One of the most asked questions I receive from business owners and managers is "What are some things I can do to motivate my people?"  The truth is, regardless of what techniques a company may use, if they don't fix these 5 things, employees will never perform at their best.

Not Knowing How to Properly Perform Their Job

Anyone who has been part of the interviewing process has eventually come to this realization:  People don’t look like their resumes. Yes, I said it.  People aren’t as qualified as they seem on their resumes. Where should the blame fall in this competitive job market where resumes are examined under a microscope?  It doesn’t matter.  The problem is we hire these people thinking they have certain skill-set and a certain level of experience.  Then, after they are hired they are treading water trying to figure out how to survive.  And for most, their companies do not have an adequate training curriculum for new employees to really learn their jobs.  So what do these new employees do?  They “fake it till they make it”. And all the while, performance is suffering.

Poor Performance Is Tolerated In Other Employees

Regardless of whether we believe it to be right or wrong, people are dramatically affected by how other employees are treated and by the expectations placed on them. If there are a few employees who have bad attitudes, or perform at a lower level and it is tolerated, it is very difficult for the other employees (who see this going on) to accept being called to a higher expectation.  They may assume that the boss doesn’t know, or more likely, they will assume the boss is playing favorites, and it kills both morale and motivation.  Honestly, I see this one all of the time and it frustrates me every time.  I hear all sorts of reasons why it’s not addressed in some employee.  But regardless of the reason given, performance will eventually fall.  If enthusiasm is contagious, so is lethargy.

They Don’t Know They Are Not Doing A Good Job

In today’s workforce, there is often a great lack of feedback given to those whose performance is lacking.  Whether it is because the manager is busy or just a conflict avoider, many workers today receive no feedback when they complete a task or when their performance falls below expectations.  When there is no feedback, there is no reason to change performance.

They Feel They Are Underpaid

It’s amazing that with the seemingly endless resources online in which one can look up salary information that more employers don’t know what the average salary is for a position.  I guarantee that the employees working do and if they feel they are being underpaid, there is going to be a problem.  If employees feel underpaid, it’s very unlikely they are giving 100%.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that overpaying will motivate someone to do more (pro sports should teach us that), but underpaying is a sure way to keep people from being fully motivated if they stay in the first place.

They Get No Recognition For A Job Well Done

Doing your best and nobody saying anything is almost as good as a slap in the face.  Yet it is one of the most common problems I see in the workforce today.   There is nothing like someone giving their all, going above and beyond the call of duty, and then no one saying, “good job”, “we appreciate your effort”.  Adding insult to injury is when  the boss says, “Why would I thank them to do what I already pay them to do?”  With that going on, what is the likelihood of them going above and beyond again?  The only possible reward is when they get demoted to a higher position.