HRGuru

It may sound a bit obvious, but you get alot more flies with honey than vinegar, so I always used a good dose of value and respect.  I treated my team members as if they were of valuable assistance to me, and always made sure that I addressed them with the same respect that I wanted for myself.  As a result, when I asked someone to do something, it got done quickly and well.  I always commended when appropriate.  Make sure that it doesn't sound forced or sappy, but make it genuine appreciation. 

Treat employees good and make them feel as if they are the most important because without employees to do the work there is no company. 

Find out what it takes to make the workplace more comfortable, enjoyable... look at safety issues, eliminate hazards.  Train management and supervision to care about workers, how to handle employee concerns, and not mistreat workers or make them feel like they are a dime a dozen.  A poor frontline supervision making poor decisions weakens production and employee morale, and increases staffing cost and exposes company to potential legal problems.  With poor frontline managment you can end up loosing people and hurting your business. 

Be good to those that help make the company what it is... the workers make the company... treat them fair and equal with the utmost dignity and respect.  Employees want to be led by good fair leaders and they want to be recognized for doing good.  Always let workers know how they are doing.  If someone is not doing well... never make an example out of them by discplining them in front of everyone else or broadcast your dissatisfaction.  Give employees benchmarks to shoot for but give them something back in return other than their paycheck. Respect is a reward.

I visited several construction jobsites one hot summer day and in the back of my pickup truck I had boxes of company caps and t-shirts, four large ice chests full of watermelons and gatorade.  As I made my rounds I stopped the crews for a quick break and we had a short safety meeting.. I commeded them for working hard and I issued out caps and t-shirts, and gave each of them cold bottles of gatorade to drink while I spoke.  On other jobsites I parted cold waterlmelons and let them eat as I spoke to them.  These are very inexpensive ways to say thank you and share good useful information.  The field superintendents were amazed at the response.  But they were concerned it displayed weakness.  I told the managers they did not have to yell, use fear tactics and be so hard and be so old school towards employees to gain their respect.  They noticed that the gatorade and watermelons wer inexpensive, very positive and the employees really took to it very well. Now... during hot summers all Superintendents and Field Foremen continue this same kind gesture and have been amazed at the increased in productivity.  Periodically they also issue out caps, t-shirts and other speciality advertisement items with company logos as rewards. 

Implement a simple employee incentives.  Small gestures that say "Thanks for your hard work" doesn't have to be expensive.  Depending on company size... consider a barb-que or pizza; have ice cream or cake, tea/coffee/juice, gatorade to employees.  It doesn't have to be so elaborate or expensive.  Most important.. a pat on the back or a hand shake and the words... "Thank you for a good job today" from their boss means more than anything.  Words of encouragement are free and powerful. 

Workers want to be led... but by good leaders.  Give them the opportunity to ask questions and answer them with respect without makng them feel belittled and they will bust their behind to do what it takes to help the company.  Workers will take care of the company so long as they know the company will take care of them. 

When I hire a person... I tell them that I not only make a committment to give them a job today... but I give my committment to their family... to keep them working so that they can care for their family.  Advancement is all up them... opportunities are everywhere.

Here is my point of view, on how we can make our emps more productiive.

- By making them accountable for their work

-by creating a sense of ownership of the task, by seeking their opinions or the issues

-by regular feedback from supervisors

-by acknowledging the efforts of any employee and rewarding them.

-Appreciation is very important to motivate any employee

I certainly agree with colleagues that discuss building an atmosphere full of respect and trust. In addition, I have found showing the value of the work increases productivity. I do my best to show the value of the "daily grind". It has been a topic of staff meetings and informal coaching and hallway conversations. I have found that when people understand how their work fits into the big picture, they tend to have a higher level of engagement and productivity.

To draw out the best from employees I do as under:

a. I prepare - Training them technically to accept responsibilty .

b. Instill confidence - by telling them their capability .

c. Motivate  them as an individual and as a  team member .

d. Socialization  . What is the expectation of the organization .

e. Setting goal . As individual and as a team.

f. Recognition of good work and appreciation .Also support the tail enders .

g.Pointing out the lapses and helping to overcome . Chronic failures are identified and due course is adopted .

h. Over and above I put a sincere human touch with my people. If not in all good days I stand by their bad time.

excellent suggestion, train4life!  You must be a great boss!

cocaboo says ...

Thanks for the responses everyone. Seems that trust and respect is the consensus... this was touched upon indirectly, but another big piece that leads to productivity is engagment... keeping employees engaged by giving them responsibiltiy and a reason to come to work every day, etc.

Spot on, cocoboo!  When employees know that they're part of the process and that the boss has confidence in them, they tend to take more pride in their work.  That's the biggest downfall of micromanagers.....not letting good workers do what they're capable of!  Employees then get disheartened and don't take a very proactive approach to their job.

cuellar_jh says ...

Treat employees good and make them feel as if they are the most important because without employees to do the work there is no company. 

Find out what it takes to make the workplace more comfortable, enjoyable... look at safety issues, eliminate hazards.  Train management and supervision to care about workers, how to handle employee concerns, and not mistreat workers or make them feel like they are a dime a dozen.  A poor frontline supervision making poor decisions weakens production and employee morale, and increases staffing cost and exposes company to potential legal problems.  With poor frontline managment you can end up loosing people and hurting your business. 

Be good to those that help make the company what it is... the workers make the company... treat them fair and equal with the utmost dignity and respect.  Employees want to be led by good fair leaders and they want to be recognized for doing good.  Always let workers know how they are doing.  If someone is not doing well... never make an example out of them by discplining them in front of everyone else or broadcast your dissatisfaction.  Give employees benchmarks to shoot for but give them something back in return other than their paycheck. Respect is a reward.

I visited several construction jobsites one hot summer day and in the back of my pickup truck I had boxes of company caps and t-shirts, four large ice chests full of watermelons and gatorade.  As I made my rounds I stopped the crews for a quick break and we had a short safety meeting.. I commeded them for working hard and I issued out caps and t-shirts, and gave each of them cold bottles of gatorade to drink while I spoke.  On other jobsites I parted cold waterlmelons and let them eat as I spoke to them.  These are very inexpensive ways to say thank you and share good useful information.  The field superintendents were amazed at the response.  But they were concerned it displayed weakness.  I told the managers they did not have to yell, use fear tactics and be so hard and be so old school towards employees to gain their respect.  They noticed that the gatorade and watermelons wer inexpensive, very positive and the employees really took to it very well. Now... during hot summers all Superintendents and Field Foremen continue this same kind gesture and have been amazed at the increased in productivity.  Periodically they also issue out caps, t-shirts and other speciality advertisement items with company logos as rewards. 

Implement a simple employee incentives.  Small gestures that say "Thanks for your hard work" doesn't have to be expensive.  Depending on company size... consider a barb-que or pizza; have ice cream or cake, tea/coffee/juice, gatorade to employees.  It doesn't have to be so elaborate or expensive.  Most important.. a pat on the back or a hand shake and the words... "Thank you for a good job today" from their boss means more than anything.  Words of encouragement are free and powerful. 

Workers want to be led... but by good leaders.  Give them the opportunity to ask questions and answer them with respect without makng them feel belittled and they will bust their behind to do what it takes to help the company.  Workers will take care of the company so long as they know the company will take care of them. 

When I hire a person... I tell them that I not only make a committment to give them a job today... but I give my committment to their family... to keep them working so that they can care for their family.  Advancement is all up them... opportunities are everywhere.

You are top-drawer!