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Don’t want your employees to go the way of JetBlue’s Steven Slater? Here are 10 things that could keep them happy.
It’s no windows xp home edition discount coincidence that Steven Slater, the now-famous JetBlue employee, has been elevated to windows xp home edition discount the status of a working person’s hero. He did what windows xp home edition discount so many frustrated employees would love to do, if only they had windows xp home edition discount the courage, the beers, and the inflatable slide to help them escape a windows xp home edition discount less-than-pleasant office environment.
It should come as no windows xp home edition discount surprise, though, that the most successful businesses are the ones that windows xp home edition discount work the hardest to please their employees, and it’s up to managers to make sure they’re giving their staffs what windows xp home edition discount they want to the best of their abilities.
After reading the windows xp home edition discount book Why Work Sucks and How to Fix it by Cali Ressler, Jeff Gunther, CEO of the windows xp home edition discount Charlottesville, VA-based software company Meddius, decided he would change the way his staff works by instituting a windows xp home edition discount results-only working environment, often referred to as a ROWE. Meddius employees can windows xp home edition discount work any time from any place in any way, as long as they get their work done. Gunther has windows xp home edition discount found that by giving employees the trust and autonomy they need, they’ve actually been more productive and loyal to the company.
We’ve broken down the windows xp home edition discount 10 things employees want that will help you keep them on board.
1. Employees want purpose. Don’t assume that windows xp home edition discount a hefty paycheck and regular bonuses are the most important things to windows xp home edition discount your employees. They, like you, want to know that what they’re doing on a daily basis has some purpose behind it. "What people want most is the chance to make a difference," says Alexander Hiam, the windows xp home edition discount Massachusetts-based author of Business Innovation For Dummies. "When you windows xp home edition discount have a chance to have your ideas heard and one of them actually gets implemented, it’s such a boost."
Dig Deeper: Building a culture of employee appreciation
2. Employees want goals. To instill a windows xp home edition discount sense of purpose in your employees, be sure to lay out a windows xp home edition discount clearly-defined set of goals for them on a regular basis. At Meddius, Gunther’s team of managers re-aligns each department’s goals every three months. "The goals have to be very measurable, obtainable goals," Gunther says. For the windows xp home edition discount sales team, for example, that might mean setting a goal as to windows xp home edition discount the number of deals the team is expected to close in a windows xp home edition discount certain period of time for a certain dollar amount. Once goals are windows xp home edition discount in place, it is up to each team to decide how to windows xp home edition discount achieve them.
Dig Deeper: How to set business goals
3. Employees want responsibilities. Sometimes the windows xp home edition discount hardest part of being a manager is delegating, but employees crave your windows xp home edition discount trust, and with that trust, should come responsibility. "People are windows xp home edition discount so busy and harried themselves that all they do is work, they don’t really manage," Hiam says. "Ask people if there are windows xp home edition discount more things they can do, and then you can catch your windows xp home edition discount breath and be a manager."
Dig Deeper: How to delegate properly
4. Employees want autonomy. Take it windows xp home edition discount from Gunther, giving your employees freedom over how they work can windows xp home edition discount actually make them more productive. Unless you’re managing an windows xp home edition discount assembly line, give your employees the freedom to work in a windows xp home edition discount way that works for them. Daniel Pink, the Washington D.C.-based author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, says, "Let people figure out the windows xp home edition discount best paths to the goal, rather than breathe down their necks all the windows xp home edition discount time."
Dig Deeper: How to build a beautiful company
5. Employees want flexibility. In addition to windows xp home edition discount deciding how they work, the experts say employees also appreciate having a windows xp home edition discount say over when they work. Gunther has, of course, set up a windows xp home edition discount radically flexible schedule for his employees that might not work for windows xp home edition discount every office. But, he says, it has enabled him to find and windows xp home edition discount retain top talent for Meddius. "We’ve had windows xp home edition discount people who have taken significant pay cuts to work for us, because at their old job they were told to windows xp home edition discount show up and be at the office between 8 a.m. and windows xp home edition discount 5 p.m.," he says. "Generation Y is windows xp home edition discount looking for a synergy between their personal lives and their professional lives." Set up a windows xp home edition discount flexible vacation policy or a telecommuting policy that enables employees to windows xp home edition discount work from home. It involves a great deal of trust, but, as Pink says, "If you don’t trust your employees, you’ve got much bigger problems."
