Aftermarket Insider Issue 70 - (Page 11)

eMPlOYee MOrale Building high employee motivation and morale requires that a supervisor or manager pay attention every day to profoundly meaningful aspects of your impact on life at work. The key is to kick up your communication skills a couple of notches from the top management to the front line employees. A cash bonus may directly motivate employees, but learn to reward with other advancement opportunities. Just remember: keeping morale high will contribute to the success and longevity of your business! toolbox INSIDER VOLUME 70 10 w ys ways to Boost Employee Morale 4. Invest in their future. Training and development opportunities are energizing perks. Check out the local community colleges and university-extension departments for affordable classes, and foot part or all of the tuition for eager employees. smaller companies get completely paralyzed with indecision when it comes to thanking employees, so they do nothing. Stop fretting about not being able to shell out cash; a welldeserved pat on the back can go a long way. 1. Give thanks. Start with the easy one. Some 2. Pull them aside. Thanks feel great; attention and sense of ownership feel even better. Take time this week to sit down with key staffers, especially ones you are grooming for advancement, and discuss broadly what’s going on at the company – from new clients to long-term goals – and how each person can contribute to making it happen. 5. Surprise ‘em! In a very small company, rewarding just one employee can make a huge difference. 6. Hand out pet projects. Arbill, a Philadelphia-based workplace-safety consultancy, boosts employee morale by giving the troops more responsibility. They created employee committees to do things like set up a health fair, a food co-op and other projects. But the extra work didn’t just make people feel good. Watching how employees managed these committees helped create a great bench of leaders for the company. 3. Value family time. Company picnics aren’t nearly as restorative as time spent with family – in fact, scheduled work events can seem a burden rather than a perk. What employees crave is a flexible work schedule and the ability to take personal time to handle family obligations. Four-day work weeks are becoming popular. If possible, consider letting people work from home one day a week; with gas at $4 a gallon, that savings will feel a like a holiday bonus. 7. Reward specific achievement. Cash rewards work best if they are given immediately after a major achievement. Reserve 1 or 2 percent of your base pay budget for cash payouts to recognize top AFTERMARKET INSIDER | VOLUME 70 | 11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aftermarket Insider Issue 70

Aftermarket Insider Issue 70
Contents
President’s Message
Market Intelligence
Digital Aftermarket Factbook 2012
Car Care in California
Member Profile
Toolbox: Employee Morale
Inside Legislation
Green Highlight
Technology Update
Market Intelligence
Executive Perspective
AAPEX News

Aftermarket Insider Issue 70