How to motivate your staff

Your staff arent just there for the money. No, seriously, theyre not. Its obviously a big part
of what motivates them to come to work every day, but its not the only thing.
In fact, if were being honest, the hospitality industry isnt exactly famous for its bulging
wage packets, so its even more important that workers have the extra things that give them
the satisfaction they need from their job.
You could also say that restaurant managers have a much greater interest in motivation
because many of their staff perform jobs that bring them in regular contact with the public.
his means personal attitude and character are vitally important.
Its up to the manager or the boss to provide that motivation, and it doesnt have to be all
about financial rewards. !ometimes a "well done, good job# can be more effective.
he first trick when motivating staff is find out what they want. his sounds simple, but your
view as the manager might not be the same as the staff.
$or example, when managers are asked to list the top ten things they think motivate their
employees the list looks like this%
&. !alary
'. (onuses
). *olidays
+. ,etirement
-. .ther benefits and perks
/. Interesting work
0. ,esponsibility
1. $eedback
2. raining
&3. ,espect
4hen employees list what actually motivates them, the list looks more like this%
&. Interesting work
'. ,esponsibility
). $eedback
+. raining
-. ,espect
/. !alary
0. (onuses
1. *olidays
2. ,etirement
&3. .ther benefits and perks
In other words, managers rank money items as their employees top five motivators.
5mployees, however, rank these as their bottom five.
You could argue that managers pick the top five motivators because these are the things
that they can "give# their employees without having to ask what they want or need, i.e. no
involvement on a personal level.
Interestingly, when managers are asked what motivates them, they give the list in the same
order as the employees.
he managers main task is to motivate his or her team, both individually and collectively, so
that the team members can produce the best results and also get personal satisfaction.
he main tools a manager can use to motivate your staff are 6uite straightforward%
&. 7pproval, praise and recognition
'. rust, respect and high expectations
). 8oyalty
+. 9ob enrichment
-. :ood communications
/. ;ash incentives
his list is arranged in order of importance% note that cash comes last.
hese tools underline an important fact of staff motivation, that persuasion is far more
powerful than coercion. he former builds morale, initiative and motivation, while the latter
kills them.
he three basic components of persuasion are%
< suggest
< play on the persons sentiments
< appeal to logic
$or example% "Ive been thinking it might be a good idea to wash those dishes now, what do
you think= >suggestion?. It would be a really big help >sentiments? and, besides, if theyre
done now we can all leave early >logic?@.
;ompare this with, ":o and wash those dishes. NowA#
.nce convinced, the person is so motivated to do the job, the manager will have achieved
their goal 6uietly, gently and with the minimum effort.
,emember that even though youre a manager yourself, youre still an employee Bunless
youre running your own business, of courseC. *ow good do you feel when your boss tells
you youve done a good job= !ometimes just saying 6uick things such as "thanks for sorting
out those supplies, theyre sorted so much better now# is more motivational when done
often than a big annual priDeEgiving.
7s with a lot of management techni6ues, the theories of motivation are very much based on
common sense. 7 doEuntoEothers attitude will build respect and satisfaction for staff, and
conse6uently for you as well.
$inally, heres a 6uick runEdown of some actions that you should be applying to your dayEtoE
day management to keep your staff motivated%
< ;lear communication F tell your staff exactly what needs to be done, how you
can achieve it together and what the outcomes and rewards will be.
< .ffer valued rewards.
< Go not overEcontrol.
< ,ecogniDe achievement.
< 5nsure that rewards are given fairly.
< eaching someone something is an excellent basis for being able to motivate
them.