Mastering Employee Motivation

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Questions and Answers

What is a manager's key responsibility?

To motivate employees

All of the above (correct)

To help employees continuously improve

To obtain consistent performance

What is the primary cause of subpar performance according to the text?

Lack of employee motivation

Lack of training

Lack of resources

Lack of clear understanding of management's expectations (correct)

Why is clear and consistent communication of goals, objectives, and priorities essential?

To reduce employee workload

To ensure employees understand what is expected of them (correct)

To make management's job easier

To make employees feel important

What can reasonable and achievable goals and objectives become if they are not set properly?

Morale breakers Signup and view all the answers

Why is tracking performance on an ongoing basis essential?

To keep employees focused and motivated towards achieving the goals Signup and view all the answers

What does breaking down big goals into subgoals do?

Makes the task less overwhelming Signup and view all the answers

Why is measuring what is important essential?

To track and motivate employee performance Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of conducting semiannual or annual formal evaluations?

To provide a review of the period for each of the important performance criteria for the employee Signup and view all the answers

What should be the first thing addressed in an employee evaluation?

Praise for the best efforts of the past year Signup and view all the answers

What is the total compensation plan?

A combination of all the pay and benefits that are received Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of incentives in motivating employees to improve performance?

To reward the exact performance that is most important Signup and view all the answers

What can happen if incentives are not aligned with organizational goals and priorities?

Complaints of favoritism or cheating Signup and view all the answers

What is the benefit of a compensation plan that is designed to reward the performance that is valued most?

A constant reminder of organizational goals and objectives Signup and view all the answers

What is the key to making incentives effective in motivating employees to improve performance?

Aligning them with the goals and objectives of the job Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Motivating Employees: Importance of Clear Expectations, Tracking Performance, and Measuring Important Outcomes

A manager's key responsibility is to motivate employees, obtain consistent performance, and help them continuously improve.
The primary cause of subpar performance is a lack of clear understanding of management's expectations.
Clear and consistent communication of goals, objectives, and priorities of each employee, job, and organization is essential.
The goals and objectives must be reasonable and achievable, otherwise, they can become morale breakers.
Tracking performance on an ongoing basis is essential to keep employees focused and motivated towards achieving the goals.
Breaking down big goals into subgoals reduces anxiety and makes the task less overwhelming.
Measuring what is important makes tracking and motivating employee performance easier.
The data that is measured and reported must be closely aligned with the core responsibilities of the job and organizational priorities.
Measuring and managing solely based on easily measurable data is a huge mistake as it cannot measure every important part of an employee's total job responsibilities.
Setting clear goals and expectations, managing with data, and drawing a clear connection between performance objectives and actual performance makes the process of employee evaluation more valuable.
Measuring and rewarding what management really values positively influences employees' thoughts and actions.
The shift of focus from overemphasizing one measure to another helped a dealership with the lowest customer satisfaction ratings in the entire region to become the first in less than two years.

Employee Performance Evaluations and Compensation

Conducting semiannual or annual formal evaluations is important for both employees and supervisors to know where they stand.
Evaluations should be balanced and address both positive and negative behaviors and instances.
Beginning with praise for the best efforts of the past year is important, especially when evaluating someone who is experiencing serious performance problems.
Evaluations should provide a review of the period for each of the important performance criteria for the employee, using a standard format.
The annual evaluation should be a comfortable situation but provide enough structure to ensure it does not become a conversation with no specific point or outcome.
A prewritten evaluation instrument that covers a broad range of general criteria ensures consistency and covers the full scope of job knowledge, skills, and abilities.
The total compensation plan is a combination of all the pay and benefits that are received.
Changes in pay rates or performance bonuses are commonly tied to the employee evaluation process.
Care should be taken to avoid positive evaluations with no reward and pay raises across the board that are unrelated to performance.
The across-the-board raise sends a mixed message to employees and should be avoided.
Incentives are short-term benefits or bonuses that are tied to specific performance within a limited period.
Incentives can be an effective part of a long-term improvement strategy to stimulate and increase performance levels.Using Incentives to Motivate Employees: Tying Performance to Compensation
Incentives can be effective in motivating employees to improve performance, but they must be fair and equitable to avoid complaints of favoritism or cheating.
When trying to increase labor hours per repair order, it may be helpful to incentivize employees to make additional sales recommendations.
Incentives should be aligned with the goals and objectives of the job in order to reward the exact performance that is most important.
A compensation plan serves as a constant reminder of organizational goals and objectives and communicates them to employees.
Compensation plans should be designed to reward the performance that is valued most, whether it is production or quality.
Rewarding what is valued can lead to a dramatic improvement in performance, as seen in the example of a dealership that refocused on quality and improved customer satisfaction.
Incentives should be carefully considered and tailored to the specific job and employees in order to be effective.
Tying compensation to performance can improve employee morale and motivation.
A compensation plan that is not aligned with organizational goals and priorities can reduce employee morale rather than improve it.
Employees must be confident that incentives are fair and equitable in order for them to be effective.
Failure to align incentives with goals and priorities can result in complaints of favoritism and cheating.
A compensation plan should be a constant reminder to employees of what is valued and what is expected of them.

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Description

Are you a manager looking to motivate your employees and improve their performance? Take this quiz to test your knowledge on the importance of clear expectations, tracking performance, and measuring important outcomes. Learn how to effectively communicate goals, set achievable objectives, and manage with data to create a positive and productive work environment. Gain insights on how to measure what really matters and reward employees based on their actual performance. Take this quiz and become a pro at motivating your team!