Motivating the unmotivated

Whether you want your employees to work more efficiently or need them to engage more on team projects, motivating apathetic workers can be a difficult task.

Assuming that the unmotivated employees are reasonably valuable and do have the skills needed to perform the job they’re in, below are two simple ideas that can help motivate the unmotivated:

Make it achievable
The harder the job, the greater the motivation required to complete it. Simplified jobs require less motivation and are harder for people to avoid doing. An example of implementing this ideal in the workplace could be asking an employee to break a large and complicated project into smaller, simplified daily jobs.

Change the environment
Making small changes to the workplace environment can shape a person’s behaviour without them even thinking about it. Some examples of simple environmental changes to increase motivation include keeping phones/phone chargers in a separate room or encouraging staff to stand up and stretch every hour.

Investing in employee wellness

Investing in a workplace wellness program is one way employers can foster a culture of health and fitness among employees.

Workplace wellness programs are designed to support, encourage and reward healthy behaviours. As healthy employees are shown to be more productive, have higher levels of morale and less absenteeism – it pays to invest in your employee’s health.

Here are a few things to consider when designing a workplace wellness program:

Incorporate all aspects of health
Although, physical health is imperative – don’t forget to include assistance and activities which benefit employee’s mental, emotional and spiritual health. A comprehensive program combines targeted activities for developing physical health, such as a 10K-a-day walking challenge, with services for work/life balance, such as yoga or stress management workshops.

Make it fun
For higher levels of employee participation and involvement, make sure your activities are enjoyable and best fit the needs of your business. Get your staff involved by encouraging them to submit their ideas and run some of the programs. Ensure the activities in your program are diverse so there is something for everyone.

Community partnerships
Consider teaming up with local business providers and invest in a community partnership. Collaborating with local businesses can improve the health of employees and the surrounding community. Some examples are neighbouring businesses enforcing no-smoking policies for both staff and guests; collaborating with a healthy catering company; fundraising team events etc.

How to prepare for a quick hire

With usual recruitment cycles taking up to two months, business owners may panic when faced with the need for a quick replacement.

Fortunately, there are some ways to prepare for a speedy recruitment process:

Look internally
External hiring can be lengthy, between interviews, background checks and competency tests, an external hire can take months. Consider notifying and encouraging suitable internal employees of the available position before posting the job advertisement externally. Internal hiring reduces time spent as the employee’s information is already in the system and they are familiar with the company culture.

Formulate an action plan
An action plan can help ensure a stress-free emergency recruitment. Consider drafting and updating job descriptions all year round so they are immediately ready for use. Training documents, business processes and login details should all be stored in a central document which is easy to access.

It is also a good idea to collect resumes all year-round. Use your business’ website and LinkedIn page to inform potential candidates you are always accepting applications.

Screen candidates before interviewing
Don’t feel obligated to interview everyone – only interview candidates that stand out on paper. Interviewing is the most time-consuming part of recruitment, so be selective when deciding suitable candidates to reduce your recruitment time.

Attracting and retaining talented staff

For employers, the ability to hire and retain talented staff members involves providing opportunities that encourage engagement, enable learning and reward staff contributions.

Most talented individuals want to learn and grow in their current working position so they can improve their skills and therefore continue to advance in their careers.

Therefore, creating opportunities for staff to improve their career prospects is essential for businesses if they want to retain and also leverage the talent and energy people bring to their job.

One way businesses can engage staff is to provide meaning. People are more likely to thrive in their role when they feel connected to what they do. Those who know why their job is important are also more likely to achieve a sense of purpose or belief that inspires them to do their job. To give your employees more meaning, start sharing your business’s mission regularly, recognise employee contributions and reward achievements

Another way to engage staff is to provide direction. To enable people to add value to their job, they first need to understand their role and actually want to play it. Staff need to know not only what they must do today in the short term, but also how they contribute to the success of the business in the future. Just as important is encouraging an understanding of how they can grow and advance their careers within the business.

How negotiate like a pro

The stakes are always high in negotiating, especially in business, as it involves professional repercussions. But negotiating doesn’t have to be stressful or hard. Here some tips to help you succeed at business negotiation to close more deals:

• Don’t view negotiation as a battle

Negotiation is often talked about in terms of winning or losing against an opponent. But negotiation isn’t a game with a win-lose outcome. Good negotiators strive to achieve an outcome that both parties want. Shift your mindset to keep things positive and keep the conversations productive.

• Anticipate prospect objections

Before entering a negotiation, anticipate possible prospect objections to equip yourself to address their concerns. This can help make you look more impressive as you know what the prospect cares about before they tell you.

• Read between the lines

Whether you’re negotiating over the phone or in person, you need to understand what’s not being said as well as what is being said. Look for behaviour changes like a change in voice tone or a shift in body language that could indicate whether a conversation is going well or poorly.

• Know when to walk away

Good negotiators know where their bottom line lies and if a negotiation’s terms cross it, they know it is sometimes better off to simply to walk away than keep fighting.

Negotiating with customers

Knowing how to negotiate with customers is imperative to a business’s success. Salespeople need to be able to understand what the customer wants, set objectives, negotiate a higher price and also close the deal smoothly.

The following techniques are designed to help businesses and buyers come to a mutually beneficial conclusion.

