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global economic deluge has significantly changed the world of work.

Sunday, 29. May 2011

The global economic deluge has significantly changed the world of work. Now, if you are still using old ways to keep yourself afloat then sooner you’ll be surprised that you’ll suddenly drown into the sea of unemployment.

This is exactly what is happening to many people. Many have been so comfortable and confident that they’d never suffer losses that news had been broadcasting until one day they’d get the surprise of their life from their bosses.

In the old days, it doesn’t matter much if you get laid off. People would just be back to hunt for jobs, then quickly they’d get one that is either at the same playing field as before or at a much better place. With the coming of recession, road of jobseekers and in transition would be stiffer and harsher. It’s going to be a dog eats dog world. Survival of the fittest as Charles Darwin describes it.

The best way to survive is to push your credentials more than just a notch higher. While you’re working take up extra responsibilities at work, get your performance noticed by showing an excellent level of productivity, or if you have the time take up some classes that will enhance your resume.

Lastly, show that genuine passion for your work. Most employers value your most indispensable resource and that is your work ethics and dedication. When the time comes that you have to leave, you’d definitely want your employer to mention all praises in the work that you have put in. And that for sure will work to your advantage when you go hunt for a new job.

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2011 will see a tough competitive job market

Sunday, 29. May 2011

2011 will see a tough competitive job market, MSNBC reported. The 9.8% unemployment rate and about 84% of employed workers planning to make a career change will make a very interesting year for many.  Marisa Di Natale, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, estimates that it’s going to be until 2012 until the unemployment rate recedes.

Career experts have this to say to jobseekers to boost their chances of landing a good job this year. If in 6-12 months, and your job search has been futile. the modifying your approach and strategy is a must do. There are many online job tools that will advance you ahead of other applicants. It will save you time and effort. There are sites where you can upload your resume once and they distribute it to thousands of career sites. “Using traditional approaches may not be enough. Your strategies must make you stand out,” Finnigan said.

Experts say that the best way to avoid getting overwhelmed with the whole process is to organize. It will allow one to keep track of their applications, resumes and correspondences better. The last advice they give is to custom-made your resume to the specific job posting. By doing so, your intentions and credentials are made relevant to the job requirement. Having a standard resume for all job vacancies might seem a little off when read by some employer.

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Yet some companies in highly competitive industrie

Sunday, 29. May 2011

Yet some companies in highly competitive industries recognize the value in New Employee Orientation (NEO) that goes much farther. They require several weeks or even months of training to familiarize every new employee with the company, its products, its culture and policies, even its competition.

There is a measurable cost to that training, but is it worth it? Let’s look at some of the issues.

Some Background Facts

The technology in the workplace is changing very rapidly and companies that can’t keep up will drop out of competition. A survey by the Ontario (Canada) Skills Development Office found 63% of the respondents planned to “introduce new technology into the workplace that would require staff training.” A third of the respondents included “improving employee job performance” and “keeping the best employees” as desired outcomes.The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) reports that less than $1500 per employee was spent for training in 1996. The largest part of that (49 percent) was spent for technical and professional training. Only two percent was spent for New Employee Orientation and three percent on quality, competition and business practices training.

Reasons To Not Do New Employee Training

Even at the less than $1500 per year for training an employee we reported above, it is still a cost. For some companies, especially those with traditionally high turnover, it can be a major expense. If your profit per employee is less than $1500, it would be difficult to convince the stakeholders that training is justified. Besides, we all know it is the responsibility of the school system to train people to be workers. And it is the worker’s responsibility to learn how to do a job so they can get hired.

Why Do New Employee Training

Not surprisingly, all the reasons not to train new employees (except cost itself) are actually reasons to do that training. If you have high turnover, training new employees will make them more productive. They will feel better about themselves and the job. They will stick around longer.If your profit per employee is less than $1500 per year, you have major problems. You need to start training all your employees, not just your new employees, right away. Show your stakeholders the potential ROI of the training as we will discuss below.

And if you still believe that our schools provide adequate training to make students labor-ready you are living in a dream world. Yes, some job seekers make the effort to learn on their own the skills needed for a new job, but most get that training on the job.

Required Training

Government regulation, insurance coverages, and common sense dictate some training that MUST be given to every new employee.

Other Reasons for New Employee Training

American International Assurance is an ISO 9002 certified insurance company. AIA makes a commitment to training for their staff because AIA “recognizes that the training and development knowledge, attitude and skills of the staff and agency field force are fundamental to its continued efficient and profitable performance.”Orchard Supply Hardware considers its New Employee Training program important enough to include in their list of benefits for full and part-time employees.

An Interesting Proposal

Dr. Edward Gordon recommends companies make training a stand-alone function, separate from HR. He points out a twenty percent increase in training expenditure since 1983 has not kept pace with the twenty-four percent increase in workers in the same period. He suggests Training Managers use Return on Investment (ROI) to demonstrate that the training function is a profit center, not just a cost center.

Summary

In Dr. Gordon’s article cited above, he points out that companies such as Sprint, Xerox, General Electric and General Motors have opted to establish Corporate Universities, reflecting the importance they place on employee training.The value for smaller companies is arguably even greater. And there is no better time to start employee training than New Employee Orientation.

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Oct 09, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation

Most companies have it all wrong. They don’t have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees’ morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of management—both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers’ behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem (see sidebar “How Management Demotivates“)—and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work
To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

  • Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.
  • Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer.
  • Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do
Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can’t control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees’ goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Achievement related
1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a “reason for being” that translates for workers into a “reason for being there” that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

Benefits are about people. It’s not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It’s whether the people are cared for when they’re sick, helped when they’re in trouble.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the ends—people—rather than the means—completing forms.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce,management must meet all three goals.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager’s ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, “Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he’s paid to do?” Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don’t take the time to thank them for a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying “good going,” a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and undergirded by fair and competitive pay—and not considered a substitute for it.

3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees’ expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your “customers.” Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what’s obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! “Lunch and schmooze” sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you’re progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don’t know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

  • Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal. Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not surprise the worker with past wrongs.
  • Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly. Don’t succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don’t forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create a team that warrants praise.
  • Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific, factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as, “That work was shoddy”) or comments about employees’ personalities or motives (such as, “You’ve been careless”). Instead, provide specific, concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.
  • Keep the feedback relevant to the employee’s role. Don’t let your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.
  • Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees’ experience and observations often are helpful in determining how performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most helpful.
  • Remember the reason you’re giving feedback—you want to improve performance, not prove your superiority. So keep it real, and focus on what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.
  • Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course correction—while praising the effort—as quickly as possible.
  • Don’t offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get someone who knows the situation to look at it.

Equity related
5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in business is to distribute information on the basis of “need to know.” It is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively restricting the flow of information in an organization.

A command-and-controlstyle is a sure-fire path to demotivation.

Workers’ frustration with an absence of adequate communication is one of the most negative findings we see expressed on employee attitude surveys. What employees need to do their jobs and what makes them feel respected and included dictate that very few restrictions be placed by managers on the flow of information. Hold nothing back of interest to employees except those very few items that are absolutely confidential.

Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it’s not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are quite skeptical about management’s motives and can quickly see through “spin.” Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds that messages are unclear or misunderstood.

Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.

6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5 percent of your employees who don’t want to work. Most people want to work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are employees who are, in effect, “allergic” to work—they’ll do just about anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary approach—including dismissal—is about the only way they can be managed. It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an obstacle to their performance removed.

Camaraderie related
7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a group’s efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get a motivation boost from working in teams.

Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management layers and costs.

Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its output.

Related to all three factors
8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employees—from hourly workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals. Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in efficiency and work quality.

Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees’ ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an atmosphere where “the past is not good enough” and recognize employees for their innovativeness.

Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do their jobs as they see fit.

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Oct 09, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

What is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover is a ratio comparison of the number of employees a company must replace in a given time period to the average number of total employees. A huge concern to most companies, employee turnover is a costly expense especially in lower paying job roles, for which the employee turnover rate is highest. Many factors play a role in the employee turnover rate of any company, and these can stem from both the employer and the employees. Wages, company benefits, employee attendance, and job performance are all factors that play a significant role in employee turnover.

Companies take a deep interest in their employee turnover rate because it is a costly part of doing business. When a company must replace a worker, the company incurs direct and indirect expenses. These expenses include the cost of advertising, headhunting fees, human resource costs, loss of productivity, new hire training, and customer retention — all of which can add up to anywhere from 30 to 200 percent of a single employee’s annual wages or salary, depending on the industry and the job role being filled.

While lower paying job roles experience an overall higher average of employee turnover, they tend to cost companies less per replacementemployee than do higher paying job roles. However, they incur the cost more often. For these reasons, most companies focus onemployee retention strategies regardless of pay levels.

Most companies find that employee turnover is reduced when they address issues that affect overall company morale. By offering employees benefits such as reasonable flexibility with work and family balance, performance reviews, and performance based incentives, along with traditional benefits such as paid holidays or sick days, companies are better able to manage their employee turnover rates. The extent a company will go to in order to retain employees depends not only on employee replacement costs, but also on overall company performance. If a company is not getting the performance it is paying for, replacement cost is a small price to pay in the long run.

