Workplace Motivation – Carrot or Stick approach doesn’t work anymore

“I am in this job because I have no other option.” If this is what an employee of your company feels, read on to know how this statement can be changed to something more positive – “I love what I do.” First things first – whose responsibility is it to ensure that an employee loves his job? While an employee would say – the employer, the human resource experts have a different point of view which sounds fair. It’s both the employer and the employee who should work together to make work fun for each other. It is interesting to know here, that employees do not rank ’salary’ as the top factor in determining whether they like their jobs or not. What is important to them then – the opportunity to do what is ’important’. Almost all the employees would like to feel part of the big picture and would want to contribute to the organizational goals in some way or the other. Doing the mundane, routine work will never excite them – what excites them is – work that challenges them to use their talent. Right Management Consultants conducted a survey sometime back and found

that 83% of about 500 workers surveyed were motivated by “challenges at work”.

Also, as per an executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, while salary and promotions could do a great job of demotivating people if handled ineffectively, they aren’t so much effective in motivating people.

So then what needs to be done for effective motivation at workplace?

	Link Rewards directly to Performance- An organization should adopt a fair reward structure which provides incentive to the most deserving employee. Have an incentive structure in place doesn’t solve the problem… what makes it workable is the employees trust in the system and believe that they will be rewarded if they perform well.
	Compliment employees- Even though an employee’s name has not appeared in the list of people getting incentives, go ahead and compliment that employee for a job well done – no matter how small. There is nothing more satisfying to an employee than a pat on his back.
	Be transparent- While there may be some strategic decisions which you might want to share with the employees at a later stage, make sure employees do not give in to the rumours. Stay in touch with the employees.
	Work on your PDP- Every employee is responsible for his / her own career. He / she should work towards his ’Personal Development Plan’ [PDP] as discussed and agreed by his manager. Find out what are the training company offers and which is best suited to his development needs. How this will motivate you – remember training always increase your marketability and enhance your career.
	Participate and Network- Employees – Remember you work for a company where a one-on-one attention might not be possible. Do not wait for an invitation to participate in a discussion. If you are a part of a forum, then you have full right to express your opinion and be a part of the process. Expressing yourself is a good way of motivating yourself.

What is Motivation ?

Motivation is the word derived from the word ’motive’ which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context the psychological factors stimulating the people’s behaviour can be – desire for money success recognition job-satisfaction team work, etc

One of the most important functions of management is to create willingness amongst the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is to arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs. The process of motivation consists of three stages:-

1. A felt need or drive
2. A stimulus in which needs have to be aroused
3. When needs are satisfied, the satisfaction or accomplishment of goals.

Therefore, we can say that motivation is a psychological phenomenon which means needs and wants of the individuals have to be tackled by framing an incentive plan.

Advantages of Planning

1. Planning facilitates management by objectives.

   1. Planning begins with determination of objectives.
   2. It highlights the purposes for which various activities are to be undertaken.
   3. In fact, it makes objectives more clear and specific.
   4. Planning helps in focusing the attention of employees on the objectives or goals of enterprise.
   5. Without planning an organization has no guide.
   6. Planning compels manager to prepare a Blue-print of the courses of action to be followed for accomplishment of objectives.
   7. Therefore, planning brings order and rationality into the organization.

    

    

2. Planning minimizes uncertainties.

   1. Business is full of uncertainties.
   2. There are risks of various types due to uncertainties.
   3. Planning helps in reducing uncertainties of future as it involves anticipation of future events.
   4. Although future cannot be predicted with cent percent accuracy but planning helps management to anticipate future and prepare for risks by necessary provisions to meet unexpected turn of events.
   5. Therefore with the help of planning, uncertainties can be forecasted which helps in preparing standbys as a result, uncertainties are minimized to a great extent.

    

    

3. Planning facilitates co-ordination.

   1. Planning revolves around organizational goals.
   2. All activities are directed towards common goals.
   3. There is an integrated effort throughout the enterprise in various departments and groups.
   4. It avoids duplication of efforts. In other words, it leads to better co-ordination.
   5. It helps in finding out problems of work performance and aims at rectifying the same.

