Getting your producers to perform at their best can often be a challenging task. Many agencies invest huge amounts of time and money in order to motivate their employees and improve morale.
Though it may be a challenging endeavor, motivating your producers to perform their best day after day is very rewarding to the business as a whole. Steven Balzac, president of the organizational development firm 7 Steps Ahead, states, “You can’t threaten or compel people to perform at a high level; top level performance comes only from a highly motivated work force.”
Here are some effective ways to motivate your producers.
Create a Positive Work Environment
A negative working environment is one of the major factors behind poor productivity. Employee happiness is directly linked to motivation according to the National Institute of Health. Creating a positive work environment can have a tremendous effect on producer motivation. Here are some suggestions to creating a positive work environment:
- Look in the mirror and ask yourself, “What kind of leader am I?” or better “Would I follow me?”
- Create a productive and constructive work environment through positive reinforcement. It is important to maintain focus and stay upbeat even when things are challenging.
- Build producer confidence by establishing routines, setting realistic/challenging goals, and remind producers of past successes instead of failures.
Be Generous and Share the Company’s Success
The sense of contributing to the overall goals and success of a company can be a tremendous motivator for producers. After all, no one wants to feel as if the work they do does not matter to the success of the whole. By enabling producers to share in the success of business success, you ultimately enhance productivity. Some examples are:
- Profit Sharing
- Company Stock Options
- Weekly meetings to discuss company goals and successes with employee recognition for a job well done.
Set Goals and Reward Success
Goals set should be attainable and applicable to the success of the employee and the business as a whole. Provide detailed information to producers how these goals fit into the overall business strategy and both company/ employee success. It is also imperative that the goals provided to a producer are relevant to their current work responsibilities.
While rewards are an important outcome to goals achieved, it is important that they not be the main motivator for employee performance. Rewards do not need to be monetary; instead, try using feedback or appreciation for continued hard work.
As owners/operators of a “small business”, we at SIS understand how challenging it can be to motivate employees. Through our collective wisdom we have learned that one of the best motivational tools out there is to always look for reasons to celebrate success, no matter how small. This provides everyone with an opportunity to stop and appreciate the fruits of their labor. Aside from providing a solid software to help agencies run better, we aim to provide assistance in key business initiatives such as those described in this blog.
For more information, please feel free to contact us at 800-747-9273 or [email protected].
