need to move forward to achieve your goals.

8. Finish what you start. Once you have started something, finish it. Never leave what you do halfway regardless of the end result. This will train you to accomplish something out of things that you do.

9. Face challenges one at a time. Challenges come to us almost all the time. Take up one challenge at a time. Do not try to accumulate and face them at one go. As the challenges accumulate, you will only feel less motivated to face them and finally unable to complete anything.

10. Care less about what people say. You may hear a lot of bad things people say about you. Sometimes those bad comments may come from somebody close to you. As long as you fully know what you are doing to achieve your goals, you can let those comments fall into deaf ears. Thinking too much about what people say will only make you weaker and loose focus on your effort.

Of course, this list does not just stop here. To instill and develop your self motivation, there are more ways you can do. But, if you can really comprehend and take the appropriate actions just based on these 10 things, you will definitely see the results.

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Top 10 Management Mistakes

Managers come from different walks of life, possess various characteristics, and have their own philosophies regarding how to manage a business and employees. In a broad sense, there are common mistakes made by managers at different levels and in various types of businesses.The following are 10 of the most common management mistakes.

1.Putting policies ahead of people. The smaller the organization, the larger the mistake this is. Policies are made to be followed, within reason. Some flexibility with employees, particularly in a small company, is important. An even bigger mistake is standing behind policies at the expense of losing loyal customers. Weigh the significance of standing behind your policy in each situation. If it is a matter of physical safety or security, policies must be upheld. However, in many other instances, there are reasonable solutions that will not alienate the customer or create a strained relationship with your employee(s).

2.Lack of communication. In any industry, at any level, communication is key to being a successful manager. Employees need to know what is expected of them and when specific projects or tasks need to be completed. Communication needs to be clear, and any questions that arise need to be answered.

3.Failing to hear what your employees have to say. Managers make the mistake of listening but not always hearing what their employees are saying. To manage effectively, you need to understand the needs and concerns of your employees.

4.Not acknowledging that you do not have all the answers. A good manager does not make the mistake of trying to solve every problem. Seeking help from individuals with expertise in specific areas is a sign of strength, not weakness. In addition, a good manager must understand that his or her way is not the only way to do the job.

5.The glass is always half empty. Managers who continually focus on the negatives, without recognizing positive achievements or employee accomplishments, end up with employees who are not motivated and often have one foot out the door looking for a more positive work environment.

6.Not accepting responsibility. A common mistake made by managers is to either delegate blame or simply not accept responsibility for that which happens under their guidance. Eventually, avoiding responsibility will catch up with a manager and usually not bode well for his or her future. Being in charge means taking responsibility for whatever happens.

7.Favoritism. Once a manager has obvious favorites, he or she loses credibility and the respect of the rest of the team.

8.Just do it. The Nike slogan does not work when employees are trying to gain an understanding of the process or project. Rather than expecting your team to simply work blindly on tasks they do not understand, a good manager takes the time to explain what the project is all about and how the team's work is incorporated into the plan. Remember, the more the team is invested in a project, the better the results will be.

9.Too much technology. A new breed of managers are more tech-savvy than they are comfortable handling and managing people. Embracing technology is a key to success in the modern office environment, but not at the risk of embracing people skills. Do not hide behind e-mails and other technology.

10.Never change. In a rapidly changing business environment, not being open to change can be a major mistake. While you may stick to tried-and-true methods in some areas, you should consider and weigh the value of change in others. Above all, be flexible.

Source:Internet

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