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KristineS
09-24-2008, 12:31 PM
I have always been a big advocate of positive management. I praise the people who work for and with me when they do a good job. When it's in my control, I'll give raises and perks. I like to make those who work with me and for me feel valued and valuable.

Recently I was talking with another manager and I was told that I'm "soft" on my employees and "spoil them". I asked how the other manager's employees knew they were appreciated and the response was something along the lines of "they still have a job, don't they?"

Where do you or would you fall on the boss scale? Are you tough enough or seriously sweet?

BillR
09-24-2008, 03:36 PM
I fall into the "absentee boss" scale at this point in time. This will soon be corrected :)

But anyway - I think there is really only one way to let people feel appreciated. You have to a) set objectives for them (or let them set their own within reason) and b) congratulate them when they are fulfilled and discuss them when they are not.

In addition to that morale building activities are huge - performance bonuses are good too. Every quarter we distribute 25% of the profit from the previous quarter to the employees. No profit = no bonus. Each time we do this people basically get a week or two of pay extra.

KristineS
09-24-2008, 04:12 PM
But anyway - I think there is really only one way to let people feel appreciated. You have to a) set objectives for them (or let them set their own within reason) and b) congratulate them when they are fulfilled and discuss them when they are not.



I agree with you about that Bill and I think it's where a lot of bosses fail. Either they set the objective and then fail to extend the congratulations, or they don't set objectives and then berate employees for not completing tasks the employee never knew he or she was supposed to do.

I just think it is so wrongheaded to consider praise and rewards as "spoiling" employees. Everyone works better when they know they're appreciated. Also, if someone goes above and beyond they should be rewarded for it.

BillR
09-24-2008, 04:37 PM
I've worked with business owners who treated employees like the enemy. It continually blows my mind when I see that.

KristineS
09-24-2008, 09:04 PM
I've never understood that either, BillR. We're all on the same team.

I have the same reaction to bosses who treat their employees like they're the enemy, only there to slack off and steal. Then the same bosses complain about how there isn't any employee loyalty.

Very sad.

Evan
09-24-2008, 10:02 PM
Managers who fail to motivate their employees are lucky they have a job themselves.

Managers should offer incentives for jobs well done or show that they appreciate the work of their fellow employees. What if they all decided to do nothing and that department looks bad -- who is blamed? The manager. And as they say -- crap flows downhill. So immediately that is something they should be happy about.

KristineS
09-25-2008, 08:18 AM
Managers should offer incentives for jobs well done or show that they appreciate the work of their fellow employees. What if they all decided to do nothing and that department looks bad -- who is blamed? The manager. And as they say -- crap flows downhill. So immediately that is something they should be happy about.

That is such a good point, Evan.

Managers depend so much on those who work under them to maintain production and yet many managers act as though only they matter. It consistently amazes me how many managers don't understand that their treatment of the people who work under them will ultimately effect them.

orion_joel
09-25-2008, 11:00 PM
I find that it depends on the employee's how to best manage their morale. But in saying that it also depends on the environment, and the relationship of the employee to that environment.

For example i work in a fairly fast paced, processing environment. Probably on a full night i am one of 3 or 4 people coordinating a group of anything up to 50 people. They are pretty much all different personalities, and work for different reasons. It can be a huge challenge quite often to find a suitable way to keep them all moving towards the same goal and keep the morale up. So much of the morale thing comes from give and take, and evaluating a persons personality, as to how best to approach something to make it seem fair to them. It is far from easy in a large group to please everyone all the time and often while not always the best idea, the feeling lucky to have a job approach is what works to keep some people motivated some of the time. I dont always take the best approach but for the most part people tend to realize that while something i do may seem heavy handed or against them, it is not a long term thing and it is part of working that you do not always get to do what you want.