A Guide to Employee Motivation

As a business owner, staying on task and ahead of schedule will directly determine whether your company will sink or swim. One of the biggest problems within companies today is small inconsistencies that turn into large problems in the future. Once they get to that point they are even harder to fix because no one really remembers where the problem started in the first place. Use this article as a direct guide to employee motivation and help keep your employees motivated and honest with their work on a daily bases.

1. Give constructive criticism, but don’t run them into the ground

This is the number one reason employees would ever be dishonest about an incident happening because of how they are directly treated by their employer. Nine times out of 10 employees will shy away from you and try avoiding confrontation at all costs, even if it hurts the company. It has been proven that good support to people who do something wrong has an overall better effect that the opposite. Say things like “that’s not quite right, here try doing this instead” then following up with “you are giving great effort; just remember to turn in your work at the end of the day”. Starting or ending the statement with a positive feedback will almost guarantee that the employee will get a sense of acceptance and want to try to impress you in the long run.

2. Show them the light at the end of the tunnel

Show some incentive or a reason to do better at work. It can be either profitable or just recognition throughout the workplace. Some great ideas for profitable incentives could be things like a pair of baseball tickets, a bigger bonus at the end of the term, or even just something as simple as lunch on a Friday. If you do not have extra money for incentives give your employees something they can be proud of. For example you could have an employee recognition program, such as employee of the month. It leads to good office morale and motivates employees to do better work.

3. Feed the hungry

It was touched on in the step above, but if you have the revenue to do it, people love free food. For instance, it might be easier to rally the troops for that 2:30 p.m. meeting if they know there will be free donuts and coffee available. Also as a side note, caffeine will be your best motivator. Whether you can afford to buy coffee for everyone once a week or even get a vending machine that has cheap caffeine sources in it, caffeine will help give your employees that small energy boost they need to finish out the day.

4. Trick them into thinking they are not working

One of the easiest motivators will occur without the employee even knowing it. Be spontaneous and change things up around the office. Instead of having your weekly meeting in the small boring office, try having it outside or renting out a hotel suite once a month. Another great example would be let them all work from home one day and only require them to participate in a free conference call. This works well because employee will feel like they are not at work and the creative juices start to flow, hence making them more productive.

5. Let them be heard

If you really want your company to thrive, let your employees know that what they do has a direct impact on the outcome of something major. Give them something to work for and be proud of. There are many ways of doing this, including having a meeting where they give suggestions on different topics to better help or change the company. Also, sitting an employee down that may be struggling more than the others and explaining to them the overall importance of that person’s job may help boost their self-motivation. Showing that there job can directly affect the lives of others is a good motivator that will help them to work harder.

Whether you own your own small business or manage a company with 10000 employees, if they do not perform the way they should, nothing will get done. Use the above steps as a general guide to help better motivate your employees in a more positive manner.

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Dublin Campus Bus Tour

Connecting business with universities: I spend some very enjoyable years on DCU campus. Part of my job was to connect small business with the interesting things that happen on campus.

Lots of reasons why not

It was always very difficult to get small businesses and Universities to engage. Different language, different mind set, different time frames. But it is also difficult for small businesses to take the step and visit a campus.

6 or 7 campuses at your doorstep

In Dublin alone there are 6 to visit. Trinity, DCU, UCD, DIT, BIT and TIT. Seven if you count Maynooth University.

You are missing out

Which is pity, as universities are an interesting mix of innovation, tech transfer, spin ins, spin outs and support for small businesses.

Take the first step

A lot more businesses should take the time to engage with the research and know-how that is on university campuses. From my time with working with universities I know it is a treasure trove of ideas, interesting research and innovation.

Innovation is your lifeblood

If you accept that innovation is the lifeblood of every business, a visit to a university should be an obvious step.

Hop on the campus bus tour

We have decided to take away any excuse not to do just that. To that effect we have organised a bus. On the 16th of April you can step on that bus and that bus will drive you from campus to campus, visiting DCU, Trinity and Dublin Institute of Technology. You will get a tour on each campus. Speakers will share their experience and lessons and you will be watered and fed (breakfast, lunch and a drinks reception).

