Online work is booming and it is one of the key new trends taking place. 

How is it going to reshape the field of employee motivation? 

How is it going to reshape the company? 

Paolo Ruggeri

In order to succeed you need great people around you:



Learn how to "size people up" and how to evaluate your people.  Adopt the HTA Personnel Profile in your company  avoid hiring mistakes

Paolo Ruggeri

A good manager always knows how to motivate employees; he knows motivation techniques and applies them effectively to get results. Here are a few tips that will help you motivate your workforce: 

Leadership 
Employees look up to those people who are leading them; they are inspired by their qualities and vision. Employers should aim to win the trust of their employees through good communication and provide instant feedback on their performance. Building mutual understanding with the employees helps you eradicate problems and work towards effective solutions. 

Meaningful Work
Employees want to do some meaningful work; they want to work on the top priority projects and want to feel that their work is valued.
The vision and goals of the company should be made clear by the employers so that employees can work towards achieving hem. These visions also act as a marker for their progress. 

Clear Instructions
Job descriptions should be absolutely clear and must not be vague. All the roles and responsibilities of the employees must be stated clearly so that optimum output can be derived. Employees will perform better knowing the type of work they have to do.
 
Fair Compensation and Pay
The company must have a proper wage structure; employee motivation is heavily linked with money. Managers must also offer bonuses on impressive performances or overtime pay for any additional work done. 

Input from Employees
Encourage participation from employees. Ask them to present new ideas and give them a chance to make decisions. Ultimately it is the employer who will authorize any transaction, but getting an employee’s view on projects will make them feel more involved. 

Management Approach
Managers need to have different approaches for employees because a workforce is likely to have all types of people from self motivated individuals to lazy latecomers. Some people need more time to settle in while others feel at home from their first day at work, therefore, varying your management approach for each person will enable you to get the best out of them. 

Conclusion
Focusing on the important things like employee motivation will not only strengthen your relation with your workers, but will also improve your company’s chances of sustainable growth on a consistent level. 

ADMIN

If you want to motivate effectively your direct reports and employees, you first need to be in a great emotional shape yourself. 

You cannot be an effective motivator unless you understand what really matters for you. 

Paolo Ruggeri

Employee motivation is essential in the workplace. Highly motivated employees are committed to their work and perform better which eventually results in improved productivity and increased business. 

This begs the question of how to motivate employees and get the best out of them. There are numerous ways through which employers can get their employees motivated. 

Managers just need to follow these simple steps in order to achieve success: 

Effective Communication 

Maintaining good communication with your employees is essential; a manager must share information on a regular basis and try to keep the employees involved. 

They must know the progress the company is making or the aim and objective of the project they are working on. 

Recognition 

Whenever your employees achieve something or complete a project, you must appreciate and recognize their work. This gives them self confidence and belief, making them more likely to work harder in the future and deliver better results. 

Development 

Employees are encouraged by advice or coaching sessions given to them by their seniors. Managers with years of experience can impart knowledge, share experiences and guide employees. This will go a long way towards their development and will be a morale booster. 

Career Path 

You will be surprised to know that a lot of people aren’t just motivated by money, but instead it takes a lot more to get them fully motivated. Employers need to define a career path so that employees know where they will be in a few years time; a well defined career path hints towards potential opportunities for growth and this makes it a crucial factor in employee motivation. 

Self Esteem 

Respecting an employee’s work ethic and giving him/her a suitable job title will encourage them. It will make them feel important in social settings and give them a proud feeling about the work they do. 

Working Environment 

The work place should carry a positive vibe. Firstly, it should be neat and clean and secondly it should have an environment where people build their relationships on mutual trust and respect. No one must feel undermined by unnecessary pressure from others. 

Conclusion 

A well motivated workforce is the sign of progress, a motivated worker is likely to perform better and as a result benefit the company.

For more information read the e-book THE NEW LEADERS available here: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-new-leaders/id564801943  

http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Leaders-ebook/dp/B009I6ZOBW/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1350759181&sr=1-1&keywords=paolo+ruggeri

or order the hard copy info@paoloruggeri.net 

ADMIN

Paolo Ruggeri

Today Zig Ziglar, passed away .