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Sep 29, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Employee Privacy, Employer Policy

Your organization has a computer and Internet use policy. Fine. It’s been reviewed by corporate counsel, approved by senior management, and implemented over the years. The policy is comprehensive – it includes policies on expectations of privacy, employee monitoring, and the ownership of corporate electronic assets. Now, during the course of an internal investigation, you want to read an employees’ e-mail, examine the contents of his company-supplied computer, and review his telephone calls made on the company-owned cell phone. You are all set, right? Umm… not so fast.
A pair of recent cases in the United States raise the fundamental question, “do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the workplace?” In the United States at least, most people confronted with this question would answer a resounding no, right? I mean, the company policy makes it clear that the computer and network are company property, and that we shouldn’t expect any privacy there.

However, there is a genuine divergence between what companies say and what they do. There is also a divergence between what employees regurgitate about their expectations of privacy (corporate mantra) and how they actually act. My own answer to the question, “do I have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace?” – of course! What we really need to do is better define the scope of that reasonable expectation of privacy.

Policy policy policy

In the course of an average day at work, an employee leaves a great deal of “digital detritus” – a trail of activities. The ownership of these digital records, as well as an employees’ privacy rights with respect to them is not entirely clear under the law. Employers provide employees with a number of tools that leave a digital trail. This may include their computers, email accounts, Internet access, VPN access, regular phone, VOIP service, cell phone, alphanumeric pager, RSA SecurID token, not to mention the video surveillance, and records of badge entry and exit.
Complicating these issues are the questions of ownership, access and rights. For example, an employer may purchase a cell phone for an employee and retain ownership of the phone. Or it may allow the employee to buy the phone, but register it on a corporate plan for service. It may reimburse the employee for all telephone calls made or require the employee to demonstrate the business nature of calls reimbursed. Employees may telecommute from home using either employer or employee supplied equipment. The Internet connection to the office may be paid for by the employee or the employer. When logging on remotely, does the ISP have any right to monitor content? When a VPN connection is made, who may monitor what happens on the VPN? May your employer burst into your home, seize your personal computer (that you own, but store some of their files on) and take it?

Privacy in the workplace extends beyond the electronic workplace. For example, can your employer read your personal mail, sent to your office address – even if it is marked “personal and confidential – addressee only?” Can your employer videotape you in the office? Audiotape you? What about in the restrooms, lounges, parking lots, or in your car?

It’s easy to say that employees have no expectation of privacy, and even to post corporate policies and notices to that effect. But do you really mean it? And do you really enforce it? The answer to both questions is probably no.
The electronic workplace is no longer just the cubicle, desk or office. It now encompasses the coffee shop, the hotel room, the back of the taxi, the living room or bedroom. In the workplace, it also includes the water cooler, the restroom, the changing room, and other places. It’s not just memos written and documents produced. It is newspaper articles read, sports scores checked, friends chatted with, lovers associated with. People increasingly are living their personal lives – including their most intimate personal lives – online, and online from within the office. Employees traveling may use the office laptop to have a videoconference with his family, catch up with colleagues, plan a high school reunion, or even complain about problems at work with coworkers. Even unionizing and organizing activities may be conducted either on work property, work time, or using work supplied or reimbursed technology. The workplace itself may extend to wherever the employee can be reached by a cell phone, satellite phone, or blackberry. If an employee submits a hotel bill for reimbursement (including telephone and movies) that gives the employer the right to know what movies the employee is watching. Does it also give the employer the right to know the contents of the telephone call? Sure, they can decide if the call is work-related or personal, but can they arrange with the hotel to wiretap you?

In effect, we have two dichotomies in the privacy/employment context. First, the disconnect between what we say our policy is, and what we actually do. Second, the equally vast disconnect between what employees say is their expectation of privacy, and how they act. While empirically we may know that the employer could monitor us, we would likely be offended if our cubicle were wired, our keystrokes logged and captured, and our cell-phone conversations recorded.

Military intelligence

Lance Corporal Jennifer Long was issued a government computer to use on a government military network. When she was suspected of violations of the military drug use policies (and of criminal laws related to drug use), Marine Corps criminal investigators reviewed the contents of email messages she sent to another military employee who was likewise using a government issued computer over the same government network. The messages were retrieved from the government mail server and later used against Long. On September 27, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed forces had to decide whether Long had any expectation of privacy in these e-mails.
The starting point for any analysis is, of course, the DoD policy expressed on its warning banner, which stated quite explicitly:

This is a Department of Defense computer system. This computer system, including all related equipment, networks and network devices (specifically including Internet access), are provided only for authorized U.S. Government use. DoD computer systems may be monitored for all lawful purposes, including to ensure that their use is authorized, for management of the system, to facilitate protection against unauthorized access, and to verify security procedures, survivability and operational security. Monitoring includes active attacks by authorized DoD entities to test or verify the security of this system. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information, including personal information, placed on or sent over this system may be monitored. Use of this DoD computer system, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to monitoring of this system. Unauthorized use may subject you to criminal prosecution. Evidence of unauthorized use collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal, or other adverse action. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for these purposes.
Seems pretty clear. No expectation of privacy. Government monitoring for any purpose. Government recording for any purpose. Government use of the recorded or intercepted communications for any purpose. Use of the system (even hacking into it) is consent to monitoring.

However, the military court, not usually known for taking a strong privacy stance against the military, found that Long did, in fact have some privacy interests in the contents of her communications. It noted that while the government said it could monitor, it rarely did. It also noted that the case was initiated when the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division (CID) – essentially a law enforcement agency, simply decided to inspect the servers to look for evidence of criminal activity. As the US Supreme Court noted, “[W]hile police, and even administrative enforcement personnel, conduct searches for the primary purpose of obtaining evidence for use in criminal or other enforcement proceedings, employers most frequently need to enter the offices and desks of their employees for legitimate work-related reasons wholly unrelated to illegal conduct.”

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Boosting Employee Morale: Management Tips to Motivate Employees

Learn Management Strategies for Motivating Employees and Increasing Work Production

You can learn some motivational strategies that are outside the scope of this article by taking business classes - click here to find out about convenient, affordable online business schools that can teach you management techniques which will keep your employees happy and on track.

No matter how wonderful the company, occasionally employee morale may sag and require a renewed effort from management to bring employee production back up to par. Fortunately, some of the best morale boosters are inexpensive, making them affordable to even the smallest business operation.  There are excellent tips in Leading the Way – I highly recommend this booklet to anyone who wants to get the best out of her staff.

It is up to employee management to motivate employees so they are able to ensure continued business success.

There are several strategies for how to boost employee morale. Here are some tips:

  • Treat employees with respect, even when they may be disrespectful to you. Losing your temper, cursing, and reprimanding an employee in public affects more than just the employee in question. Every employee who hears (first or secondhand) of your inappropriate behavior will lose respect for you and wonder if he or she will be next on the receiving end of your temper.
  • Show interest in your employees’ personal lives leads to employee satisfaction. Knowing enough about your employees to ask about their families as you pass in the hall, empathizing with their hardships, and treating them as people rather than commodities gives them a feeling of worth within the company.
  • Allow your employees to gain ownership of their jobs by being part of the decision-making process when it comes to setting position duties, deadlines, and goals.
  • Create a pleasant work environment. Make sure the area is appropriately lit, the heat and air conditioning work properly, and the area, including the parking lot, is clean and in good repair.
  • Remember the basic rules of polite behavior that you learned as a child. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”
  • Establish an employee recognition program, which will allow you to publicly commemorate the efforts of those employees who go beyond the call of duty.
  • Celebrate company successes! Whether you take the company out to dinner, pass around a newspaper clipping, or simply call everyone together and express your appreciation for the teamwork that helped you reach a company milestone, share the credit. This is one of the best strategies for employee motivation. Everyone loves to be recognized for a job well done.
  • Stand behind your employees. Be their greatest advocate. While it is important to make the customer happy, if your employee lived up to company expectations, you take responsibility for giving the directive that prevented your employee from taking additional steps to please the customer. When necessary, act as the cushion between unhappy customers or suppliers and employees.
  • Give clear direction and set priorities. This will help alleviate any misunderstandings between what you expect employees to do and what they perceive needs to be done.
  • Avoid layoffs and cutbacks. Nothing will reduce employee morale like wondering whether they will have a job tomorrow. If you must cutback, communicate the reasons why and the depth of the lay offs up front. Clarify what steps you are taking to safeguard the employment of the remaining employees.
Motivating employees just takes a little thought and good manners, things anyone in a management position is able to do.  If you still need assistance, consider enrolling in an online business management course to get some fresh ideas.  We hope this article has helped you learn how to motivate employees and will bring your business added success in the future.

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Sep 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
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The fault lies squarely at the feet of management

Sunday, 29. May 2011

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees’ morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of management—both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers’ behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem (see sidebar “How Management Demotivates“)—and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work
To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

  • Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.
  • Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer.
  • Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do
Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can’t control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees’ goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Achievement related
1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a “reason for being” that translates for workers into a “reason for being there” that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

Benefits are about people. It’s not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It’s whether the people are cared for when they’re sick, helped when they’re in trouble.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the ends—people—rather than the means—completing forms.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce,management must meet all three goals.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager’s ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, “Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he’s paid to do?” Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don’t take the time to thank them for a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying “good going,” a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and undergirded by fair and competitive pay—and not considered a substitute for it.

