A Motivational tool called Positive Reinforcement

Do we care to commend the achievements of our employees?

There are Managers who do not care about the achievements of their employees. For reasons known only to themselves they just don’t care about it they let it pass without recognizing them. This inaction for an achievement is unacceptable for managers who desire to motivate their employees.

Positive reinforcement is an inexpensive but very effective motivational tool that is always available for leaders/managers. For example, if a leader/manager is aware that one of his employees is exceptionally performing in his/her job. It is but proper that the manager/leader positively reinforce this very good work behavior.  

If giving of written citation is not our type of positive reinforcement. A verbal commendation is also an option that we can use.  We have everything to gain and nothing to lose if we would care to recognize a deserving employee. We can just imagine the moral boost that it will create in our employees psyche.

There are many more inexpensive ways to positively reinforce an exceptional work accomplishment. We just need to be creative on how to do it, what is important is we always recognize a good work accomplishment/behavior.

This kind of motivational technique always has a positive effect on a worker’s behavior, just try it. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Can the need for Affiliation influence an employee’s Motivational Drive?

No man is an island! No matter what kind of organization we are in, we need to communicate. We need to belong; we need people whom we can talk to and who will listen to us. So it’s very obvious that there’s a need to be connected with our fellow employees in an organization: this is an employee’s need for affiliation.

Can we use affiliation as a motivational drive? Yes we can! Once we commend a worker for a job well done we positively affiliate ourselves to that worker and naturally it creates a positive motivational force within him.

We should also give free space for employees to communicate and interact with each other. For this is part and parcel of their freedom as employees. We are in a democratic world that’s why we must allow our workers to fulfill their need for affiliation. Provided, that they do it during break time and not during their working hours.

Thus, by giving our employees freedom to affiliate with their fellow employees. We create an impression in their minds that the organization that they belong doesn’t curtail their rights to affiliate with their co-workers. By doing so we can also avoid negative behavioral problems from cropping up in the future.

We must always remember that curtailment of an employee’s freedom to affiliate would only result in their demotivation. And to have a demotivated workforce is not good for any organization. - Marino J. Dasmarinas 

Goal achievement as an effective Motivational tool

Do you use goal setting to motivate your employees? 

To continue profitable operation every business organization has its own organizational goal/s that it wants to achieve and infuse inside the psyche of its employees. This is done as often as possible to inspire the employees.

The best method to achieve the goal is by presenting data that would clearly show what the organization wants to achieve for a specific time period. For example a sales or manufacturing business would usually present goals (thru figures). That it needs to achieve for a specific time period, this will now therefore serve as the Motivational tool.

The question now is how you can make this a reality and not just a goal on paper that could easily be forgotten by employees.

Here are the following steps that you may want to use to ensure the achievement of the goal:

1. Always remind your employees about it as often as possible.

2. Offer your wholehearted support logistical, moral and financial. (Your constant reminder is useless without your support.)

3. Check on the progress of the goal periodically.

4. Update them on the progress of the goal.

5. Always have an open line of communication.

6. Repeat steps One to five as needed. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

On egocentric Leaders and Managers

Are we very particular with our reputation and our standing in the organization? For example when we are introduced during programs or meetings, do we always want our important personal background to be mentioned along with it?

There are managers/leaders that are very much particular about their standing in their organization. For example a hard working former rank and file employee is promoted to a middle level managerial position. 

Suddenly, there is change on his job title and his peers thought that it was only the change on his job title that would be affected. They hoped that there would be no change on his part as far as his behavior towards them is concerned.

However they noticed that his change of job status has gone up to his head: from a very friendly peer he suddenly became detached from them. He chose to transfer to a roomy place in the office that isolates him from his former peers. He now suddenly wants them to address him as sir rather than his nickname, just like when he was still one of them. In short, this man who was suddenly promoted became egocentric; the sudden change of job status went to his head instead of going to his heart.

There are some of us who behave like this newly promoted person, we become self-centered by the sudden change in our job status/title. We suddenly want respect which is not bad, but we must not overly concern ourselves with this sudden appendage in our job status for the reason that it will detach us from our peers and subordinates.

 Thus, it will surely affect our image as a member of our organization. From a team player we unknowingly might become a dictator or an autocratic manager/leader which is actually a very bad behavior for a manager/leader to have.