I never had a chance to meet him in person but his concept “Logic makes people think, emotions make people act” changed my life and, through my work, the lives of many thousands more.

Can a concept make a difference in somebody’s life? In my case the answer is definitely yes.

Zig, I want to thank you from the deep of my hearth for that simple yet very powerful teaching.

Rest in Peace, knowing that you did change for the better not only my life but also those of many others who were affected by my teachings.

Thank you

Paolo Ruggeri

Dave Lavinsky is author of “Start at the End: How Companies Can Grow Bigger and Faster by Reversing Their Business Plan”. Here is an excerpt from his latest book covering personnel motivation:

1. Make employees feel they are doing something meaningful.
A recent survey by BNET (which is now part of CBS MoneyWatch) asked the question, “What motivates you at work?”
The results showed that doing something meaningful is more important than money or recognition to your employees. Twenty nine percent of respondents said that doing something meaningful was the most motivating thing about work. Money motivated 25 percent, and recognition 17 percent.
Therefore, the number one way to motivate your employees is to make them feel that they are doing something meaningful. Now, if your vision is to alleviate poverty, as Kiva’s is, getting your employees to feel like they are doing something meaningful is pretty easy. This might not seem quite as simple for the typical for-profit company. But this, too, is relatively straightforward. Establishing your company’s vision and goals--particularly involving your employees in creating them--will motivate them to achieve these objectives and help them feel that they are doing something meaningful. 

2. Effectively communicate and share information.
You also must consistently share new information to ensure that your employees make good decisions.
You must always let employees know how the organization is progressing toward achieving goals. Setting KPIs and posting the associated KPI results monthly will allow you to achieve this.
 
3. Give employees clear job descriptions and accountability.
It is critical that you give each of your employees clear job descriptions and accountability. It’s not enough to just state each role’s responsibilities; rather, you must specify the expected results and tasks. For example, the customer service manager’s described role might be to handle all inbound customer service calls. Their expected results, however, might be to answer all calls within 15 seconds or less, resulting in 90 percent customer satisfaction in telephone follow-up service. Only by specifying roles and expected results and accountability can you get what you want from each employee. 

4. Give and receive ongoing performance feedback.
When things do go wrong, don’t blame. You want to replace who questions with how questions. For example, rather than saying, “Who screwed this up?” say, “How could we improve this process or avoid this in the future?” 

5. Have--and show--faith and trust in your team.
Most humans have relatively fragile self-esteem. If you don’t believe your employees can do something, they won’t believe they can either, and they won’t do it. You must have faith in them. You can’t just say you have faith: you need to show you do to enhance their confidence in their ability.
To achieve this, give your employees some autonomy to make decisions. Let them take ownership of challenging projects and decide how to complete them. Although it can be a challenge for almost any manager, you must let them fail sometimes and not get angry about it.
 
6. Listen to, focus on, and respect your employees’ needs.
You’ve likely heard this before, but it’s worth repeating that in leadership, listening is more important than speaking. I love this quote: “Questions unite. Answers divide.” Asking questions of your team will get them to participate; dictating the answers will cause them to tune out. 

7. Provide recognition to worthy employees.
Recognition is an amazing motivator. Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton authored a book called The Carrot Principle in which they discuss a study of more than 200,000 employees that they conducted over a 10-year period. The study showed that the most successful managers provided their employees with frequent and effective recognition. In fact, they found that managers realized significantly better business results when they offered employees recognition in the form of constructive praise rather than monetary rewards.
 
8. Provide fair compensation and pay for the performance you seek.
First, you must pay a wage that employees believe is fair compensation. Second, you must pay for performance whenever possible. This does not mean 100 percent contingent compensation. It means that you set expectations for base pay while also providing bonuses and clearly defining success. This will compel employees to strive to achieve the goals you have outlined. 