3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees’ expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your “customers.” Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what’s obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! “Lunch and schmooze” sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you’re progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don’t know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

  • Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal. Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not surprise the worker with past wrongs.
  • Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly. Don’t succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don’t forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create a team that warrants praise.
  • Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific, factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as, “That work was shoddy”) or comments about employees’ personalities or motives (such as, “You’ve been careless”). Instead, provide specific, concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.
  • Keep the feedback relevant to the employee’s role. Don’t let your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.
  • Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees’ experience and observations often are helpful in determining how performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most helpful.
  • Remember the reason you’re giving feedback—you want to improve performance, not prove your superiority. So keep it real, and focus on what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.
  • Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course correction—while praising the effort—as quickly as possible.
  • Don’t offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get someone who knows the situation to look at it.

Equity related
5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in business is to distribute information on the basis of “need to know.” It is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively restricting the flow of information in an organization.

A command-and-controlstyle is a sure-fire path to demotivation.

Workers’ frustration with an absence of adequate communication is one of the most negative findings we see expressed on employee attitude surveys. What employees need to do their jobs and what makes them feel respected and included dictate that very few restrictions be placed by managers on the flow of information. Hold nothing back of interest to employees except those very few items that are absolutely confidential.

Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it’s not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are quite skeptical about management’s motives and can quickly see through “spin.” Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds that messages are unclear or misunderstood.

Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.

6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5 percent of your employees who don’t want to work. Most people want to work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are employees who are, in effect, “allergic” to work—they’ll do just about anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary approach—including dismissal—is about the only way they can be managed. It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an obstacle to their performance removed.

Camaraderie related
7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a group’s efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get a motivation boost from working in teams.

Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management layers and costs.

Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its output.

Related to all three factors
8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employees—from hourly workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals. Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in efficiency and work quality.

Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees’ ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an atmosphere where “the past is not good enough” and recognize employees for their innovativeness.

Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do their jobs as they see fit.

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What is Employee Turnover?

Employee turnover is a ratio comparison of the number of employees a company must replace in a given time period to the average number of total employees. A huge concern to most companies, employee turnover is a costly expense especially in lower paying job roles, for which the employee turnover rate is highest. Many factors play a role in the employee turnover rate of any company, and these can stem from both the employer and the employees. Wages, company benefits, employee attendance, and job performance are all factors that play a significant role in employee turnover.

Companies take a deep interest in their employee turnover rate because it is a costly part of doing business. When a company must replace a worker, the company incurs direct and indirect expenses. These expenses include the cost of advertising, headhunting fees, human resource costs, loss of productivity, new hire training, and customer retention — all of which can add up to anywhere from 30 to 200 percent of a single employee’s annual wages or salary, depending on the industry and the job role being filled.

While lower paying job roles experience an overall higher average of employee turnover, they tend to cost companies less per replacement employee than do higher paying job roles. However, they incur the cost more often. For these reasons, most companies focus one employe retention strategies regardless of pay levels.

Most companies find that employee turnover is reduced when they address issues that affect overall company morale. By offering employees benefits such as reasonable flexibility with work and family balance, performance reviews, and performance based incentives, along with traditional benefits such as paid holidays or sick days, companies are better able to manage their employee turnover rates. The extent a company will go to in order to retain employees depends not only on employee replacement costs, but also on overall company performance. If a company is not getting the performance it is paying for, replacement cost is a small price to pay in the long run.

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Employee Privacy, Employer Policy

Your organization has a computer and Internet use policy. Fine. It’s been reviewed by corporate counsel, approved by senior management, and implemented over the years. The policy is comprehensive – it includes policies on expectations of privacy, employee monitoring, and the ownership of corporate electronic assets. Now, during the course of an internal investigation, you want to read an employees’ e-mail, examine the contents of his company-supplied computer, and review his telephone calls made on the company-owned cell phone. You are all set, right? Umm… not so fast.
A pair of recent cases in the United States raise the fundamental question, “do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the workplace?” In the United States at least, most people confronted with this question would answer a resounding no, right? I mean, the company policy makes it clear that the computer and network are company property, and that we shouldn’t expect any privacy there.

However, there is a genuine divergence between what companies say and what they do. There is also a divergence between what employees regurgitate about their expectations of privacy (corporate mantra) and how they actually act. My own answer to the question, “do I have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace?” – of course! What we really need to do is better define the scope of that reasonable expectation of privacy.

Policy policy policy

In the course of an average day at work, an employee leaves a great deal of “digital detritus” – a trail of activities. The ownership of these digital records, as well as an employees’ privacy rights with respect to them is not entirely clear under the law. Employers provide employees with a number of tools that leave a digital trail. This may include their computers, email accounts, Internet access, VPN access, regular phone, VOIP service, cell phone, alphanumeric pager, RSA SecurID token, not to mention the video surveillance, and records of badge entry and exit.
Complicating these issues are the questions of ownership, access and rights. For example, an employer may purchase a cell phone for an employee and retain ownership of the phone. Or it may allow the employee to buy the phone, but register it on a corporate plan for service. It may reimburse the employee for all telephone calls made or require the employee to demonstrate the business nature of calls reimbursed. Employees may telecommute from home using either employer or employee supplied equipment. The Internet connection to the office may be paid for by the employee or the employer. When logging on remotely, does the ISP have any right to monitor content? When a VPN connection is made, who may monitor what happens on the VPN? May your employer burst into your home, seize your personal computer (that you own, but store some of their files on) and take it?

Privacy in the workplace extends beyond the electronic workplace. For example, can your employer read your personal mail, sent to your office address – even if it is marked “personal and confidential – addressee only?” Can your employer videotape you in the office? Audiotape you? What about in the restrooms, lounges, parking lots, or in your car?

It’s easy to say that employees have no expectation of privacy, and even to post corporate policies and notices to that effect. But do you really mean it? And do you really enforce it? The answer to both questions is probably no.
The electronic workplace is no longer just the cubicle, desk or office. It now encompasses the coffee shop, the hotel room, the back of the taxi, the living room or bedroom. In the workplace, it also includes the water cooler, the restroom, the changing room, and other places. It’s not just memos written and documents produced. It is newspaper articles read, sports scores checked, friends chatted with, lovers associated with. People increasingly are living their personal lives – including their most intimate personal lives – online, and online from within the office. Employees traveling may use the office laptop to have a videoconference with his family, catch up with colleagues, plan a high school reunion, or even complain about problems at work with coworkers. Even unionizing and organizing activities may be conducted either on work property, work time, or using work supplied or reimbursed technology. The workplace itself may extend to wherever the employee can be reached by a cell phone, satellite phone, or blackberry. If an employee submits a hotel bill for reimbursement (including telephone and movies) that gives the employer the right to know what movies the employee is watching. Does it also give the employer the right to know the contents of the telephone call? Sure, they can decide if the call is work-related or personal, but can they arrange with the hotel to wiretap you?

In effect, we have two dichotomies in the privacy/employment context. First, the disconnect between what we say our policy is, and what we actually do. Second, the equally vast disconnect between what employees say is their expectation of privacy, and how they act. While empirically we may know that the employer could monitor us, we would likely be offended if our cubicle were wired, our keystrokes logged and captured, and our cell-phone conversations recorded.

Military intelligence

Lance Corporal Jennifer Long was issued a government computer to use on a government military network. When she was suspected of violations of the military drug use policies (and of criminal laws related to drug use), Marine Corps criminal investigators reviewed the contents of email messages she sent to another military employee who was likewise using a government issued computer over the same government network. The messages were retrieved from the government mail server and later used against Long. On September 27, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed forces had to decide whether Long had any expectation of privacy in these e-mails.
The starting point for any analysis is, of course, the DoD policy expressed on its warning banner, which stated quite explicitly:

This is a Department of Defense computer system. This computer system, including all related equipment, networks and network devices (specifically including Internet access), are provided only for authorized U.S. Government use. DoD computer systems may be monitored for all lawful purposes, including to ensure that their use is authorized, for management of the system, to facilitate protection against unauthorized access, and to verify security procedures, survivability and operational security. Monitoring includes active attacks by authorized DoD entities to test or verify the security of this system. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information, including personal information, placed on or sent over this system may be monitored. Use of this DoD computer system, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to monitoring of this system. Unauthorized use may subject you to criminal prosecution. Evidence of unauthorized use collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal, or other adverse action. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for these purposes.
Seems pretty clear. No expectation of privacy. Government monitoring for any purpose. Government recording for any purpose. Government use of the recorded or intercepted communications for any purpose. Use of the system (even hacking into it) is consent to monitoring.

However, the military court, not usually known for taking a strong privacy stance against the military, found that Long did, in fact have some privacy interests in the contents of her communications. It noted that while the government said it could monitor, it rarely did. It also noted that the case was initiated when the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division (CID) – essentially a law enforcement agency, simply decided to inspect the servers to look for evidence of criminal activity. As the US Supreme Court noted, “[W]hile police, and even administrative enforcement personnel, conduct searches for the primary purpose of obtaining evidence for use in criminal or other enforcement proceedings, employers most frequently need to enter the offices and desks of their employees for legitimate work-related reasons wholly unrelated to illegal conduct.”

