How to Be a Better Boss

Essential to any fruitful organization is strong leadership supported by a recognition awards program. One of the most valuable assets of an organization is their employees. Both employees and managers are the backbone of what makes companies operate successfully. Managers and other supervisors are tasked with ensuring they are overseeing a productive workplace while also finding various ways to develop relationships and motivate their employees. Quality managers can create a workplace in which employees strive be a part of and over perform their duties for the overall benefit of the organization. Becoming an effective leader and creating a more productive, cohesive workplace requires supervisors to gain a deeper understanding of their employees, motivate successfully and create an atmosphere where goals are reached.

Developing a loyal workforce is a task that many managers struggle with, yet it is possible to create. Finding ways to connect with employees, understand their individual needs and what motivates them, separates bosses who drive employees away and bosses who have earned employees allegiance. Through methods such as team building activities, individual check-in’s with staff members and regular recognition, managers have the ability to learn more about their employees and provide them the assistance they need to become successful. Becoming a quality boss also involves having simple traits that employees look for in their supervisors. These traits include various ways to ensure that employees feel they are respected and treated fairly.

Communicating With and Leading Employees

Employees like to feel a sense of purpose in their work. The responsibility falls onto managers to convey the reasons and benefits of tasks that are assigned to their staff. Through straightforward communication, employees can gain a better understand of what is expected of them and effectively complete them knowing they have the support and assistance of management, if necessary. Building a deeper understanding of daily activities can, in itself, make a great difference in the productivity of employees. Creating an “open-door” atmosphere encourages workers to approach supervisors with concerns or questions and allows for productive dialog to be had. 

Effective communication allows managers to lead and shape the workplace atmosphere to cater to their employees. Transparent communication between employees and supervisors closes the gap created by hierarchy and can provide, for example, an insight into how decisions are made and why. One method of transparency in the workplace is to provide employees the opportunity to understand the thought process behind decision making. Instead of simply delivering instructions to employees after decisions are made, take the approach of creating an open dialog with employees and allowing them to be involved or up-to-date on decisions being made. Lead in a way that eliminates gaps, and creates a cohesive environment.

Motivating communication and encouragement through generosity and fairness equates to loyal employees. Individuals work to make a living, and while there may be less desirable tasks, or ones that go beyond the scope of an employee’s job description, people need to be motivated and recognized for their time and efforts. Communication in these instances is more important than ever as it allows supervisors to determine the best method for inspiring.

Motivation in the Workplace

Each individual is motivated differently. The responsibility fall onto manager and supervisors to know their employees well enough to determine the best and most effective way to encourage them. Whether the workplace morale is lackluster or employees are excelling in their roles, there is always room for inspiration and showing appreciation for hard work and effort. It is proven that employees who feel respected have a greater level of happiness at work and are less likely to look for alternative employment.  To reduce turnover, managers are encouraged to take a look at their current methods of motivating employees and whether or not they are effective. Some examples include:

• Incorporate fun: Consider looking into different ways to bring employees together during the work day and engage in fun activities. This allows employees to relax and enjoy their day instead of feeling as if they are simply there to get a job done, creating a greater sense of unity in the workplace.
• Give awards: Custom, corporate awards can be ordered for any occasion and given out to show appreciation to employees for their efforts, for reaching a milestone or achieving company goals. These awards are a way for employees to have a lasting memento of their successes at work and a reminder of the respect managers have for their team.
• Bonuses: Monetary incentives, if possible, provide employees with the ability to utilize the benefits they were awarded. Organizations can offer this type of motivation in several ways including sales competitions or outstanding customer service reviews. Regardless of the reason, bonuses are a great way to motivate staff members.
• Positive Recognition: In company meetings or other events, managers are encouraged to take the time to personally recognize any employees who have exceeded in accomplishing specific tasks or any other reason to call out individuals for their successes in front of their peers.
• Show Results of Efforts: A simple and cost effective way to show appreciation is to show employees the outcome of their work. If an individual is responsible for a small component of a project, when it is complete, being able to show what their work ended up producing can be a great strategy to motivating.

There are a variety of ways to acknowledge and show appreciation for the hard work employees do to maintain an effective workplace. Whether an individual has reached a company goal, gone above and beyond their job duties or they provide excellent customer service, part of being an effective manager is making employees feel appreciated.  Start motivating employees today by sending a clear message excellence with custom corporate recognition awards from EDCO. Corporate awards build excitement and inspire employees to continue on their path towards success while also proving that their efforts are recognized and valued by their managers.