It will not do us any good if we become egocentric. We need not worry if we want respect because it will come the moment we know how to respect our peers and subordinates. As they say: Respect begets respect. Our co-workers will respect us the moment we respect them immaterial of their position.

So this question comes up: Does it pay to be overly egocentric about your status in your organization?

No it doesn’t pay! We must always remain humble and a team player. Job position/title is simply a name that is given to us, we must not allow ourselves to become swell-headed because of it. We must always remain humble and simple no matter how high we go up in the organizational hierarchy. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

The importance of Job orientation and Role definition

Do you properly orient your newly hired employees or you immediately brief them with the job that they are going to handle in your organization?

Upon employment in an organization the first agenda for the newly hired employee is to familiarize him with the critical role that he is going to take part in the organization. This is usually facilitated by means of a clearly defined job description and thru job orientation.

It is important for an organization to orient the newly hired employee about the limits as well as the whole scope of his role. Yet, this is sometimes inadvertently forgotten by management. So when there’s an inadvertence the employee is suddenly given a job that he was not expecting to do for the reason that he was not properly oriented or told about it.

Unknown to management this pieces of inadvertence creates dissatisfaction within the newly hired employee and it slowly shows on his job performance. Eventually his motivation to do his job well suffer until such time that he drifts away from his job.

To avoid role ambiguity and demotivation management must early on be cognizant of the importance of properly orienting their workforce about the roles that they are supposed to do in the organization. If there shall be some more workload to be assigned it will not do us harm if we will bother to orient them about it.

Let us be aware of the importance of clearly defining the roles of our workforce and let us not carelessly assign them workload without competently orienting them. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Reinforce your worker’s Work Ethics through Mentoring

Work Ethics are values of employees based on the moral virtues of hardwork and thoroughness some of these values are obtained through the environment where the concerned employee grew up. For example if the employee grew up in a family with a disciplined work and family values. It is predictable also that when this person will be working in the future he will be able to carry those ethical work values to his workplace.

However, not every worker has a good work ethic. There are those who just work for money they only treat their jobs as part of their routine. Here lies the problem for managers: How could they inculcate work ethics to their subordinates?

One effective way of inculcating work ethics is thru mentoring. A mentor is a character model who guides another employee by sharing valuables insights on work behavior and ethics. Mentors educate, counsel, tutor, support and encourage their subject mentee. The mentor will teach him/her proper work ethics and values for this will eventually help him advance in the organizational hierarchy.

There are unlimited advantages when we Mentor our employees. Just to name a few: It fosters loyalty to the organization, it implants a strong impression of importance. It gives them an impression of a clear career pathing upwards the organizational hierarchy.

It fuels their desire to work much harder for the organization. And it creates a lasting impression to the employee that the organization where he belongs is a caring and competent organization. - Marino J. Dasmarinas

Should a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) believe the rumors coming from the grapevine?

The story is told about a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who had been hearing rumors from the grapevine that their workers were formenting labor unrest. Since the information was not valid in terms of its line in the formal communication process. He just shrugged it off as nonsense and not worthy of his time.

As months passed by he noticed that their workers were often clustered into groups and they were often silently talking and he said again to himself: Ah their talking nonsense again it’s not worth my time. Then, one morning when he was about to enter the company premises he noticed that their employees were outside and were carrying placards denouncing him and his company’s unfair labor policies.

Seeing this he immediately alighted from his car and talked to the employees. And calmly asked them to go back to their work but the workers did not relent they stayed and continued their denunciations of him and their company.

Grapevine is an informal communication structure that runs through every organization. It silently exists within the organization. One of many factors that incubate grapevine communication is unfair labor practice and many more anti labor policies of the organization. Such as unhealthy working conditions, low wage, nonpayment of their health and social security contributions and the like.

A very good CEO must stop, look and listen to the ramblings of the grapevine. He must be sensitive to these rumors coming from the grapevine. He should give ear to the grievances of his employees and learn to immerse himself with his employees. By doing so he’ll get a first-hand knowledge of everything that deserves his listening ear.

Therefore, he avoids further trouble that may give impetus to labor unrest and other issues inimical to the well being of his organization. -Marino J. Dasmarinas