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Boosting Employee Morale: Management Tips to Motivate Employees

Learn Management Strategies for Motivating Employees and Increasing Work Production

You can learn some motivational strategies that are outside the scope of this article by taking business classes - click here to find out about convenient, affordable online business schools that can teach you management techniques which will keep your employees happy and on track.

No matter how wonderful the company, occasionally employee morale may sag and require a renewed effort from management to bring employee production back up to par. Fortunately, some of the best morale boosters are inexpensive, making them affordable to even the smallest business operation.  There are excellent tips in Leading the Way – I highly recommend this booklet to anyone who wants to get the best out of her staff.

It is up to employee management to motivate employees so they are able to ensure continued business success.

There are several strategies for how to boost employee morale. Here are some tips:

  • Treat employees with respect, even when they may be disrespectful to you. Losing your temper, cursing, and reprimanding an employee in public affects more than just the employee in question. Every employee who hears (first or secondhand) of your inappropriate behavior will lose respect for you and wonder if he or she will be next on the receiving end of your temper.
  • Show interest in your employees’ personal lives leads to employee satisfaction. Knowing enough about your employees to ask about their families as you pass in the hall, empathizing with their hardships, and treating them as people rather than commodities gives them a feeling of worth within the company.
  • Allow your employees to gain ownership of their jobs by being part of the decision-making process when it comes to setting position duties, deadlines, and goals.
  • Create a pleasant work environment. Make sure the area is appropriately lit, the heat and air conditioning work properly, and the area, including the parking lot, is clean and in good repair.
  • Remember the basic rules of polite behavior that you learned as a child. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”
  • Establish an employee recognition program, which will allow you to publicly commemorate the efforts of those employees who go beyond the call of duty.
  • Celebrate company successes! Whether you take the company out to dinner, pass around a newspaper clipping, or simply call everyone together and express your appreciation for the teamwork that helped you reach a company milestone, share the credit. This is one of the best strategies for employee motivation. Everyone loves to be recognized for a job well done.
  • Stand behind your employees. Be their greatest advocate. While it is important to make the customer happy, if your employee lived up to company expectations, you take responsibility for giving the directive that prevented your employee from taking additional steps to please the customer. When necessary, act as the cushion between unhappy customers or suppliers and employees.
  • Give clear direction and set priorities. This will help alleviate any misunderstandings between what you expect employees to do and what they perceive needs to be done.
  • Avoid layoffs and cutbacks. Nothing will reduce employee morale like wondering whether they will have a job tomorrow. If you must cutback, communicate the reasons why and the depth of the lay offs up front. Clarify what steps you are taking to safeguard the employment of the remaining employees.
Motivating employees just takes a little thought and good manners, things anyone in a management position is able to do.  If you still need assistance, consider enrolling in an online business management course to get some fresh ideas.  We hope this article has helped you learn how to motivate employees and will bring your business added success in the future.

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Understanding Employee Motivation

Introduction to Motivation

At one time, employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and services. What perhaps changed this way of thinking about employees was research, referred to as the Hawthorne Studies, conducted by Elton Mayo from 1924 to 1932 (Dickson, 1973). This study found employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behavior is linked to their attitudes (Dickson, 1973). The Hawthorne Studies began the human relations approach to management, whereby the needs and motivation of employees become the primary focus of managers (Bedeian, 1993).

Motivation Theories

Understanding what motivated employees and how they were motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). Five major approaches that have led to our understanding of motivation are Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory, Herzberg’s two- factor theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Adams’ equity theory, and Skinner’s reinforcement theory.

According to Maslow, employees have five levels of needs (Maslow, 1943): physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate employees. Herzberg’s work categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygienes (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959). Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction.

Vroom’s theory is based on the belief that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). Rewards may be either positive or negative. The more positive the reward the more likely the employee will be highly motivated. Conversely, the more negative the reward the less likely the employee will be motivated.

Adams’ theory states that employees strive for equity between themselves and other workers. Equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965).

Skinner’s theory simply states those employees’ behaviors that lead to positive outcomes will be repeated and behaviors that lead to negative outcomes will not be repeated (Skinner, 1953). Managers should positively reinforce employee behaviors that lead to positive outcomes. Managers should negatively reinforce employee behavior that leads to negative outcomes.

Motivation Defined

Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995); a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, & Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993). For this paper, motivation is operationally defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals.

The Role of Motivation

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive. Motivated employees are more productive. To be effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991). For example, research suggests that as employees’ income increases, money becomes less of a motivator (Kovach, 1987). Also, as employees get older, interesting work becomes more of a motivator.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to describe the importance of certain factors in motivating employees at the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center. Specifically, the study sought to describe the ranked importance of the following ten motivating factors: (a) job security, (b) sympathetic help with personal problems, (c) personal loyalty to employees, (d) interesting work, (e) good working conditions, (f) tactful discipline, (g) good wages, (h) promotions and growth in the organization, (i) feeling of being in on things, and (j) full appreciation of work done. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare the results of this study with the study results from other populations.

Methodology

The research design for this study employed a descriptive survey method. The target population of this study included employees at the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center (centers). The sample size included all 25 employees of the target population. Twenty-three of the 25 employees participated in the survey for a participation rate of 92%. The centers are in Piketon, Ohio.

The mission of the Enterprise Center is to facilitate individual and community leader awareness and provide assistance in preparing and accessing economic opportunities in southern Ohio. The Enterprise Center has three programs: alternatives in agriculture, small business development, and women’s business development. The mission of the Piketon Research and Extension Center is to conduct research and educational programs designed to enhance economic development in southern Ohio. The Piketon Research and Extension Center has five programs: aquaculture, community economic development, horticulture, forestry, and soil and water resources.

From a review of literature, a survey questionnaire was developed to collect data for the study (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991; Harpaz, 1990; Kovach, 1987). Data was collected through use of a written questionnaire hand-delivered to participants. Questionnaires were filled out by participants and returned to an intra-departmental mailbox. The questionnaire asked participants to rank the importance of ten factors that motivated them in doing their work: 1=most important . . . 10=least important. Face and content validity for the instrument were established using two administrative and professional employees at The Ohio State University. The instrument was pilot tested with three similarly situated employees within the university. As a result of the pilot test, minor changes in word selection and instructions were made to the questionnaire.

Results and Discussion

The ranked order of motivating factors were: (a) interesting work, (b) good wages, (c) full appreciation of work done, (d) job security, (e) good working conditions, (f) promotions and growth in the organization, (g) feeling of being in on things, (h) personal loyalty to employees, (i) tactful discipline, and (j) sympathetic help with personal problems.

A comparison of these results to Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory provides some interesting insight into employee motivation. The number one ranked motivator, interesting work, is a self-actualizing factor. The number two ranked motivator, good wages, is a physiological factor. The number three ranked motivator, full appreciation of work done, is an esteem factor. The number four ranked motivator, job security, is a safety factor. Therefore, according to Maslow (1943), if managers wish to address the most important motivational factor of Centers’ employees, interesting work, physiological, safety, social, and esteem factors must first be satisfied. If managers wished to address the second most important motivational factor of centers’ employees, good pay, increased pay would suffice. Contrary to what Maslow’s theory suggests, the range of motivational factors are mixed in this study. Maslow’s conclusions that lower level motivational factors must be met before ascending to the next level were not confirmed by this study.

The following example compares the highest ranked motivational factor (interesting work) to Vroom’s expectancy theory. Assume that a Centers employee just attended a staff meeting where he/she learned a major emphasis would be placed on seeking additional external program funds. Additionally, employees who are successful in securing funds will be given more opportunities to explore their own research and extension interests (interesting work). Employees who do not secure additional funds will be required to work on research and extension programs identified by the director. The employee realizes that the more research he/she does regarding funding sources and the more proposals he/she writes, the greater the likelihood he/she will receive external funding.

Because the state legislature has not increased appropriations to the centers for the next two years (funds for independent research and extension projects will be scaled back), the employee sees a direct relationship between performance (obtaining external funds) and rewards (independent research and Extension projects). Further, the employee went to work for the centers, in part, because of the opportunity to conduct independent research and extension projects. The employee will be motivated if he/she is successful in obtaining external funds and given the opportunity to conduct independent research and extension projects. On the other hand, motivation will be diminished if the employee is successful in obtaining external funds and the director denies the request to conduct independent research and Extension projects.

The following example compares the third highest ranked motivational factor (full appreciation of work done) to Adams’s equity theory. If an employee at the centers

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While lower paying job roles experience an overall higher average of employee turnover

Sunday, 29. May 2011

Companies take a deep interest in their employee turnover rate because it is a costly part of doing business. When a company must replace a worker, the company incurs direct and indirect expenses. These expenses include the cost of advertising, headhunting fees, human resource costs, loss of productivity, new hire training, and customer retention — all of which can add up to anywhere from 30 to 200 percent of a single employee’s annual wages or salary, depending on the industry and the job role being filled.

While lower paying job roles experience an overall higher average of employee turnover, they tend to cost companies less per replacement employee than do higher paying job roles. However, they incur the cost more often. For these reasons, most companies focus on employee retention strategies regardless of pay levels.