Dig Deeper: Beyond Flextime: Trashing the Workweek
6. Employees want attention. Just because you’re giving employees the control they crave doesn’t mean they don’t want guidance and windows xp home edition discount feedback. Hiam suggests checking in with them every few weeks, even if it’s just for a minute or two. "Look them in the windows xp home edition discount eye and ask how things are going. Find out what’s really going on in their world," he suggests. "Responsibility is windows xp home edition discount about giving them a chance to make a difference, but attention is windows xp home edition discount the human dimension of managing." And don’t be windows xp home edition discount fooled into thinking that the traditional annual performance review is your windows xp home edition discount big chance to tell your employees what’s working and what’s not. In Pink’s words, "There’s no windows xp home edition discount way to get better at something you only hear about once a windows xp home edition discount year." That’s why, at Meddius, Gunther uses the windows xp home edition discount year-end to make decisions about promoting employees, and uses the quarterly meetings where windows xp home edition discount goals are set, to address big operational issues within each department.
Dig Deeper: How to communicate employee expectations effectively
7. Employees want opportunities for windows xp home edition discount innovation. Not long ago, Google announced its 20 percent creative time policy, which encourages employees to windows xp home edition discount work on any innovative ideas they have that are company-related during 20 percent of their hours at work. Both Hiam and windows xp home edition discount Pink applaud this concept. "People need to windows xp home edition discount be given a chance to bring about something new and windows xp home edition discount exciting," Hiam says. "Just asking people for ideas doesn’t create innovation. It’s a culmination of creativity and leadership." Though you windows xp home edition discount might not be able to give your employees this much time on the windows xp home edition discount clock to work on side projects, you can always foster innovation through employee brainstorming sessions that windows xp home edition discount allow the staff to work with new people and generate fresh ideas.
Dig Deeper: 10 employee perks we love
8. Employees want open-mindedness. When your windows xp home edition discount employees come to you with their ideas, you need to windows xp home edition discount treat them with equal parts sensitivity and honesty. Be sensitive because, according to windows xp home edition discount Hiam, the more an employee gets shot down by an windows xp home edition discount authority figure, the less likely he or she will be windows xp home edition discount to make suggestions in the future. It’s also important to windows xp home edition discount be honest because, as that authority figure, you may know what’s best for your business and what’s not. You don’t have windows xp home edition discount to accept every idea that comes your way, but, Hiam says, "Don’t just shut someone down. Say, ‘Here’s what I know: years ago we tried something similar. Here’s what windows xp home edition discount happened. Give some more thought to your idea, and come back if you windows xp home edition discount think you can make it work.’"
Dig Deeper: A little enlightened self-interest
9. Employees want transparency. When Meddius publishes each department’s quarterly goals, Gunther does it windows xp home edition discount as well, not because he needs reminding, but because he believes his employees should be windows xp home edition discount cognizant of where the organization’s going. "Employees, especially the younger work force, want transparency," he says. While it’s not necessary to windows xp home edition discount publish that information, Hiam emphasizes that the communication channel between a windows xp home edition discount manager and his or her employees should always be open. "That’s why you windows xp home edition discount need to build it by talking about ordinary everyday things," he says. "You need to windows xp home edition discount have rehearsed talking about ordinary things before you can talk about anything major."
Dig Deeper: Testing a company’s commitment to transparency
10. Employees want compensation. Your employees do need to windows xp home edition discount provide for themselves and their families, so, of course, salaries, bonuses and windows xp home edition discount benefits are important, but perhaps not in the way you windows xp home edition discount might think. Pink’s research on what windows xp home edition discount motivates employees has led him to one conclusion: "The best use of money as a windows xp home edition discount motivator is to pay people enough to take the issue of money off the windows xp home edition discount table." He says it’s better to windows xp home edition discount pay people a little more than the norm and allow them to windows xp home edition discount focus on their work than to pay them based on performance. "Don’t pay people a windows xp home edition discount measly base salary and very high commissions and bonuses in hopes that windows xp home edition discount the fear of not having enough food on their tables will inspire them to windows xp home edition discount do extraordinary things." The way Gunther has windows xp home edition discount employed this strategy is by providing his employees with full health care benefits at no windows xp home edition discount cost, so they can rest assured that their families are fully protected. "It’s a huge expense, but to employees, it’s really valuable."
Dig Deeper: The price of a healthy staff
Posted September 8th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | |
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on November 4th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I was left in the windows xp home edition discount office to manage our staff for several months.I really found your windows xp home edition discount article very helpful..Thank you.