9. Foster innovation.
Managers must realize that the vast majority of innovations come from frontline employees. They come from the people who are manufacturing your products or designing your services, who are interfacing with customers, and who are solving problems on a daily basis. As such, innovation must be encouraged. 

10. Establish fair company policies that support the company’s goals.
Developing fair company policies that adequately support the company’s goals will motivate your employees even more. For example, you cannot treat attending a seminar as a personal day if you want to encourage continuous learning. Rather, ensure your policies and practices encourage employee feedback, collaboration, decision-making, and so on.
 
11. Get ongoing input from employees.
You want to invite your employees to help set goals so that they really buy into them. Seek employee input on key decisions and plans on an ongoing basis.
Understand that as the leader, you will make the ultimate decisions and plans. Even if you don’t follow your employees’ advice or take their suggestions verbatim, however, the very act of soliciting their feedback will give you more information and ideas and will make them feel involved. 

12. Manage, but don’t micromanage.
Employees do not like to be micromanaged. It’s disempowering. It’s therefore important to distinguish the difference between checking in and checking up on your employees.
Likewise, when managing, don’t dictate every detail of how to complete a project. Remember, employees can’t grow and gain new skills if you’re telling them exactly what to do for every project they work on. They need a sense of autonomy to feel that they’re succeeding. 

13. Encourage teamwork.
Most projects you complete will require input from several employees within your organization. Encourage these employees to work as a team rather than a collection of individuals to complete these projects. The easiest way to do this is to set up an initial meeting for the team, refer to them as a team, and give them enough autonomy so they act like a team. 

14. Modify your management approach for different types of employees.
Great leaders let the employees they’re managing dictate the management approaches they use. Some employees may need or desire more handholding and coaching, whereas others will want or require less. It’s important to think about each key employee and determine the best way to lead him or her.

15. Give employees opportunities for personal growth.
Because people who get the chance to grow their skills and expertise take more pride in their jobs, you want to encourage employees in your organization to gain new skills. You can do this in many ways, such as providing on-the-job training and other opportunities to teach your employees new skills. 

16. Fire people when needed.
The final technique for motivating your team is to fire people when needed. Underperformers can kill an organization; they can become cancers. When other employees see these individuals getting away with underperformance, then they start to underperform. Therefore, firing--as long as you explain to your team why people were fired--can actually motivate your employees.

ADMIN

Attached you'll find the slides of the LEADERSHIP AND MOTIVATION TRAINING, that go over the way you should go to motivate your employees and particularly your direct reports. 

For more information about the trainings, write to info@paoloruggeri.net 

Paolo Ruggeri

Download delle slides

Attached you'll find the exercise from the Basic Leadership Training delivered in Florida. 

Just right click on download presentation. 

Paolo Ruggeri

Download delle slides

Available here on Amazon.com: 

http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Leaders-ebook/dp/B009I6ZOBW  

The book covers people management, motivation, leadership styles. Today it is Uman Capital that in the end creates Economic Capital.  

When you learn how to motivate and manage people, you'll know how to build capital for your business.

Paolo Ruggeri

This is the latest italian book by Paolo Ruggeri about the management of small and mid size entreprises. 

This week it climbed to number one on I-Tunes.


ADMIN 

Twenty years experience on management and motivation of personnel and many insights about how to go when building a truly engaged and motivated team now available on I-Tunes Store: 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-new-leaders/id564801943  
 

The book is also available at fine bookstores around the globe or directly from the author's organization at info@paoloruggeri.net

Order your copy today and learn how to engage and motivate your people.

Paolo Ruggeri

You'll find attached the paoloruggeri.net Newsletter of September 2012.

This month topic is How to Reach your Goals, the importance of having and following a purpose for someone who manages and wants to motivate employees. 

Download it by right clicking on Download Presentation. 

Paolo Ruggeri

Download delle slides

When I read stories like the one following, I really think the USA are a great country, the greatest: 

Two Choices

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?’ The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first!
Run to first!’

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay!’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third! Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
--- 

If you manage from the heart, the best people will follow you wherever you go and they'll never let you down.

Paolo Ruggeri