Most companies find that employee turnover is reduced when they address issues that affect overall company morale. By offering employees benefits such as reasonable flexibility with work and family balance, performance reviews, and performance based incentives, along with traditional benefits such as paid holidays or sick days, companies are better able to manage their employee turnover rates. The extent a company will go to in order to retain employees depends not only on employee replacement costs, but also on overall company performance. If a company is not getting the performance it is paying for, replacement cost is a small price to pay in the long run.

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Sep 29, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Employee Privacy, Employer Policy

Your organization has a computer and Internet use policy. Fine. It’s been reviewed by corporate counsel, approved by senior management, and implemented over the years. The policy is comprehensive – it includes policies on expectations of privacy, employee monitoring, and the ownership of corporate electronic assets. Now, during the course of an internal investigation, you want to read an employees’ e-mail, examine the contents of his company-supplied computer, and review his telephone calls made on the company-owned cell phone. You are all set, right? Umm… not so fast.
A pair of recent cases in the United States raise the fundamental question, “do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the workplace?” In the United States at least, most people confronted with this question would answer a resounding no, right? I mean, the company policy makes it clear that the computer and network are company property, and that we shouldn’t expect any privacy there.

However, there is a genuine divergence between what companies say and what they do. There is also a divergence between what employees regurgitate about their expectations of privacy (corporate mantra) and how they actually act. My own answer to the question, “do I have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace?” – of course! What we really need to do is better define the scope of that reasonable expectation of privacy.

Policy policy policy

In the course of an average day at work, an employee leaves a great deal of “digital detritus” – a trail of activities. The ownership of these digital records, as well as an employees’ privacy rights with respect to them is not entirely clear under the law. Employers provide employees with a number of tools that leave a digital trail. This may include their computers, email accounts, Internet access, VPN access, regular phone, VOIP service, cell phone, alphanumeric pager, RSA SecurID token, not to mention the video surveillance, and records of badge entry and exit.
Complicating these issues are the questions of ownership, access and rights. For example, an employer may purchase a cell phone for an employee and retain ownership of the phone. Or it may allow the employee to buy the phone, but register it on a corporate plan for service. It may reimburse the employee for all telephone calls made or require the employee to demonstrate the business nature of calls reimbursed. Employees may telecommute from home using either employer or employee supplied equipment. The Internet connection to the office may be paid for by the employee or the employer. When logging on remotely, does the ISP have any right to monitor content? When a VPN connection is made, who may monitor what happens on the VPN? May your employer burst into your home, seize your personal computer (that you own, but store some of their files on) and take it?

Privacy in the workplace extends beyond the electronic workplace. For example, can your employer read your personal mail, sent to your office address – even if it is marked “personal and confidential – addressee only?” Can your employer videotape you in the office? Audiotape you? What about in the restrooms, lounges, parking lots, or in your car?

It’s easy to say that employees have no expectation of privacy, and even to post corporate policies and notices to that effect. But do you really mean it? And do you really enforce it? The answer to both questions is probably no.
The electronic workplace is no longer just the cubicle, desk or office. It now encompasses the coffee shop, the hotel room, the back of the taxi, the living room or bedroom. In the workplace, it also includes the water cooler, the restroom, the changing room, and other places. It’s not just memos written and documents produced. It is newspaper articles read, sports scores checked, friends chatted with, lovers associated with. People increasingly are living their personal lives – including their most intimate personal lives – online, and online from within the office. Employees traveling may use the office laptop to have a videoconference with his family, catch up with colleagues, plan a high school reunion, or even complain about problems at work with coworkers. Even unionizing and organizing activities may be conducted either on work property, work time, or using work supplied or reimbursed technology. The workplace itself may extend to wherever the employee can be reached by a cell phone, satellite phone, or blackberry. If an employee submits a hotel bill for reimbursement (including telephone and movies) that gives the employer the right to know what movies the employee is watching. Does it also give the employer the right to know the contents of the telephone call? Sure, they can decide if the call is work-related or personal, but can they arrange with the hotel to wiretap you?

In effect, we have two dichotomies in the privacy/employment context. First, the disconnect between what we say our policy is, and what we actually do. Second, the equally vast disconnect between what employees say is their expectation of privacy, and how they act. While empirically we may know that the employer could monitor us, we would likely be offended if our cubicle were wired, our keystrokes logged and captured, and our cell-phone conversations recorded.

Military intelligence

Lance Corporal Jennifer Long was issued a government computer to use on a government military network. When she was suspected of violations of the military drug use policies (and of criminal laws related to drug use), Marine Corps criminal investigators reviewed the contents of email messages she sent to another military employee who was likewise using a government issued computer over the same government network. The messages were retrieved from the government mail server and later used against Long. On September 27, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed forces had to decide whether Long had any expectation of privacy in these e-mails.
The starting point for any analysis is, of course, the DoD policy expressed on its warning banner, which stated quite explicitly:

This is a Department of Defense computer system. This computer system, including all related equipment, networks and network devices (specifically including Internet access), are provided only for authorized U.S. Government use. DoD computer systems may be monitored for all lawful purposes, including to ensure that their use is authorized, for management of the system, to facilitate protection against unauthorized access, and to verify security procedures, survivability and operational security. Monitoring includes active attacks by authorized DoD entities to test or verify the security of this system. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information, including personal information, placed on or sent over this system may be monitored. Use of this DoD computer system, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to monitoring of this system. Unauthorized use may subject you to criminal prosecution. Evidence of unauthorized use collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal, or other adverse action. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for these purposes.
Seems pretty clear. No expectation of privacy. Government monitoring for any purpose. Government recording for any purpose. Government use of the recorded or intercepted communications for any purpose. Use of the system (even hacking into it) is consent to monitoring.

However, the military court, not usually known for taking a strong privacy stance against the military, found that Long did, in fact have some privacy interests in the contents of her communications. It noted that while the government said it could monitor, it rarely did. It also noted that the case was initiated when the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division (CID) – essentially a law enforcement agency, simply decided to inspect the servers to look for evidence of criminal activity. As the US Supreme Court noted, “[W]hile police, and even administrative enforcement personnel, conduct searches for the primary purpose of obtaining evidence for use in criminal or other enforcement proceedings, employers most frequently need to enter the offices and desks of their employees for legitimate work-related reasons wholly unrelated to illegal conduct.”

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Sep 29, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Boosting Employee Morale: Management Tips to Motivate Employees

Learn Management Strategies for Motivating Employees and Increasing Work Production

You can learn some motivational strategies that are outside the scope of this article by taking business classes - click here to find out about convenient, affordable online business schools that can teach you management techniques which will keep your employees happy and on track.

No matter how wonderful the company, occasionally employee morale may sag and require a renewed effort from management to bring employee production back up to par. Fortunately, some of the best morale boosters are inexpensive, making them affordable to even the smallest business operation.  There are excellent tips in Leading the Way – I highly recommend this booklet to anyone who wants to get the best out of her staff.

It is up to employee management to motivate employees so they are able to ensure continued business success.

There are several strategies for how to boost employee morale. Here are some tips:

  • Treat employees with respect, even when they may be disrespectful to you. Losing your temper, cursing, and reprimanding an employee in public affects more than just the employee in question. Every employee who hears (first or secondhand) of your inappropriate behavior will lose respect for you and wonder if he or she will be next on the receiving end of your temper.
  • Show interest in your employees’ personal lives leads to employee satisfaction. Knowing enough about your employees to ask about their families as you pass in the hall, empathizing with their hardships, and treating them as people rather than commodities gives them a feeling of worth within the company.
  • Allow your employees to gain ownership of their jobs by being part of the decision-making process when it comes to setting position duties, deadlines, and goals.
  • Create a pleasant work environment. Make sure the area is appropriately lit, the heat and air conditioning work properly, and the area, including the parking lot, is clean and in good repair.
  • Remember the basic rules of polite behavior that you learned as a child. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.”
  • Establish an employee recognition program, which will allow you to publicly commemorate the efforts of those employees who go beyond the call of duty.
  • Celebrate company successes! Whether you take the company out to dinner, pass around a newspaper clipping, or simply call everyone together and express your appreciation for the teamwork that helped you reach a company milestone, share the credit. This is one of the best strategies for employee motivation. Everyone loves to be recognized for a job well done.
  • Stand behind your employees. Be their greatest advocate. While it is important to make the customer happy, if your employee lived up to company expectations, you take responsibility for giving the directive that prevented your employee from taking additional steps to please the customer. When necessary, act as the cushion between unhappy customers or suppliers and employees.
  • Give clear direction and set priorities. This will help alleviate any misunderstandings between what you expect employees to do and what they perceive needs to be done.
  • Avoid layoffs and cutbacks. Nothing will reduce employee morale like wondering whether they will have a job tomorrow. If you must cutback, communicate the reasons why and the depth of the lay offs up front. Clarify what steps you are taking to safeguard the employment of the remaining employees.
Motivating employees just takes a little thought and good manners, things anyone in a management position is able to do.  If you still need assistance, consider enrolling in an online business management course to get some fresh ideas.  We hope this article has helped you learn how to motivate employees and will bring your business added success in the future.

