Motivating

Motivated employees that are full of potential creates a very powerful platform for any business, large or small.  Motivating staff is not always connected to an increase in base salary and this can at times be a false economy.   A cash reward or incentive will of course deliver a spike in enthusiasm, but it is more important to the majority of employees to be constantly challenged and excited about the job they do. Focusing on making sure that employees feel good about coming to work and positive about the job they do is an important start point.  Delivering a platform where individuals can progress, learn from training and have variety in their work can often be the best strategy for motivating and engaging employees.   Another important ingredient in creating the right environment for people to be inspired and motivated is the fun factor, this for many businesses through 2008 and 2009 has been forgotten.  Coming to work knowing you are excited about the job your are doing and having fun whilst doing it is a winning formula. The most important aspect of this process begins with talent acquisition and hiring motivated individuals, this is achieved from understanding what type of person you want to hire and ensuring your screening process is correct.   Engaging already motivated employees will most certainly deliver a different dynamic to this challenge and deliver your business a huge advantage over your competition. A management team that understands that their most valuable asset is their people and are crystal clear that delivering the businesses strategy is unachievable without a highly motivated team is one that will often win.

Retention

When the economy is slow and unemployment rates are on the increase it is easy to make the assumption that employees will stay as job security becomes an important issue.   It is a well known fact that attrition through the recession has been artificially low, but as the markets start to recover the challenge of retention begins for every manager. Retaining talent is a critical component for any employer and becoming experts on how to be highly effective is no easy task.  An important, but often overlooked way to begin driving up retention is praising employees for good work.  Praise can go a long way in making an individual feel good about their work.  It also improves your working relationship with individuals in your team which if often the best retention tool. Every employee if of course different and will therefore have different drivers behind their loyalty to their employer. That said, typically an individual will consider a move if their existing employer delivers a below par performance in training & development, work environment and atmosphere, financial package / rewards and creating opportunities to progress within the organisation.  Understanding how employees feel towards these four areas is critical, so managers must communicate regularly and not always wait 3 to 6 months during formal appraisals.  Attitudes and opinions change quickly in a business and monitoring this is an important part of managing and leading a business. Goodman Masson has recognised that we are only as good as the people that work in our business and retention therefore continues to be central to our strategy and success.

Managing your talent pool & identifying future leaders

A high performing business must consider how effective certain individuals are at operating in their current roles, but also allocate a significant amount of time and resource in assessing and identifying future top performers or leaders.  Managing and developing a talent pool that can help to grow and evolve your company is essential in todays marketplace.  Strategies can often need to change quickly and a strong market position can quickly disappear if a business doesn't successfully prepare, develop and transition talent into key or critical positions.  Any business leader that manages to concentrate on the delivery of their short to medium term strategy and look after who long term will develop into key leaders will continue to witness sustained growth in their particular company.