    

    

4. Planning improves employee’s moral.

   1. Planning creates an atmosphere of order and discipline in organization.
   2. Employees know in advance what is expected of them and therefore conformity can be achieved easily.
   3. This encourages employees to show their best and also earn reward for the same.
   4. Planning creates a healthy attitude towards work environment which helps in boosting employees moral and efficiency.

    

    

5. Planning helps in achieving economies.

   1. Effective planning secures economy since it leads to orderly allocation ofresources to various operations.
   2. It also facilitates optimum utilization of resources which brings economy in operations.
   3. It also avoids wastage of resources by selecting most appropriate use that will contribute to the objective of enterprise. For example, raw materials can be purchased in bulk and transportation cost can be minimized. At the same time it ensures regular supply for the production department, that is, overall efficiency.

    

    

6. Planning facilitates controlling.

   1. Planning facilitates existence of certain planned goals and standard of performance.
   2. It provides basis of controlling.
   3. We cannot think of an effective system of controlling without existence of well thought out plans.
   4. Planning provides pre-determined goals against which actual performance is compared.
   5. In fact, planning and controlling are the two sides of a same coin. If planning is root, controlling is the fruit.

    

    

7. Planning provides competitive edge.

   1. Planning provides competitive edge to the enterprise over the others which do not have effective planning. This is because of the fact that planning may involve changing in work methods, quality, quantity designs, extension of work, redefining of goals, etc.
   2. With the help of forecasting not only the enterprise secures its future but at the same time it is able to estimate the future motives of it’s competitor which helps in facing future challenges.
   3. Therefore, planning leads to best utilization of possible resources, improves quality of production and thus the competitive strength of the enterprise is improved.

    

    

8. Planning encourages innovations.

   1. In the process of planning, managers have the opportunities of suggesting ways and means of improving performance.
   2. Planning is basically a decision making function which involves creative thinking and imagination that ultimately leads to innovation of methods and operations for growth and prosperity of the enterprise.

Planning Function of Management

Planning means looking ahead and chalking out future courses of action to be followed. It is a preparatory step. It is a systematic activity which determines when, how and who is going to perform a specific job. Planning is a detailed programme regarding future courses of action. It is rightly said “Well plan is half done”. Therefore planning takes into consideration available & prospective human and physical resources of the organization so as to get effective co-ordination, contribution & perfect adjustment. It is the basic management function which includes formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources. According to Urwick, “Planning is a mental predisposition to do things in orderly way, to think before acting and to act in the light of facts rather than guesses”. Planning is deciding best alternative among others to perform different managerial functions in order to achieve predetermined goals.

According to Koontz & O’Donell, “Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do and who is to do it. Planning bridges the gap between where we are to, where we want to go. It makes possible things to occur which would not otherwise occur”.

Steps in Planning Function

Planning function of management involves following steps:-

1. 
   

   Establishment of objectives

   1. Planning requires a systematic approach.
   2. Planning starts with the setting of goals and objectives to be achieved.
   3. Objectives provide a rationale for undertaking various activities as well as indicate direction of efforts.
   4. Moreover objectives focus the attention of managers on the end results to be achieved.
   5. As a matter of fact, objectives provide nucleus to the planning process. Therefore, objectives should be stated in a clear, precise and unambiguous language. Otherwise the activities undertaken are bound to be ineffective.
   6. As far as possible, objectives should be stated in quantitative terms. For example, Number of men working, wages given, units produced, etc. But such an objective cannot be stated in quantitative terms like performance of quality control manager, effectiveness of personnel manager.
   7. Such goals should be specified in qualitative terms.
   8. Hence objectives should be practical, acceptable, workable and achievable.

2. Establishment of Planning Premises

1. Planning premises are the assumptions about the lively shape of events in future.
2. They serve as a basis of planning.
3. Establishment of planning premises is concerned with determining where one tends to deviate from the actual plans and causes of such deviations.
4. It is to find out what obstacles are there in the way of business during the course of operations.
5. Establishment of planning premises is concerned to take such steps that avoids these obstacles to a great extent.
6. Planning premises may be internal or external. Internal includes capital investment policy, management labour relations, philosophy of management, etc. Whereas external includes socio- economic, political and economical changes.
7. Internal premises are controllable whereas external are non- controllable.