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Sep 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Understanding Employee Motivation

Introduction to Motivation

At one time, employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and services. What perhaps changed this way of thinking about employees was research, referred to as the Hawthorne Studies, conducted by Elton Mayo from 1924 to 1932 (Dickson, 1973). This study found employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behavior is linked to their attitudes (Dickson, 1973). The Hawthorne Studies began the human relations approach to management, whereby the needs and motivation of employees become the primary focus of managers (Bedeian, 1993).

Motivation Theories

Understanding what motivated employees and how they were motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). Five major approaches that have led to our understanding of motivation are Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory, Herzberg’s two- factor theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Adams’ equity theory, and Skinner’s reinforcement theory.

According to Maslow, employees have five levels of needs (Maslow, 1943): physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate employees. Herzberg’s work categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygienes (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959). Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction.

Vroom’s theory is based on the belief that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). Rewards may be either positive or negative. The more positive the reward the more likely the employee will be highly motivated. Conversely, the more negative the reward the less likely the employee will be motivated.

Adams’ theory states that employees strive for equity between themselves and other workers. Equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965).

Skinner’s theory simply states those employees’ behaviors that lead to positive outcomes will be repeated and behaviors that lead to negative outcomes will not be repeated (Skinner, 1953). Managers should positively reinforce employee behaviors that lead to positive outcomes. Managers should negatively reinforce employee behavior that leads to negative outcomes.

Motivation Defined

Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995); a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, & Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993). For this paper, motivation is operationally defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals.

The Role of Motivation

Why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival (Smith, 1994). Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive. Motivated employees are more productive. To be effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991). For example, research suggests that as employees’ income increases, money becomes less of a motivator (Kovach, 1987). Also, as employees get older, interesting work becomes more of a motivator.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to describe the importance of certain factors in motivating employees at the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center. Specifically, the study sought to describe the ranked importance of the following ten motivating factors: (a) job security, (b) sympathetic help with personal problems, (c) personal loyalty to employees, (d) interesting work, (e) good working conditions, (f) tactful discipline, (g) good wages, (h) promotions and growth in the organization, (i) feeling of being in on things, and (j) full appreciation of work done. A secondary purpose of the study was to compare the results of this study with the study results from other populations.

Methodology

The research design for this study employed a descriptive survey method. The target population of this study included employees at the Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center (centers). The sample size included all 25 employees of the target population. Twenty-three of the 25 employees participated in the survey for a participation rate of 92%. The centers are in Piketon, Ohio.

The mission of the Enterprise Center is to facilitate individual and community leader awareness and provide assistance in preparing and accessing economic opportunities in southern Ohio. The Enterprise Center has three programs: alternatives in agriculture, small business development, and women’s business development. The mission of the Piketon Research and Extension Center is to conduct research and educational programs designed to enhance economic development in southern Ohio. The Piketon Research and Extension Center has five programs: aquaculture, community economic development, horticulture, forestry, and soil and water resources.

From a review of literature, a survey questionnaire was developed to collect data for the study (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991; Harpaz, 1990; Kovach, 1987). Data was collected through use of a written questionnaire hand-delivered to participants. Questionnaires were filled out by participants and returned to an intra-departmental mailbox. The questionnaire asked participants to rank the importance of ten factors that motivated them in doing their work: 1=most important . . . 10=least important. Face and content validity for the instrument were established using two administrative and professional employees at The Ohio State University. The instrument was pilot tested with three similarly situated employees within the university. As a result of the pilot test, minor changes in word selection and instructions were made to the questionnaire.

Results and Discussion

The ranked order of motivating factors were: (a) interesting work, (b) good wages, (c) full appreciation of work done, (d) job security, (e) good working conditions, (f) promotions and growth in the organization, (g) feeling of being in on things, (h) personal loyalty to employees, (i) tactful discipline, and (j) sympathetic help with personal problems.

A comparison of these results to Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory provides some interesting insight into employee motivation. The number one ranked motivator, interesting work, is a self-actualizing factor. The number two ranked motivator, good wages, is a physiological factor. The number three ranked motivator, full appreciation of work done, is an esteem factor. The number four ranked motivator, job security, is a safety factor. Therefore, according to Maslow (1943), if managers wish to address the most important motivational factor of Centers’ employees, interesting work, physiological, safety, social, and esteem factors must first be satisfied. If managers wished to address the second most important motivational factor of centers’ employees, good pay, increased pay would suffice. Contrary to what Maslow’s theory suggests, the range of motivational factors are mixed in this study. Maslow’s conclusions that lower level motivational factors must be met before ascending to the next level were not confirmed by this study.

The following example compares the highest ranked motivational factor (interesting work) to Vroom’s expectancy theory. Assume that a Centers employee just attended a staff meeting where he/she learned a major emphasis would be placed on seeking additional external program funds. Additionally, employees who are successful in securing funds will be given more opportunities to explore their own research and extension interests (interesting work). Employees who do not secure additional funds will be required to work on research and extension programs identified by the director. The employee realizes that the more research he/she does regarding funding sources and the more proposals he/she writes, the greater the likelihood he/she will receive external funding.

Because the state legislature has not increased appropriations to the centers for the next two years (funds for independent research and extension projects will be scaled back), the employee sees a direct relationship between performance (obtaining external funds) and rewards (independent research and Extension projects). Further, the employee went to work for the centers, in part, because of the opportunity to conduct independent research and extension projects. The employee will be motivated if he/she is successful in obtaining external funds and given the opportunity to conduct independent research and extension projects. On the other hand, motivation will be diminished if the employee is successful in obtaining external funds and the director denies the request to conduct independent research and Extension projects.

The following example compares the third highest ranked motivational factor (full appreciation of work done) to Adams’s equity theory. If an employee at the centers feels that there is a lack of appreciation for work done, as being too low relative to another employee, an inequity may exist and the employee will be dis-motivated. Further, if all the employees at the centers feel that there is a lack of appreciation for work done, inequity may exist. Adams (1965) stated employees will attempt to restore equity through various means, some of which may be counter- productive to organizational goals and objectives. For instance, employees who feel their work is not being appreciated may work less or undervalue the work of other employees.

This final example compares the two highest motivational factors to Herzberg’s two-factor theory. The highest ranked motivator, interesting work, is a motivator factor. The second ranked motivator, good wages is a hygiene factor. Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman (1959) stated that to the degree that motivators are present in a job, motivation will occur. The absence of motivators does not lead to dissatisfaction. Further, they stated that to the degree that hygienes are absent from a job, dissatisfaction will occur. When present, hygienes prevent dissatisfaction, but do not lead to satisfaction. In our example, the lack of interesting work (motivator) for the centers’ employees would not lead to dissatisfaction. Paying centers’ employees lower wages (hygiene) than what they believe to be fair may lead to job dissatisfaction. Conversely, employees will be motivated when they are doing interesting work and but will not necessarily be motivated by higher pay.

The discussion above, about the ranked importance of motivational factors as related to motivational theory, is only part of the picture. The other part is how these rankings compare with related research. A study of industrial employees, conducted by Kovach (1987), yielded the following ranked order of motivational factors: (a) interesting work, (b) full appreciation of work done, and (c) feeling of being in on things. Another study of employees, conducted by Harpaz (1990), yielded the following ranked order of motivational factors: (a) interesting work, (b) good wages, and (c) job security.

In this study and the two cited above, interesting work ranked as the most important motivational factor. Pay was not ranked as one of the most important motivational factors by Kovach (1987), but was ranked second in this research and by Harpaz (1990). Full appreciation of work done was not ranked as one of the most important motivational factors by Harpaz (1990), but was ranked second in this research and by Kovach (1987). The discrepancies in these research findings supports the idea that what motivates employees differs given the context in which the employee works. What is clear, however, is that employees rank interesting work as the most important motivational factor.

Implications for Centers and Extension

The ranked importance of motivational factors of employees at the centers provides useful information for the centers’ director and employees. Knowing how to use this information in motivating centers’ employees is complex. The strategy for motivating centers’ employees depends on which motivation theories are used as a reference point. If Hertzberg’s theory is followed, management should begin by focusing on pay and job security (hygiene factors) before focusing on interesting work and full appreciation of work done (motivator factors). If Adams’ equity theory is followed, management should begin by focusing on areas where there may be perceived inequities (pay and full appreciation of work done) before focusing on interesting work and job security. If Vroom’s theory is followed, management should begin by focusing on rewarding (pay and interesting work) employee effort in achieving organizational goals and objectives.

Regardless of which theory is followed, interesting work and employee pay appear to be important links to higher motivation of centers’ employees. Options such as job enlargement, job enrichment, promotions, internal and external stipends, monetary, and non-monetary compensation should be considered. Job enlargement can be used (by managers) to make work more interesting (for employees) by increasing the number and variety of activities performed. Job enrichment can used to make work more interesting and increase pay by adding higher level responsibilities to a job and providing monetary compensation (raise or stipend) to employees for accepting this responsibility. These are just two examples of an infinite number of methods to increase motivation of employees at the centers. The key to motivating centers’ employees is to know what motivates them and designing a motivation program based on those needs.

