Want to Motivate Employees? Expert Gives 3 Tips for Uncovering What Really Turns Them on

According to workplace happiness and customer care expert JoAnna Brandi, one of the top challenges in any business is helping frontline employees to get and stay motivated as they build customer relationships, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. She offers managers three tips for successfully dealing with this common pain point in business by creating an environment where employees are inspired to be and do their best.

Boca Raton, Florida (PRWEB) June 7, 2007 -- Customer care and customer service leaders worldwide face a number of challenges each day, one of the chief ones being motivating employees to consistently create the kinds of positive customer experiences that lead to customer loyalty. According to JoAnna Brandi, the challenge can never be fully resolved if managers don't learn more about what makes their employees tick.

"One size does not fit all when it comes to motivating all of your customer-facing employees," says Brandi, a leader in the customer care and loyalty industries and an Authentic Happiness Coach. "Different people are motivated by different things, and a manager should never assume she knows what those things are."

Brandi explains that motivation is directly linked to what an employee values. "Uncover what they value and you'll have the key to what it takes to motivate them to be and do their best, to go above and beyond to build trusting and loyal customer relationships."

She offers the following three tips for identifying what employees most value and incorporating that information into your motivation initiatives:

1) Learn how to do the multigenerational dance. "Today's workforce is comprised of four distinct generations, each one having very specific needs and desires," says Brandi. She explains that while the WWII generation typically responds to authority, Gen X is self-reliant and tends to seek work/life balance. Meanwhile, Boomers tend to look for meaning in the ways they make a living while the youngest generation, Gen Y, is looking to be recognized for their efforts. Adds Brandi, "Though these generalizations aren't cut in stone, they're a good starting point for beginning to understand what your staff members really want."

2) Money isn't everything. Be mindful that when it comes to motivating employees, money isn't the be all and end all. Want proof? Brandi recommends taking this simple test: Write down four words - money, opportunity (growth and challenge), recognition and life style. Rank them one through four in the order of importance. "People are always surprised to learn that nine out of ten people do not put money in the number one slot," says Brandi. "Be sure to share this test with your team as well and to encourage people to share their results."

3) Motivation is both an inside-out and an outside-in proposition. Managers and business leaders must provide employees with a balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Brandi explains that intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual while extrinsic, as the name implies, is being motivated from outside oneself by someone or something else. She asserts that most managers rely solely on the latter using thank you notes, money and/special privileges. The problem: This loses its power over time.

To inspire intrinsic motivation, Brandi advises managers to look for opportunities to get to know their employees and find out their individual goals. Would they like recognition in the company newsletter? More opportunities for growth and challenge? A chance to collaborate with others on a creative project? Telecommuting so they can spend more time with their kids? Prestige? Independence? Brandi says that paying attention to ordinary conversations can reveal this extraordinary information.

By putting these tips into action, and Brandi says managers will be off to an excellent start in "creating an environment where your employees feel good about themselves in your presence, and are inspired to perform at their best."

JoAnna Brandi is the publisher of Monday Morning Motivation, a subscription-based program that delivers motivation, encouragement and support to employees on the frontlines in any industry. For more information, visit www.MondayMorningMotivation.net. To find out if you provide the kind of "exquisite" customer care Brandi says companies today must provide to stay competitive in today's marketplace, take her quiz at http://www.customercarecoach.com/public/quiz.asp.

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