It is widely believed that “Productivity” is the most important word in every supervisor’s vocabulary. It’s also widely believed that “Fun” has no place at work and gets in the way of production and profits. Ironically, the opposite is true. Productivity and profits are directly tied to people on your team who love (or hate) what they do. Profits are the end game of a company, but without some fun and games you may see yours sliding steadily downward. The key is to track how much time is spent in each arena.
If you look, study after study will tell you that fun is vital. The fact is that happy workers are much more productive than unhappy workers. Having fun at work has a much deeper meaning in today’s workforce environment than ever before. In fact, the smartest employers regularly explore and embrace what truly motivates their staff and makes their organization a fun place to work. This is especially true in tough economies.
According to a large scale study, the top three employee motivators were interesting work, appreciation by management, and being well informed. It seems obvious that most employees are more productive and content in a continuously interesting position where they receive lots of training and management appreciation.
But what do we as managers do to create that environment? Remember, you probably have far more resources right inside your own tribe than you realize. Get creative! No need to hire inspiring speakers from outside the company and pay their expenses. Why not hold a contest for most motivational speaker, or best trainer. Give great prizes and watch your hidden leaders emerge to take the stage – and your entire employee base gather round to support them.
Ask your employees to track their time so that you can measure the true expense of running the contest and creating the content. Compare that to the cost of bringing in an outside speaker or consultant.
Finally, sincere praise has a huge effect on team members. Implement a weekly or monthly appreciation board and inspire your teams and employees to get mentioned with small and large prizes – a Starbucks card? A day off? The sky’s the limit with this one.
Even a simple thank you can be worth its weight in gold. Far too often management forgets that praise is free – why not pile it on? The rewards to your company’s productivity – and thus, its profits – could be a bottom line breakthrough!
Donna Marie Thompson,guest blogger for OfficeTime
Creating your best profit solutions is my highest priority.
http://www.expertprofitsolutions.com
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Photo: FreeDigitalphotos.net
*Resources: Employee Motivation: Perception and Reality. A Study by Kenneth Kovach.