How NOT to Motivate Employees

Chances are, you’re doing this RIGHT NOW…

Your employee engagement surveys produce amazing results, productivity is high, and customers are happy. Everything looks good…or does it? This blog is in response to Daymond John’s article on how to motivate employees. See if your company is doing any of the following:

Focus on production

Numbers are really, really AWESOME! There are reports galore about how fabulous the numbers look, but nothing else. As long as numbers are high, then everything is great.

Initiate corporate ideas that have nothing to do with the company culture

A VP attended a conference and comes back with this great idea that is going to make everything so much better. Special teams are assembled, and the project is rolled out. However, the feedback isn’t very positive, and you wind up scrapping the whole deal within 3 months.

Sweep employee ideas under the rug

In response to some issues I noticed in the department, I developed a job proposal that would mitigate some of those issues while helping me gain experience. When I showed my manager, she was quite dismissive of the idea. Less than 6 months later, it was a company-wide initiative.

Create a culture that rewards individualism rather than collectivism

Top producer. Top salesman. How many times have you heard these phrases in corporate culture? We pit employees against each other because only “one” can be the best. If everyone can emulate the best person, we’ll produce even better results!

Offer more work for high-achieving employees-but nothing else

I had been the top producer at a job for years, although I desperately wanted to try for a role that was non-production. All of my efforts were blocked at every angle. I was training on a new task and was the top producer that Thursday. I was laid off that Friday, along with 29 other people.

If your company has one or more of these issues, it’s time for a change. Click here to find out more.