Choice of alternative course of action

1. When forecast are available and premises are established, a number of alternative course of actions have to be considered.
2. For this purpose, each and every alternative will be evaluated by weighing its pros and cons in the light of resources available and requirements of the organization.
3. The merits, demerits as well as the consequences of each alternative must be examined before the choice is being made.
4. After objective and scientific evaluation, the best alternative is chosen.
5. The planners should take help of various quantitative techniques to judge the stability of an alternative.

Formulation of derivative plans

1. Derivative plans are the sub plans or secondary plans which help in the achievement of main plan.
2. Secondary plans will flow from the basic plan. These are meant to support and expediate the achievement of basic plans.
3. These detail plans include policies, procedures, rules, programmes, budgets, schedules, etc. For example, if profit maximization is the main aim of the enterprise, derivative plans will include sales maximization, production maximization, and cost minimization.
4. Derivative plans indicate time schedule and sequence of accomplishing various tasks.

Securing Co-operation

1. After the plans have been determined, it is necessary rather advisable to take subordinates or those who have to implement these plans into confidence.
2. The purposes behind taking them into confidence are :-
   1. Subordinates may feel motivated since they are involved in decision making process.
   2. The organization may be able to get valuable suggestions and improvement in formulation as well as implementation of plans.
   3. Also the employees will be more interested in the execution of these plans.

Follow up/Appraisal of plans

1. After choosing a particular course of action, it is put into action.
2. After the selected plan is implemented, it is important to appraise its effectiveness.
3. This is done on the basis of feedback or information received from departments or persons concerned.
4. This enables the management to correct deviations or modify the plan.
5. This step establishes a link between planning and controlling function.
6. The follow up must go side by side the implementation of plans so that in the light of observations made, future plans can be made more realistic.

What’s Wrong With Your Email: A Second Look at Proven Attention Grabbers

On any given day, between 20 and 50 pieces of unsolicited email sail past my spam blocker and into my inbox. When I worked in business development, I purged them indiscriminately. As I got involved with marketing, I skimmed through them occasionally for ideas and inspired copy.

Once I became a writer, I often edited the messages in my head—until the day a direct mailer arrived that set off all the “newbie” alarms and I had to intervene at once.

The following is my response to the emailer. Below that is the original email, with identifiable details withheld to ensure privacy.

* * *

Dear X.

 

I left Quartesian last year to become a full-time writer of digital marketing content, including direct email like the one I was lucky enough to receive from you.

Before that, I had spent four years in your shoes, trying to do both marketing and sales on a shoestring for a small ambitious B2B service provider. So, I hope you take this letter in the spirit in which it is written: one professional reaching out to another to share insight and offer support.

Getting Attention

Let me start with the subject line. When I get an email from a name I don’t recognize at a company I’ve never heard of with the subject line “Conference Call with Quartesian LLC,” I know right away that it’s spam. If my assistant doesn’t delete it for me, I will do so on my next break between meetings when I get a minute to glance at my BlackBerry.

A better choice would have been something like “WSJ says 40% of B2B providers will include mobile apps into their marketing budgets”—but only if it’s true. That way, the email promises to tell me something new or important, and I will be more likely to put it into a “read later” pile—or forward it to a colleague.

Making the First Impression

Let’s just say I opened your message in spite of the telltale subject line. I will delete it after I read the first sentence. Why? “I would like to get on your calendar” is the BD equivalent of “What’s your number?” Try using it as a pick-up line, and see what happens.

In a live conversation you would first introduce yourself and try to arouse my interest and build some trust. Emails are no different. Of course, stating your purpose up front is important. In your case, though, everyone knows that the purpose of “personalized” junk mail is to get a meeting.

A better use of the 30 seconds I will spend deciding whether to read the rest of your email is to show me what you know about my business that I don’t. For example: “Would you like to stay ‘top of mind’ with your best prospects while making their day a little better? That’s just what Mxx’s clients in the insurance, restaurant, airline, and many other industries are doing—with the help of our customized turnkey mobile app solutions.”

