photo credit: Torley
For most small businesses, the owner is the key person in the leadership role. Some owners and managers of businesses are convinced that it is only the money that creates passionate performance, productivity, and connectedness in employees. I’ve heard it many times in one form or another: “They are well paid; I don’t understand why they won’t produce.”
While yes it is true that money motivates employees a great deal especially in today’s economy, they are also looking for their personal needs to be met as well. Helping employees meet their personal needs is a great way to motivate them to produce more, work harder and better. When you show that you realize your employees are HUMAN rather than a machine and you recognize that they have needs, they are more likely to work better for you.
Ask your employees to fill out some sort of questionnaire or survey on what they do for recreation, what makes them nervous in their work environment and what would personal touches in their work environment would make their jobs easier and more comfortable for them. From this questionnaire you can go through and start implementing personal touches in the environment as well as maybe creating programs related to their recreation hobbies that motivate them to strive at work, recently posted on Business Week.