The results presented in this paper also have implications for the entire Cooperative Extension Sysyem. The effectiveness of Extension is dependent upon the motivation of its employees (Chesney, 1992; Buford, 1990; Smith, 1990). Knowing what motivates employees and incorporating this knowledge into the reward system will help Extension identify, recruit, employ, train, and retain a productive workforce. Motivating Extension employees requires both managers and employees working together (Buford, 1993). Extension employees must be willing to let managers know what motivates them, and managers must be willing to design reward systems that motivate employees. Survey results, like those presented here, are useful in helping Extension managers determine what motivates employees (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991). If properly designed reward systems are not implemented, however, employees will not be motivated.

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Sep 22, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Do Employees Have the Right to Access Their Employee Files?

As with many questions regarding employment law, the answer is that the employee’s right to view his or her personnel file depends on the law of the state where the company is located. (There is no federal law requiring that employees have access to their personnel file.) By law, in 18 states (as of 2006), employees have the right to review their own employee files. California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, for example, do have laws giving employees of private companies access to their files; on the other hand, Colorado, New York, and Texas do not.

Even in states that allow employees access to their files, they can’t demand to see them on the spot and instead the employer must produce them within a reasonable time frame. However, what is “reasonable” depends on the particular state and can range from 48 hours to 14 days. This request should not be a problem if someone at your company is maintaining your employee files properly.

In those states that provide for employee access to their files, employees often also have the right to make a copy of any document in the employee file. This should not be an issue, as the employee already should have seen and signed most of the documents in the file.

Even in states where employees do have a right to view their personnel files, there are some documents that can be withheld. These usually are ones that would implicate third parties, besides the employer and the employee, as with reference letters or documents related to an internal investigation.

If an employee disagrees with any item in the file and the employer does not voluntarily remove it, some states allow the employee to submit a document to their file indicating the reasons why the item is, in his or her opinion, inaccurate.

Employers should contact their state’s department of labor for further information on what is required under the law in their particular state.

If the state your company operates in does not require you to allow employees to see their personnel folders, it would be smart to allow them access anyway. Having an open employee file rule builds trust. On the other hand, barring employees from reading about themselves can send a negative message.

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Sep 19, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

How to Help Employees Manage Stress

It’s not hard to understand why there’s more stress in the workplace now than in the past. Technology has sped up turnaround time, access to information and receipt of payment. More than ever, time is money and quicker work equals more dollars in the bank. But the effects of stress haven’t changed with the times. Consequences from this include more absenteeism, careless errors and even violence in the workplace. Here’s how to help your employees manage their stress.

1.Allow your employees as much control and choice over the work they perform as possible. Nothing causes stress quicker than having a manager constantly breathing down your back. Trust your staff to find efficient ways to get the job done.
2.Offer flexible hours whenever possible. Consider whether it’s absolutely necessary that everyone in the office be present every day during business hours. Encourage your staff to take some time off in the afternoon to exercise, go shopping, read a book or do whatever de-stresses them.
3.Let employees work from home when appropriate. This shows you trust they will get the job done and produce quality work even when you’re not there to check. Studies have shown that productivity increases when a motivated employee is allowed to work from home.
4.Create an ergonomic environment to relieve physical stresses in the workplace. Make sure all the furniture is comfortable. Buy flat screens and ergonomic keyboards and mice for the computers. Pay for strong lighting and get someone to clean the windows
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Your organization has a computer and Internet use policy. Fine. It’s been reviewed by corporate counsel, approved by senior management, and implemented over the years. The policy is comprehensive – it includes policies on expectations of privacy, employee monitoring, and the ownership of corporate electronic assets. Now, during the course of an internal investigation, you want to read an employees’ e-mail, examine the contents of his company-supplied computer, and review his telephone calls made on the company-owned cell phone. You are all set, right? Umm… not so fast.
A pair of recent cases in the United States raise the fundamental question, “do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy at the workplace?” In the United States at least, most people confronted with this question would answer a resounding no, right? I mean, the company policy makes it clear that the computer and network are company property, and that we shouldn’t expect any privacy there.

However, there is a genuine divergence between what companies say and what they do. There is also a divergence between what employees regurgitate about their expectations of privacy (corporate mantra) and how they actually act. My own answer to the question, “do I have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace?” – of course! What we really need to do is better define the scope of that reasonable expectation of privacy.

Policy policy policy

In the course of an average day at work, an employee leaves a great deal of “digital detritus” – a trail of activities. The ownership of these digital records, as well as an employees’ privacy rights with respect to them is not entirely clear under the law. Employers provide employees with a number of tools that leave a digital trail. This may include their computers, email accounts, Internet access, VPN access, regular phone, VOIP service, cell phone, alphanumeric pager, RSA SecurID token, not to mention the video surveillance, and records of badge entry and exit.
Complicating these issues are the questions of ownership, access and rights. For example, an employer may purchase a cell phone for an employee and retain ownership of the phone. Or it may allow the employee to buy the phone, but register it on a corporate plan for service. It may reimburse the employee for all telephone calls made or require the employee to demonstrate the business nature of calls reimbursed. Employees may telecommute from home using either employer or employee supplied equipment. The Internet connection to the office may be paid for by the employee or the employer. When logging on remotely, does the ISP have any right to monitor content? When a VPN connection is made, who may monitor what happens on the VPN? May your employer burst into your home, seize your personal computer (that you own, but store some of their files on) and take it?

Privacy in the workplace extends beyond the electronic workplace. For example, can your employer read your personal mail, sent to your office address – even if it is marked “personal and confidential – addressee only?” Can your employer videotape you in the office? Audiotape you? What about in the restrooms, lounges, parking lots, or in your car?

It’s easy to say that employees have no expectation of privacy, and even to post corporate policies and notices to that effect. But do you really mean it? And do you really enforce it? The answer to both questions is probably no.
The electronic workplace is no longer just the cubicle, desk or office. It now encompasses the coffee shop, the hotel room, the back of the taxi, the living room or bedroom. In the workplace, it also includes the water cooler, the restroom, the changing room, and other places. It’s not just memos written and documents produced. It is newspaper articles read, sports scores checked, friends chatted with, lovers associated with. People increasingly are living their personal lives – including their most intimate personal lives – online, and online from within the office. Employees traveling may use the office laptop to have a videoconference with his family, catch up with colleagues, plan a high school reunion, or even complain about problems at work with coworkers. Even unionizing and organizing activities may be conducted either on work property, work time, or using work supplied or reimbursed technology. The workplace itself may extend to wherever the employee can be reached by a cell phone, satellite phone, or blackberry. If an employee submits a hotel bill for reimbursement (including telephone and movies) that gives the employer the right to know what movies the employee is watching. Does it also give the employer the right to know the contents of the telephone call? Sure, they can decide if the call is work-related or personal, but can they arrange with the hotel to wiretap you?

In effect, we have two dichotomies in the privacy/employment context. First, the disconnect between what we say our policy is, and what we actually do. Second, the equally vast disconnect between what employees say is their expectation of privacy, and how they act. While empirically we may know that the employer could monitor us, we would likely be offended if our cubicle were wired, our keystrokes logged and captured, and our cell-phone conversations recorded.

Military intelligence

Lance Corporal Jennifer Long was issued a government computer to use on a government military network. When she was suspected of violations of the military drug use policies (and of criminal laws related to drug use), Marine Corps criminal investigators reviewed the contents of email messages she sent to another military employee who was likewise using a government issued computer over the same government network. The messages were retrieved from the government mail server and later used against Long. On September 27, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed forces had to decide whether Long had any expectation of privacy in these e-mails.
The starting point for any analysis is, of course, the DoD policy expressed on its warning banner, which stated quite explicitly:

This is a Department of Defense computer system. This computer system, including all related equipment, networks and network devices (specifically including Internet access), are provided only for authorized U.S. Government use. DoD computer systems may be monitored for all lawful purposes, including to ensure that their use is authorized, for management of the system, to facilitate protection against unauthorized access, and to verify security procedures, survivability and operational security. Monitoring includes active attacks by authorized DoD entities to test or verify the security of this system. During monitoring, information may be examined, recorded, copied and used for authorized purposes. All information, including personal information, placed on or sent over this system may be monitored. Use of this DoD computer system, authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent to monitoring of this system. Unauthorized use may subject you to criminal prosecution. Evidence of unauthorized use collected during monitoring may be used for administrative, criminal, or other adverse action. Use of this system constitutes consent to monitoring for these purposes.
Seems pretty clear. No expectation of privacy. Government monitoring for any purpose. Government recording for any purpose. Government use of the recorded or intercepted communications for any purpose. Use of the system (even hacking into it) is consent to monitoring.

However, the military court, not usually known for taking a strong privacy stance against the military, found that Long did, in fact have some privacy interests in the contents of her communications. It noted that while the government said it could monitor, it rarely did. It also noted that the case was initiated when the Marine Corps Criminal Investigative Division (CID) – essentially a law enforcement agency, simply decided to inspect the servers to look for evidence of criminal activity. As the US Supreme Court noted, “[W]hile police, and even administrative enforcement personnel, conduct searches for the primary purpose of obtaining evidence for use in criminal or other enforcement proceedings, employers most frequently need to enter the offices and desks of their employees for legitimate work-related reasons wholly unrelated to illegal conduct.”

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How to Avoid Career Depression during the Recession

Monday, 09. May 2011

The global economic deluge has significantly changed the world of work. Now, if you are still using old ways to keep yourself afloat then sooner you’ll be surprised that you’ll suddenly drown into the sea of unemployment.

