Normally, my articles address taxation . Today, I will depart from taxes and write about a subject with much greater importance than taxes. That subject is employee behavior, and how you influence that behavior.
I am currently reading a book about coaching. The writer cites work by a noted behavioral scientist, Frederick Herzberg. Herzberg identified certain motivational influences on workers, dissatisfiers and satisfiers. Two of the satisfiers are achievement and recognition, ranked in importance in that order.
These two satisfiers are linked to one another. Any employee can be induced to perform better by giving him some goal to achieve. Once that goal is achieved, the employee should be recognized for that achievement. A top notch producer can be driven to new heights, and someone that is faltering can be induced to falter less. That's right, mediocre and excellent employees can both give you better performance, but you must do your part.
Recently, a good friend told me about the company he works for, how the owner, a "micro-manager" treats the staff. This owner frequently grumbles about cost overruns, staff overtime, the cost of supplies, among other various complaints. I asked this friend, "does your boss ever set goals or recognize achievement at all." The response was a resounding "no." But, everyone is sure to hear about mistakes on the job. One day, the owner exclaimed, "someone is going to get fired for that" when he heard about some seemingly minor error. The morale at this particular business is very low, and workers feel unappreciated.
Just today, I took my daughter to Chik-fil-A for lunch. I noticed the flowers at each table, the smile of each employee with the warm greeting, and the cleanliness of the restaurant. I started to think about their philosophy on workplace management. Have you ever noticed how busy Chik-fil-A is on any given day? Well, every day but Sunday. (A side note: Chik-fil-A is an extremely successful business, even though they don't sell food on Sunday.) I've never had a bad experience at Chik-fil-A. One day, I took a sandwich back that had the wrong bun. Someone immediately brought me out a new sandwich, then the assistant manager gave me a few cards for free sandwiches after apologizing for the error. Finally, the manager came to my table, apologized for the oversight, and he gave me a few cards for more chicken sandwiches. I was impressed.
Nevertheless, today I was even more impressed by the manager at this Chik-fil-A store. As my daughter and I were walking out, I heard the manager ask the crew, "who has the dining area right now?" One of the girls spoke up, "me, sir." The manager replied, "great job. Thank you." It impressed me that he would call out this crew member for something that most folks would think was mundane, even trivial. To that manager, it wasn't trivial at all.
If you manage workers, take the time to set goals for your staff. When a worker achieves that goal, give her praise. Recognize the employee, and be sure to do it in front of other staff members. Your company's success rises and falls on your employees' behavior. You need them a thousand more times than they need you, so influence their behavior for the better. If you aren't sure where to start, stop by the Chik-fil-A in Flowery Branch and observe how they coach their staff. You might learn a thing or two.
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