How to encourage people and create a good / conducive working environment?

Source : http://the-positive-manager.blogspot.com/

These ideas are focusing on how we as leaders can initiate activities that will help others to be positive, encourage staff to go extra mile willingly, recognise employee’s contribution and also create a happy and productive work environment.

Note : Ideas collected from Leadership Fundamentals sessions held in November / December 2008.

1. Recognise staff or team contributions / achievement such as Good Customer Feedback, additional effort by employees, etc. For example :-

- Give credit or thanks when it is due with reasons and explanations.

- Acknowledge and provide immediate encouragement for good work

- Share success to ensure the whole team is aware of the achievement and make everybody feel like they were part of the action. Let them know how it was achieved.

- Listen to the achiever as to how they achieved it.

- Congratulate all concerned and publish the achievements in notice board or Company Newsletter with employees photo and details.

“Many managers ignore or underestimate the power of praise.”
-Roger Flax,President, Motivational Systems

2. Constantly provide positive feedback to staff

3. Employee of the month award by staff members

4. Arrange for a team to present the results of their efforts to top management

5. Health & Safety Recognised

- Lunch shout for 3 months accidents free

6. Email acknowledgements of performance and cc to top management

7. Personalised birthday card from Manager

8. Organise Friday drinks – reflection of week events or could be organised on monthly basis

9. Merit Awards

10. Social event monthly – where were possible or tea talk for goal setting

11. Long service awards

12. Pat on the back

13. Welcome lunch for new employees

source : http://aquarius.lunarpages.com/

14. Celebrate small successes especially when the department / team achieve targets. In tight financial times, ongoing , meaningful rewards and recognition provide an effective, low cost way of raising morale and encouraging higher level of performance.

Here are the list of ideas on how to celebrate small success in the workplace.

- A personalised thank you card

- Allocate some budget and have a recognition event created by a peer group that decides on how they will celebrate the success. Invite the boss to attend the celebration

- Free lunch for a week

- $20 Voucher

- Fruit basket

- Favourite book or DVD

- A subscription to a magazine

- Extra long lunch break for a few days

- A mug filled with treats

- Morning tea shouts

- Drinks & BBQ Barbecue at end of month for a good month

- Time Off – finish early

- Tickets to sporting event or cinema

- Company merchandise, hats, t shirts , etc.

- Certificates of achievement

- Borrow vehicles

“Compensation is what you give people for doing the job they were hired to do. Recognition, on the other hand, celebrates an effort beyond the call of duty.”
- from How to Profit from Merchandise Incentives

How to be a Role Model and setting the right pace at workplace?

Ideas collected from Leadership Fundamentals sessions held in November / December 2008. These ideas are focusing on how we as leaders should carry ourselves and provide a good example to the people we lead.

1. Greet staff (immediate reports) every morning and thank them for turning up to work. Always greet staff pleasantly – be cheerful, with a warm smile and inquisitive.

2. Acknowledge the employee by their name instead of using a general greeting such as ‘Hi Buddy’, ‘Hi Mate’, etc.

3. Once in a while (once a month or fortnightly), welcome the employee at the entrance and thank them for turning up to work on time. Give them a snack bar or chocolate fish.

4. Demonstrate a positive demeanour. Always present a positive attitude and behaviour that is courteous, respectful, compassionate, and friendly. Make them feel valued. For example :-

- good personal presentation
- smiling
- take the time to talk to the employee (don’t rush)
- ignore negativity and promote positivity
- portray positive body language when dealing with employees : show interest in staff well being
- talk to all staff – don’t play favouritism
- be an advisor to staff – approachable
- provide support and guidance when required

5. Demonstrate effective communication . For example : -

- listen effectively – para phrase, seek clarification if necessary, give feedback
- don’t interfere when staff are talking
- maintain good eye contact
- use an appropriate tone of voice
- be highly observant – read moods

6. Lead by Example. For example :-

- show commitment : be punctual when you come to work or when attending meetings
- maintain work place and work area cleanliness and orderliness
- meet deadlines
- deliver on promises
- work hard – demonstrate additional effort in carrying out duties
- be organised – have a daily plan (goals) and prioritise work
- take responsibility
- show compassion
- share ideas
- be creative, innovative and always thinking outside the box
- admit when you are wrong
- be fair
- be an effective team player

7. Set objectives / goals which are realistic, attainable and achievable.

- share the objectives / goals with staff and get feedback to gauge their understanding
- Set a positive goal for the day.

8. Encourage sharing of ideas and open communication. For example :-

- ask for feedback
- listen to feedback
- encourage discussion with anyone
- be receptive and open with constructive criticism
- be willing to implement new and good ideas
- be prepared to change plan to suit unforeseen circumstances
- provide the outcome of discussion / implementation of ideas

Quotes of the Week :

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more,
you are a LEADER”.

John Quincy Adams

Introduction - Leadership Fundamentals Follow - Up Programme

Source : http://www.extensor.co.uk/

Dear Leaders,

Firstly, it may not be too late to wish you a ‘Happy New Year 2009’ and hope that you had great Christmas and New Year celebrations with family and friends.

As you know, we completed a series of Leadership Fundamental Training at the end of last year and being one of the participants, we would like to thank and congratulate you for completing the programme. Obviously, your contribution has enhanced the learning process and benefited others.

As a continuation of our effort to encourage continuous learning in our Organisation, we are pleased to bring you ‘Leadership Fundamentals Follow-Up Programme’ and welcome you to our ‘Leadership Fundamentals Blog’, the main platform or communication channel for this programme.

The objectives of this follow-up programme are as follows :-

- To identify the key learning outcome from the session and encourage participants to establish an action plan in order to put things into practice.

- To identify further development required by participants.

- To support participants’ learning process in enhancing their Leadership Skills by providing learning material, tips, feedback, etc.

- To act as a platform for sharing best practices among the participants.

This blog is developed and managed by SDMG (NZ) Limited HR Department and will be updated on a fortnighly basis.We welcome any ideas and comments in order to make it more informative and effective. Should you have any comments or inputs, please leave your name and contact email or you may email directly to zahidi.ishak@simedarby.co.nz

We are looking forward for your continuous support and participation in this programme and thanking you in advance for visiting our blog.

As a start, we have compiled a lot of ideas which was contributed by the participants throughout the sessions and will be published in the next posting.The ideas are based on how Leaders can play their role in order to create a good working environment. We believed that the ideas are simple, cost effective, practical and could give positive impact to the people that we lead.

Till then,

Happy working and ...

source : http://www.extrememortman.com