This is exactly what is happening to many people. Many have been so comfortable and confident that they’d never suffer losses that news had been broadcasting until one day they’d get the surprise of their life from their bosses.

In the old days, it doesn’t matter much if you get laid off. People would just be back to hunt for jobs, then quickly they’d get one that is either at the same playing field as before or at a much better place. With the coming of recession, road of jobseekers and in transition would be stiffer and harsher. It’s going to be a dog eats dog world. Survival of the fittest as Charles Darwin describes it.

The best way to survive is to push your credentials more than just a notch higher. While you’re working take up extra responsibilities at work, get your performance noticed by showing an excellent level of productivity, or if you have the time take up some classes that will enhance your resume.

Lastly, show that genuine passion for your work. Most employers value your most indispensable resource and that is your work ethics and dedication. When the time comes that you have to leave, you’d definitely want your employer to mention all praises in the work that you have put in. And that for sure will work to your advantage when you go hunt for a new job.

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Getting off on the right foot Many companies provide some sort of introductory training or orientation for most of their new employees. It may take the form of an older employee assigned to show the new employee “the ropes.” Or it may be left to the

Monday, 09. May 2011

Getting off on the right foot

Many companies provide some sort of introductory training or orientation for most of their new employees. It may take the form of an older employee assigned to show the new employee “the ropes.” Or it may be left to the HR department or the individual’s new supervisor to show them where the coffee pot is and how to apply for time off.Many organizations, especially in government and academia, have created new employee training that is designed, exclusively or primarily, to provide mandated safety familiarization.

Yet some companies in highly competitive industries recognize the value in New Employee Orientation (NEO) that goes much farther. They require several weeks or even months of training to familiarize every new employee with the company, its products, its culture and policies, even its competition.

There is a measurable cost to that training, but is it worth it? Let’s look at some of the issues.

Some Background Facts

The technology in the workplace is changing very rapidly and companies that can’t keep up will drop out of competition. A survey by the Ontario (Canada) Skills Development Office found 63% of the respondents planned to “introduce new technology into the workplace that would require staff training.” A third of the respondents included “improving employee job performance” and “keeping the best employees” as desired outcomes.The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) reports that less than $1500 per employee was spent for training in 1996. The largest part of that (49 percent) was spent for technical and professional training. Only two percent was spent for New Employee Orientation and three percent on quality, competition and business practices training.

Reasons To Not Do New Employee Training

Even at the less than $1500 per year for training an employee we reported above, it is still a cost. For some companies, especially those with traditionally high turnover, it can be a major expense. If your profit per employee is less than $1500, it would be difficult to convince the stakeholders that training is justified. Besides, we all know it is the responsibility of the school system to train people to be workers. And it is the worker’s responsibility to learn how to do a job so they can get hired.

Why Do New Employee Training

Not surprisingly, all the reasons not to train new employees (except cost itself) are actually reasons to do that training. If you have high turnover, training new employees will make them more productive. They will feel better about themselves and the job. They will stick around longer.If your profit per employee is less than $1500 per year, you have major problems. You need to start training all your employees, not just your new employees, right away. Show your stakeholders the potential ROI of the training as we will discuss below.

And if you still believe that our schools provide adequate training to make students labor-ready you are living in a dream world. Yes, some job seekers make the effort to learn on their own the skills needed for a new job, but most get that training on the job.

Required Training

Government regulation, insurance coverages, and common sense dictate some training that MUST be given to every new employee.

Other Reasons for New Employee Training

American International Assurance is an ISO 9002 certified insurance company. AIA makes a commitment to training for their staff because AIA “recognizes that the training and development knowledge, attitude and skills of the staff and agency field force are fundamental to its continued efficient and profitable performance.”Orchard Supply Hardware considers its New Employee Training program important enough to include in their list of benefits for full and part-time employees.

An Interesting Proposal

Dr. Edward Gordon recommends companies make training a stand-alone function, separate from HR. He points out a twenty percent increase in training expenditure since 1983 has not kept pace with the twenty-four percent increase in workers in the same period. He suggests Training Managers use Return on Investment (ROI) to demonstrate that the training function is a profit center, not just a cost center.

Summary

In Dr. Gordon’s article cited above, he points out that companies such as Sprint, Xerox, General Electric and General Motors have opted to establish Corporate Universities, reflecting the importance they place on employee training.The value for smaller companies is arguably even greater. And there is no better time to start employee training than New Employee Orientation.

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Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation

Monday, 09. May 2011

Most companies have it all wrong. They don’t have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees’ morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of management—both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers’ behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem (see sidebar “How Management Demotivates“)—and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work
To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

  • Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.
  • Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer.
  • Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do
Satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can’t control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees’ goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Achievement related
1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a “reason for being” that translates for workers into a “reason for being there” that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

Benefits are about people. It’s not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It’s whether the people are cared for when they’re sick, helped when they’re in trouble.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the ends—people—rather than the means—completing forms.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce,management must meet all three goals.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager’s ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

2. Provide recognition. Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, “Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he’s paid to do?” Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don’t take the time to thank them for a job well done yet are quick to criticize them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying “good going,” a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and undergirded by fair and competitive pay—and not considered a substitute for it.

3. Be an expediter for your employees. Incorporating a command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees’ expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your “customers.” Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what’s obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them! “Lunch and schmooze” sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you’re progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

4. Coach your employees for improvement. A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don’t know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

  • Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal. Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not surprise the worker with past wrongs.
  • Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly. Don’t succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don’t forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create a team that warrants praise.
  • Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific, factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as, “That work was shoddy”) or comments about employees’ personalities or motives (such as, “You’ve been careless”). Instead, provide specific, concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.
  • Keep the feedback relevant to the employee’s role. Don’t let your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.
  • Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees’ experience and observations often are helpful in determining how performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most helpful.
  • Remember the reason you’re giving feedback—you want to improve performance, not prove your superiority. So keep it real, and focus on what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.
  • Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course correction—while praising the effort—as quickly as possible.
  • Don’t offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get someone who knows the situation to look at it.

Equity related
5. Communicate fully. One of the most counterproductive rules in business is to distribute information on the basis of “need to know.” It is usually a way of severely, unnecessarily, and destructively restricting the flow of information in an organization.

A command-and-controlstyle is a sure-fire path to demotivation.

Workers’ frustration with an absence of adequate communication is one of the most negative findings we see expressed on employee attitude surveys. What employees need to do their jobs and what makes them feel respected and included dictate that very few restrictions be placed by managers on the flow of information. Hold nothing back of interest to employees except those very few items that are absolutely confidential.

Good communication requires managers to be attuned to what employees want and need to know; the best way to do this is to ask them! Most managers must discipline themselves to communicate regularly. Often it’s not a natural instinct. Schedule regular employee meetings that have no purpose other than two-way communication. Meetings among management should conclude with a specific plan for communicating the results of the meetings to employees. And tell it like it is. Many employees are quite skeptical about management’s motives and can quickly see through “spin.” Get continual feedback on how well you and the company are communicating. One of the biggest communication problems is the assumption that a message has been understood. Follow-up often finds that messages are unclear or misunderstood.

Companies and managers that communicate in the ways we describe reap large gains in employee morale. Full and open communication not only helps employees do their jobs but also is a powerful sign of respect.

6. Face up to poor performance. Identify and deal decisively with the 5 percent of your employees who don’t want to work. Most people want to work and be proud of what they do (the achievement need). But there are employees who are, in effect, “allergic” to work—they’ll do just about anything to avoid it. They are unmotivated, and a disciplinary approach—including dismissal—is about the only way they can be managed. It will raise the morale and performance of other team members to see an obstacle to their performance removed.

Camaraderie related
7. Promote teamwork. Most work requires a team effort in order to be done effectively. Research shows repeatedly that the quality of a group’s efforts in areas such as problem solving is usually superior to that of individuals working on their own. In addition, most workers get a motivation boost from working in teams.

Whenever possible, managers should organize employees into self-managed teams, with the teams having authority over matters such as quality control, scheduling, and many work methods. Such teams require less management and normally result in a healthy reduction in management layers and costs.

Creating teams has as much to do with camaraderie as core competences. A manager needs to carefully assess who works best with whom. At the same time, it is important to create the opportunity for cross-learning and diversity of ideas, methods, and approaches. Be clear with the new team about its role, how it will operate, and your expectations for its output.

Related to all three factors
8. Listen and involve. Employees are a rich source of information about how to do a job and how to do it better. This principle has been demonstrated time and again with all kinds of employees—from hourly workers doing the most routine tasks to high-ranking professionals. Managers who operate with a participative style reap enormous rewards in efficiency and work quality.

Participative managers continually announce their interest in employees’ ideas. They do not wait for these suggestions to materialize through formal upward communication or suggestion programs. They find opportunities to have direct conversations with individuals and groups about what can be done to improve effectiveness. They create an atmosphere where “the past is not good enough” and recognize employees for their innovativeness.

Participative managers, once they have defined task boundaries, give employees freedom to operate and make changes on their own commensurate with their knowledge and experience. Indeed, there may be no single motivational tactic more powerful than freeing competent people to do their jobs as they see fit.

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