Like most companies the recession has affected your business and you are keen to be as efficient as possible but you may be facing some motivation problems in the team.

In the past you have been able to use pay rises, overtime and training on new projects as incentives. But at the moment none of these are available to you. Although people are not leaving because there are not many jobs around, some are nervous about possible redundancies and there are all sorts of rumours about work being outsourced. Some people complain that the work is routine and boring with no prospects.

You might think that the threat of job loss would make people work harder and some people are; but you also are finding that some people are taking more sick leave – usually Mondays and Fridays – and some are just not performing.

Does this sound familiar? During a recent workshop a team of Managers used this real situation to consider how they can maintain motivation and increase performance when most of the tools they have depended on to motivate their staff are no longer at their disposal.

The conclusions they reached were salutary. ‘We have been able to get away with poor management in the past’ said one, ‘but now we have to be more innovative, thoughtful and perceptive’. What does that mean in practise? Their action plan started with the following suggestions

• Be clear about expectations and invest time in explaining to people the value of what they do and how it benefits the business.
• Consult with the teams about what they are doing, how it fits into the bigger picture and use involvement to reduce rumours.
• Be aware that in the absence of official communication the gap is filled with unhelpful assumptions, so be more proactive about feeding through honest and regular information.
• Praise people who are doing the right thing
• Find out what motivates people… despite a first assumption that money was important … a straw poll around the room revealed that most participants were motivated by something else, e.g. being kept busy, feeling valued, liking the people they worked with, being seen as an expert, succeeding against the odds. Then capitalise on this understanding to bring out best performance.

There was useful insight from the group that some managers were inclined to deal with this as an under performance issue and be more firm than usual, whilst others felt they were treading on egg shells and avoided confronting people who were under- performing at all. The group recognised the need to be active on two fronts; by proactively addressing the genuine under-performers and investing time in understanding and supporting other team members.

Carolyn Clarke©

Senior Training Associate, Corporate Alchemy