Identify the ones with bad attitudes and let them go. Attitude is everything and they are contagious.
I think I would start by showing some respect to your glorified burger flippers. It usually will be reciprocated. As mentioned above, set attainable goals.
How is productivity measured? Do you have goals? Do your employees have goals? I think quarterly or monthly goals would be best. Then do reviews to discuss how the goals are met or not met. Then you can provide merit wage increases based on how they are scored on their goals.
And another option are long term incentives via time restricted bonuses that vest over 1 to 3 years. These would also be based on meeting the set goals. This is a great way to retain good help and keep them motivated to perform.
How is productivity measured? Do you have goals? Do your employees have goals? I think quarterly or monthly goals would be best. Then do reviews to discuss how the goals are met or not met. Then you can provide merit wage increases based on how they are scored on their goals.
And another option are long term incentives via time restricted bonuses that vest over 1 to 3 years. These would also be based on meeting the set goals. This is a great way to retain good help and keep them motivated to perform.
Jesus....
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You have to balance the carrot with the stick, which is especially difficult when the employer doesn't give you many carrots to work with. The less carrot, the more you have to make them care about you as a person. Both are tough with millenials, as they seem to place less value on both jobs and interpersonal relationships.
Question, do you have the authority to terminate? In most group dynamics, there's an instigator. A corrosive environment often requires cutting the most negative person and then having a serious group conversation with the rest about changed expectations. That's what I had to do in my work unit. We had a catylist event where more responsibility was placed on us because our manager had a serious health issue. I laid it out to everyone that we had to step it up, in order to keep senior leadership from assuming a more direct role in managing us. In other words, we need to do this or the work environment will get worse. One person refused to do his work, so he was let go. I sat down with everyone else and laid out all the negatives, then laid out how much worse it could get if we didn't pull together. However, I pointed out that the better we performed, the less scrutiny we'd get and the more flexibility I would have. I told them I didn't care what they did on down time, so long as the work goals were met.
I made sure to thank them personally when they met those goals and reinforced that their needs were important to me. I also went hands on in helping complete the work, which showed I wasn't asking anything from them I wasn't willing to do myself. I got them small perks over time, which helped. I made sure when they had HR needs, they were given priority and it was done transparently, so they could see progress. I also keyed them in on senior leadership correspondence rather than relaying interpretations. If they came to me with specific complaints about something, I listened. I helped them weigh the options and have a say in how to resolve issues. All of this allowed me to gain their trust at the same time I was placing higher expectations on them.
It took several months, but we were able to turn things around. I emphasise "we", because it was a team effort. I can't be successful without them and their needs weren't being met without me. Just remember that not all employee needs start with a dollar sign. Anyway, that's how I did it, hope you figure out yours!
Question, do you have the authority to terminate? In most group dynamics, there's an instigator. A corrosive environment often requires cutting the most negative person and then having a serious group conversation with the rest about changed expectations. That's what I had to do in my work unit. We had a catylist event where more responsibility was placed on us because our manager had a serious health issue. I laid it out to everyone that we had to step it up, in order to keep senior leadership from assuming a more direct role in managing us. In other words, we need to do this or the work environment will get worse. One person refused to do his work, so he was let go. I sat down with everyone else and laid out all the negatives, then laid out how much worse it could get if we didn't pull together. However, I pointed out that the better we performed, the less scrutiny we'd get and the more flexibility I would have. I told them I didn't care what they did on down time, so long as the work goals were met.
I made sure to thank them personally when they met those goals and reinforced that their needs were important to me. I also went hands on in helping complete the work, which showed I wasn't asking anything from them I wasn't willing to do myself. I got them small perks over time, which helped. I made sure when they had HR needs, they were given priority and it was done transparently, so they could see progress. I also keyed them in on senior leadership correspondence rather than relaying interpretations. If they came to me with specific complaints about something, I listened. I helped them weigh the options and have a say in how to resolve issues. All of this allowed me to gain their trust at the same time I was placing higher expectations on them.
It took several months, but we were able to turn things around. I emphasise "we", because it was a team effort. I can't be successful without them and their needs weren't being met without me. Just remember that not all employee needs start with a dollar sign. Anyway, that's how I did it, hope you figure out yours!
The lashings will continue until morale improves!!!
I don't have the authority to terminate, but I can write up and send home. I am young and inexperienced in a lead role( two years) and was lucky to have a good crew before they moved me to a different area. Appreciate your response and will use your advice
We don't have quotas at work but the boss gets productivity summaries every month and he tries to take the guy who had the highest numbers out to lunch, he will also randomly take us all out to lunch just to say hey good job, we have the highest numbers in the company and don't need a ton of motivation, but it keeps us happy.
You don't have to think of a reward just yet, walk in and say hey last month we built 20 trailers this month if we build 25 I'll do something special for you guys. See if the surprise motivates them if, if they work harder trying to get that prize think of something then, 8f they don't care and the numbers stay the same that may not be the motivation they need.
You don't have to think of a reward just yet, walk in and say hey last month we built 20 trailers this month if we build 25 I'll do something special for you guys. See if the surprise motivates them if, if they work harder trying to get that prize think of something then, 8f they don't care and the numbers stay the same that may not be the motivation they need.