State your purpose
It is fundamental to make the customer feel like you’re working with them, not against them. Begin a negotiation by stating an ideal outcome that’s good for both yourself and the other person. Using language like ‘best possible solution’ can show that you’re striving for a deal where both parties benefit, rather than one party benefiting at the expense of the other.

Be honest
Avoid using tactics designed to force the buyer’s hand. Never threaten to back out of the deal at the last minute or make them feel guilty. Instead, be transparent about the compromises you’re making.

Build rapport
Build rapport with the other person by matching their way of speaking. Use the same words and phrases, talk at a similar pace and echo their tone, whether it be casual, professional or humourous. To make this strategy more effective, you can also create some goodwill by paying them a genuine compliment.

Engage in active listening
Good negotiators spend most of the conversation asking questions and listening to build trust, rapport and gather information. Show the buyer you’re engaged and paying attention by recapping what they say, asking confirmation questions and avoiding interrupting or answering too quickly.

Recognising and rewarding staff

Acknowledging and rewarding the efforts of your staff can go a long way in ensuring employees are engaged and fulfilled within their role.

Recognition acts as a tool to reinforce desired behaviours and helps to create an environment where staff feel appreciated for their accomplishments. Rewarding staff does not necessarily need to be costly or a financial reward; often non-financial rewards can have a stronger impact.

Developing a reward system for both performance and behaviour is a great way to acknowledge employees and encourage them to work towards the business’ goals. Here are a few ways to recognise the contributions of your staff:

• Acknowledge the efforts of a staff member at a staff meeting.

• Post recognition notices on a section of your website.

• Send a personal email or card expressing your appreciation.

• Provide a small token of appreciation, such as a gift card to a coffee shop or a movie pass.

• Stop by the staff member’s desk to convey your appreciation.

Ensuring remote workers remain accountable

Providing the flexibility to employees to be able to work remotely has become quite popular in the working world and can be a win-win for both employers and employees. It provides employees with the opportunity to adjust work obligations around other personal and home responsibilities and also gives business owners a great way of attracting new talent to the company.

However, not working with your employees in the office can make it hard to monitor whether they are performing and getting everything done promptly. Here are three ways employers can keep track of their remote employees to make sure they are getting the job done:

Set clear expectations
While you want to give remote workers the freedom to finish their tasks from their home offices, it is also important to be clear about your expectations as their employer. Creating a company policy for remote workers that outlines expectations like their availability during work hours and the importance of completing projects on time is one way to do this.

Provide mobile devices
Business owners will want to check in with their remote workers regularly, so it is important that these workers have the tools necessary to stay in touch. Providing a mobile device and outlining how remote workers can use it for work and personal purposes can ensure that you will always have a means of contacting them.

Make transparency a priority
A great deal of transparency is required to make a relationship between an employer and remote employee work. Remaining transparent can help ensure that everyone is held accountable and that no one misses important deadlines.

Growing your business with referrals

Most businesses benefit from “word-of-mouth” referrals. They are one of best ways to get your name on the tip of everyone’s tongue, along with running a terrific business for many years.

Here are a few tips that may speed up the referral process and increase the number of people who will remember your business the next time someone asks them for a referral:

Remind customers you exist
Keep your name and number in front of past customers so they won’t forget about you. Maintaining a mailing list database, and keep in touch regularly. Send postcards when you have special offers, write a newsletter, or just drop a note or send holiday greetings. With e-mail, it is more cost effective to send messages. Contact past customers no less than twice a year and no more than every other month.

Ask customers for referrals
Tell customers that you really do appreciate them giving referrals, and then surprise them with a gift or a “Thank You” card when they do.

Testimonials
You can use testimonials from past customers in your marketing materials or on your website or advertising. The fact that other customers let you use their name adds credibility and trust and serves as another kind of “referral.”

Ask customers and clients for feedback regularly
By soliciting suggestions — and responding to them — you can let customers know you really care about them and want to meet their needs; you can establish a relationship with them.

Do exceptional work
When you do something that not only satisfies a customer but delights and surprises them, they will remember it, and they will become part of your “word-of-mouth” advertising campaign.

Encouraging teamwork

Strong teams are at the very core of any successful business and often produce far greater results than lone geniuses.

Teamwork allows staff members to share workload, work towards a common goal and enhances overall communication. For teamwork to flourish, business owners must create the right conditions and environment. Here are five ways to improve teamwork in your workplace:

1. Value team contributions
Involve all team members in decision making, assign them with responsibility and be sure to reward all staff members for team efforts.

2. Give and receive feedback
Good teamwork involves a continuous flow of communication and information between team members. There should be a strong emphasis on positive feedback when someone performs well and criticism when necessary.

3. Set team-based goals
Set challenging yet achievable goals for your team to work towards. When the team reaches a goal, set a more challenging goal to encourage team members to learn from their previous successes. Be sure to recognise the team for their efforts and discuss what tactics were successful.

4. Facilitate idea-sharing
Encourage team members to bounce ideas off each other by brainstorming and discussing progress on current projects. Brainstorming ideas fosters creativity and can help with problem-solving.

5. Welcome suggestions
Be open and supportive of new ideas presented by team members. Work as a group to improve on ideas and eliminate ideas that will not work.