Full flavour day

In one day you will get a full flavour of all what goes on campuses in Dublin, you will get inspired by the innovation and opportunities that universities and ITs have to offer and you will have an opportunity to engage with the best minds and research in Dublin.

Book your ticket

If you are interested to book a bus ticket, you can register here 

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#hackmakethebank:A Serious Commercial Opportunity

We are very excited!

Co-creation and engagement

Just before Xmas we asked you for feedback on the Ulster Bank website as part of getting more businesses involved in helping the bank become the best they can be and create an environment of co-creation and engagement. That was a big success.

Hackathon explained

Now Ulster Bank has now gone even further with the organisation of a hackathon. Liam Moran explains what that means:

Serious commercial opportunity

The magic is about 50 seconds into the video. The intent is to commercialise the ideas from the hackathon that are interesting enough. With Ulster Bank as the first customer.  With the winner getting embedded within Ulster Bank, with access to the Ulster Bank ecosystem, expertise, connections and senior staff. That is an opportunity this is not the be sniffed at.

Other prices

You can also win other prices (drones, cameras, headphones, etc.), but the real prize is the business opportunity.

Sign up

If you are interested, sign up here for Dubin and here for Belfast.

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/hackmakethebank-serious-commercial-opportunity/ on
thinkbusiness

Want to create a new App or idea that could form the ‘next big service’ for banking?

A ‘hackathon’ is a creative marathon of brainstorming and software creation in which the prototypes of mobile and web applications are quickly ‘hacked’ together by small teams of software engineers, designers and other innovators.

Ulster Bank together with the Open Bank Project invites you to the 8th edition of Hack (Make!) The Bank which will be held from January 30th to February 1st at the NDRC in Dublin and 13 t0 15 February in The Mac in Belfast

Hack (Make!) the Bank is a global series of Fin Tech Hackathons which are dedicated to realising tomorrow’s banking and financial solutions. This hackathon will bring together programmers, designers and members of the financial services industry to debate, design, code and pitch ideas on themes related to the challenges set below.

Sign up here for Dubin and here for Belfast

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This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/want-create-new-app-idea-form-next-big-service-banking/ on
thinkbusiness

Quality Design: Manufacturing Collaboration for Impressive Teamwork

If you are a believer in the philosophy that many hands make light work, teamwork should be right up there on your list of priorities.

Collaboration is often a successful ingredient in getting results within your business and this will the show itself in producing better results through impressive teamwork.

Here is a look at some of the ways that you can boost the quality aspect of your manufacturing process by pulling everyone together and working successfully as a team.

Success you can measure

Team performance is measured in a number of ways and manufacturing companies such as midlake.com are one of a good number of organizations who understand the importance of collaboration throughout the manufacturing process.

Encourage workers within a team to look out for each other whilst still striving individually to produce the highest level of output. Also avoid assigning blame to a single worker when there is a breakdown in the line of production.

You should measure success in terms of a team performance and then look to reward accordingly when the group achieves targets through their strong alliance, even if they are working on specific tasks with the group.

Learn from the past

Another positive way to create a good level of teamwork is to study peers and previously successful projects.

It often inspires employees to learn from those that have been there before them and how they previously attained success and reached their targets. It can also be a great idea to bring in previous leaders or inspirational figures who have moved on to other achievements, as a way of motivating your current team to reach these same peaks.

Balancing rewards

When it comes to manufacturing, there is often a thin line between suppressing creativity and trying to reduce costly errors in the production line.

You need to devise a system that tries to avoid the negative aspects that comes from punishing failure and concentrate on rewarding a successful uplift in output, without avoiding any safety issues that need addressing.

This is indeed a tricky balancing act to get right. But if you aim to find a suitable middle ground that incentivizes employees but keeps their performance within strict safety levels, your business should prosper.

Process and product are equally important

It is essential that you don’t let the pursuit of maximum output outweigh the need for safety at any time.

Make sure that workers are fully drilled on the need for rigorous safety procedures and that they have access to all the documents and training needed for them to be compliant in this respect.

