An employee is only as good as his/her boss allows him/her to be. If the boss makes too many mistakes in staff/personnel management, this can quickly lead to demotivation on the part of the employee.
I will show you 5 points that I think every boss should consider when managing staff!
- Communication and respect are the key!
We all know the saying "You can't not communicate". That is absolutely correct. Therefore, it is even more important to pay attention to any kind of communication. If I, as an employee, share my open opinion, ideas or even personal concerns with my boss, I naturally want him to respond. He may be under stress at the moment and unable to respond, but I still expect a respectful reaction. If he does not react, he conveys disinterest in my suggestions for change, ignorance of my personal concerns and wishes, and disrespect for my open opinion. So I don't feel taken seriously and respected. Of course, this is enormously demotivating and leads to frustration on both sides. - Therefore, always have an open ear, communicate transparently and respectfully and respond appropriately. - Always be fair to your employees and always include them.
Creating fairness is one of the greatest motivating factors of us employees. If I feel I am treated fairly, I also feel respected. Fairness is therefore not only important between us employees, but also between us and our boss. You should of course continue to address mistakes openly and constructively, but also show appreciation when something has gone well. Of course, employees do not want to be praised like a dog that has learned a new trick. So there is no need for excessive praise. A brief comment about how well the task was carried out and you feel directly respected and appreciated in your job. - Always remain consistent!
The worst thing is when the boss promises something that he does not keep. It can be a small thing like: "I'll take a look at your holiday request later and give you a short feedback by e-mail whether it works or not. If I then have to approach my boss the next day because I haven't received a confirmation email, it seems very inconsistent and unreliable to me. Therefore, it is better not to make promises that cannot be kept. Be true to your word, otherwise the employees will quickly become annoyed and make you aware of this, and then they will no longer take their boss seriously. If you make a mistake and forget to keep a promise, own up to it. Even a boss is allowed to make mistakes. This makes him credible and above all human. - Act transparently.
At the current time with Covid19, some companies are not doing well. Of course, this does not escape us employees either. That's why it's even more important to communicate transparently, because otherwise rumours can quickly start like: "Have you heard? The boss has to start laying off staff!" or "Just found out yesterday from an acquaintance in accounting that we're going to be on short-time working for quite a while now!". As a boss, you don't want these rumours, and we employees don't want to be unnecessarily unsettled by them either. To prevent such rumours, the boss should take responsibility for such a situation and discuss problems and further procedures transparently with us employees. An assessment of the situation as well as future plans to deal with it provides security and takes away the fear of the unknown. - Motivate your staff properly.
As an employee, you want to be treated with respect and taken seriously. They want to feel that they are an important and integral part of the company and that they are informed about new plans, changes and goals. Every employee likes to come to work when the atmosphere between colleagues and superiors is right. Employee motivation leads to better service, better commitment and higher productivity.