A question of people

Motivated staff work better and they work together better. Yet, despite the fact that we all know this, we do not generally do enough to ensure our staff are motivated.

We also know that if staff are motivated then staff retention is better, so client relationships are better and we are all more productive and creative.

However, we are too busy 'doing' to bother with these 'softer' issues. Clearly not enough is understood about motivation.

In the construction industry, the archetypal autocratic managers of yesteryear insisted that they were responsible for everything - including the motivation of 'their' staff. Nowadays we know better.

We are all responsible for motivating ourselves, but we can all help each other. Work is much easier if we all contribute to creating an environment in which this can happen.

We all have differing levels of motivation just as we have other individual characteristics, but we all have the potential to do better. However, to realise this potential most of us need some help from our colleagues and friends.

So how can we help each other?

A common misconception is that we are motivated solely by money. This is incorrect and therefore it is not wise to pursue a policy around this belief. While money is important to us all, there is a lot more to motivation than just this. Moreover, if companies pursue such a money-orientated policy they will never have a fully motivated workforce - the staff will always want more. Most colleagues give great importance to personal safety, health, job security and getting home every night.

Different people are motivated by different things and at different times of their life.

Once this is all understood and agreed then the ways of how to motivate staff become clearer. So how can we assist in getting people to fulfil themselves? By:

l Creating an open, honest and, therefore, trusting environment.

l Creating a safe environment.

l Walking the talk. We are all role models simply by putting our personal values in to action at work - all the time.

l Being fair. This does not mean that everyone will always agree, but they will be heard and they will know that good reasons exist for any decision they may not agree with. This includes how everyone is rewarded.

l Encouraging people to fulfil themselves through appraisals, personal development plans, and training, as well as involving them in a variety of different aspects of the business.

l Minimising the times we tell people how to do their job. (Just set the parameters of success).

l Getting honest feedback at regular intervals from the two most important groups in your business: your staff and your clients. The rest of you are there to service them. (This means that this feedback has to be done anonymously).

l Constantly communicating the company's vision. This is the main function of the leaders of the business.

l Demonstrating a real commitment to continuous improvement and providing quality services and products.

l Never criticising anyone! There are other techniques and all are better. As a generalisation they all start with questions beginning with 'How' or 'What', and never with 'Who' and 'Why'.

l Training. By the most senior people in the company regularly going on people management training to get reminded of what they should be doing. It's called setting an example.

However, the ultimate responsibility lies with each of us to motivate ourselves.

Some of us have become used to our bosses telling us that they are responsible for our motivation and we have got a little lazy. We then complain when this 'motivation' never appears.

It is up to us. Ultimately we have to take responsibility for what we do and how motivated we are.

So how can we do this? Below is a list of reminders and possibly one or two new ideas. l Know that you always do your best and that you always keep your word.

l Have balance in your life between work and home. You are not going to be more productive just by working longer hours.

l Have balance between the materialistic things we all enjoy and the really important ones.

l Stop being 'right' all the time - try someone else's idea.

l Reward yourself more often.

l Never run yourself down or anyone else for that matter.

l Manage your time better by knowing the difference between urgent things and those that are important.

l Commit to learning; read more books and don't rely on the company putting you on a seminar to get the skills that you want.

l Give more praise to others even for the little things. Don't ignore people. Smile more. Volunteer for things and help the local community.

l Set ourselves challenging goals both at work and at home.

While we cannot ultimately motivate others, we can definitely demotivate them. Because we are all human we are all susceptible to some degree to the actions and comments of others. We should never undermine others, humiliate them, or criticise them - especially in public.