This is particularly vital when a new worker is introduced into the team. When this happens, they have the potential to raise the risk profile and may end up endangering their own safety and that of their co-workers.

Process and product are of equal importance and for everyone’s safety and re-assurance, this is a message that has to be understood and acted upon at all times.

It also has to be instilled into any new team member, so they truly get the sense from day one, that they are joining a business and a group of workers who believe in the importance of teamwork.

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Asia Trade Forum and UCD Smurfit Business School Team Up For Mentoring Partnership

The Asia Trade Forum of the Irish Exporters Association and Smurfit Business School has entered into a mentoring partnership where students will work on a group project with a member company to complete a new market entry strategy.  In response to the rapidly growing markets in Asia, a country from that region will be chosen. Other international markets may also be considered.

The key focus of each project will be on entry strategies for a particular product / service into a particular international market.

The key outcomes of this ‘live project’ for the students are:

  • To learn successful strategies for entering new markets with a real life Irish company
  • They will receive mentoring from successful business people
  • To enhance their CV and become more employable
  • To hone their presentation skills
  • They will learn how to deliver and present a professional report

The key outcomes for the IEA member company are:

  • To have the opportunity to develop an international market opportunity for their company
  • Give something back to the community.
  • Operating in a mentoring capacity, they will provide students with a live project to enhance their international market entry strategy skills which, not least, will make them eminently more employable in the currently difficult economic environment.
  • They will facilitate creativity and initiative taking by group members.
  • They will work more closely with Smurfit Business School, deepening the relationship over time, potentially provide internships for strong students, and potentially source Smurfit graduates as prospective employees over time.

Mentors

Hugh C. Kelly, Managing Director, Associated Marketing Ltd. Director, Irish Exporters Association.
Mr Joe Tynan, Tax Partner, PwC. Director, Irish Exporters Association.

Feedback from Last Year’s Projects

The project for us has certainly added value. The market research on the various regions is excellent. In short, they covered all aspects of the project we asked them to. Everything from the perception of Irish beef to possible markets and route to market.

(the group) delivered a very good and well established project and I must say all of the team acted in a very professional and courteous manner throughout & I have given each of them a letter of reference following my time working with them over the last 3 months.

The whole team at SIA are very impressed with the quality and depth of your analysis and recommendations.  The report has been completed to an excellent standard with a real understanding of the industry and our position in the global market. To prove the point we have been in initial discussions with DC Logistics last week to become our partner in Brazil and they were first on your list.

I just wanted to drop you a note, to thank you and the group for the work done on the project. We believe it will be very useful. I would also like to let you know that we were very impressed with Killian’s work as leader on the project.

Project Schedule

Duration of Project: Monday 27 January – Thursday 24 April 2014.

What are Companies expected to do?
Company participants should take ownership of this project. Critically the intellectual property of this project resides with the company. Companies are expected to guide and mentor their groups toward the realisation of a high quality project, keeping in mind the grading criteria. Clarity with regard to brief is a starting point. Sometimes companies may be rigid in terms of their brief. Please provide space for the students to demonstrate creativity and to use their initiative. They may ‘talk theory’ initially, not least as academically they are expected to have a theoretical underpinning to their project. Please empathise, as I’m sure you appreciate that all business transactions have a theoretical underpinning. The presentation and physical copy of the final report has to be to the highest standards, a report and presentation that you yourselves would stand over.

Communication between Company and Students
It is the expectation that companies will communicate with students face –to-face, by phone, Skype, or email for the duration of the project, and be proactive in this regard. This is to avoid a situation where students get lost in their project and would gain from immediate communication and mentoring rather than losing time going down blind allies in their market research.

Contact

The contacts details for interested and eligible parties are as follows:

Dr John (Sean) Cassidy, Module Coordinator, UCD Smurfit Business School
Contact Details: Tel: 01-7164831; Mobile: 086 812 0654; Email: john.cassidy@ucd.ie

Ms. Ashley Beston, Manager, Asia Trade Forum, Irish Exporters Association
Contact Details: Tel: +353 1 6424178; Email: AshleyBeston@irishexporters.ie

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