Captivating Your Audience

Does spam really work? Survey says yes, but only when it correctly addresses the needs of a specific buyer segment. But even if I laugh off your first sentence and keep reading, I will delete your message after I read the first paragraph.

Why? Because my clients are businesses. Though they are a hit with consumer brands, mobile apps are still a novelty in the B2B world.

By glossing over that important distinction, you make it clear that you don’t understand my business and will waste my time. A better approach would have been to create a separate version of the letter for the B2B segment (even better if you can make it industry specific)—showing the value of your solution to my business, or at least citing relevant market data.

Using Common Sense

Are white supremacist groups your core market? Or did you really expect to score points with corporate America by saying, “Our developers are best-of-breed, based in Nuremberg, Germany. We don’t outsource to India or other third-world countries—and never will”?

I am sure you know that most “respected” companies in your target group do outsource to the “third world,” as does my old employer, Quartesian. Besides, how do you know that I myself am not from there?

Making a Compelling Time-Bound Offer

$5,000 for a purebred German piece of code sounds outrageous. Even if you can afford to do it that cheaply, first year online MBA courses say you are not obligated to sell at cost.

The throw-away pricing reeks of desperation and casts a doubt over the existence of “the most respected” clients you alluded to earlier. Now I don’t think you have any clients at all.

You tell me that the price goes up next week. I don’t believe that either. I think Mxx is made up of amateurs who have no idea how to price, market, or sell a product. And at this point, I am not even sure that you have a product to sell.

Since Mxx already includes “a detailed list of competitive or similar apps on the market” with every job, why not use it as an introductory offer instead? There is a natural urgency to staying abreast of the competition. And what better way to showcase your expertise and the value of your product?

Ending on a Personal Note

So, after you’ve spammed my mailbox, obnoxiously requested to “get on my calendar,” ignored my real needs, insulted my company, and made a ridiculous offer followed up by an equally ridiculous sales push, you are ready to show me the fun and caring side of yourself with “I hope you are able to spend some quality time with your friends and family this past Easter weekend. I’ll be in London for the royal wedding, but available all next week.”

I too hope you spend some quality time this weekend. Then come back to work and write a sales letter that has a fighting chance.

While you are at it, think of other ways to spread the word about Mxx. Wouldn’t it be nice if those most interested in your product were able to find and contact you themselves—through strategically placed content?

If you need help wording your message or telling your story, you can get on my calendar anytime. The price will be the same next week. And I promise I won’t outsource your writing project to India.

Wishing you success,

Olga Taylor

* * *

April 28, 2011

Subject: Conference call with Quartesian LLC

Dear Olga:

I would like to get on your calendar to speak with you about mobile app development. We develop apps on the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Symbian, Android, and Windows Portable Media platforms. Our speciality is developing apps that are multi-platform for the same cost others charge for a single device. We offer a turn-key solution. Simply tell us your goals, give us a list of the apps you like the most, those you like the least, describe the basic functionality you require, and we will take it from there.

Our process is truly unique. We write the technical specification documents for you. We provide a detailed list of competitive or similar apps on the market today. We design the interface for the app, provide a working prototype, detailed wireframes and documention PRIOR to writing the first line of code. Our creative team ensures the look and feel of your app matches your brand. We can create apps for less than half the cost of other developers because we leverage existing code for basic functionality. Our developers are best-of-breed, based in Nuremberg Germany. We don’t outsource to India or other third world countries—and never will.

Our development efforts are used by many of the most respected banks, insurance companies, airlines, casinos, cruiseliners, restaurants, retailers, rental car companies, law firms, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, telephone and utility companies. Our introductory program is limited to one per company and this provides all of the aforementioned functions for only $5,000 until May 1st. ($10k thereafter)

I’ve asked my executive assistant S. H. to call your office to arrange a time for us to speak. I’ll provide a web-ex style presentation that will focus on how we can best meet your mobile needs. I only need to know a) desired devices, b) overview of functionality, c) your favorite app with similar functionality d) name of project, e) min and max budget and f) timeline for delivery of product. I hope you are able to spend some quality time with your friends and family this past Easter weekend. I’ll be in London for the royal wedding, but available all next week.

Sincerely,

X. Y.
Executive Vice President Business Development, Mxx, Inc.