People are different. They like different things, dislike different things, and are driven by different things than other people around them. Yet when developing a plan to motivate employees, companies often treat all of their workers as if everyone is the same. By taking a few small (and inexpensive) steps to determine the likes and dislikes of employees, companies stand to reap great benefits.

Dr. John Sullivan, a professor of management at San Francisco State University, suggests asking new hires and transfers variations of four powerful questions during orientation, either on paper or online. This will help to develop an individual “how I like to be managed” profile.

1. What would you like to see more of? (What excites, challenges, and motivates you?)

2. What would you like to see less of? (What frustrates or inhibits you?)

3. How would you like to be managed? (What’s the best way to effectively get the most out of you?)

4. Why did you quit your last few jobs? (So that I can avoid making the same mistakes your previous managers made?)

In sales, huge amounts of time and money are typically spent trying to discover what will motivate customers to buy. By turning this process inward, companies stand to get much more out of the people that make those companies run.

Source: workforce.com

Communication is sometimes described as the most ignored component of the administrative process. Despite the importance of effective communication -- between co-workers, employees and supervisors, and management and the company as a whole -- it's common to simply assume that people can communicate well enough to do their jobs.

The problem with this assumption occurs when there is a communication breakdown. Then the issue takes center stage, demanding immediate attention. The best way to prevent these problems is to address them upstream -- to create a culture of communication within the organization.

According to Charles L. Decker's Winning with the P&G 99, Proctor & Gamble has such a culture. Memos, for instance, sometimes receive more attention than the information they contain. For example, one P&G brand manager contacted an account executive to compliment him on a great memo. Why was this unusual? Because the compliment was not that the memo had great ideas, but that it was well-written. Continental Airlines implemented a toll-free voice mail system which employees could use to contact the CEO, who would then reply to their comments or questions. And Soichiro Irimajiri, the former president of Honda of America, spent two or three days every month visiting work areas and reviewing employee ideas about saving time and advancing quality. Employees with good ideas received praise directly from the head of the organization.

Communication is vital. It makes sense to spend the time developing a proactive communication plan in every organization -- one that seeks to improve understanding within the levels of a company as well as vertically -- to develop this "communication culture" before a problem occurs.

Source: Communication World

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Marcia Hoeck, president of Hoeck
Associates, is published in the May issue of B2B Marketing Trends. Look for her article, “Strategy is Overrated: Companies Need to be Themselves” at b2bmarketingtrends.com.

"Thanks! The client is very happy and they love the concepts. Hopefully, they'll ask us to create all their work for this effort."

— Brenda McMahon
Principal
Mercer Human Resource Consulting

Proofreading Services

Did you know that Hoeck Associates offers proofreading services? Here's the skinny:

The proofreading we offer is more than just checking to see that edits were performed correctly -- though we can help you with that if you need us to. Instead, we proof holistically. This means we're asking, "Does this make sense? Is everything consistent, from the colors on the page to the use of company-specific terms? Are the rules of proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization being followed?"

We refer to the Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook as our style guides when there is a dispute, as there are often several correct ways to punctuate, capitalize, etc.

Need more information?
Call Debi Lewis at 419.472.8808 or email her at debi@hoeck.net.

Published by Hoeck Associates, Inc.
© February 2006 All rights reserved
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