FIRED UP, ASSET DEVELOPMENT – EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

Show me your employee, I know the kind of employer you are. I believe this statement to be true,
just like the original saying it is derived from. The true reflection of your business isn’t your logo, fancy
slide presentations or strategically positioned business location and so on. Your true image is always
what is within not what you want the public to perceive without, ergo it’s the sources of your inputs
which in turn are responsible for your outputs.
Understanding that the output of an employee is mostly dependent on how motivated the individual is
most times, because no one can give what they do not have. Even the employer is successful primarily
because of enthusiasm, which is why quitting is never an option, as opposed to be an employee who
doesn’t share the same conviction and commitment to the cause.
But the rule of enthusiasm cuts across all the ranks, which is ultimately responsible for productivity
– I cannot stress this point enough. Its absence can be felt visibly for anyone who bothers to open their
eyes to see, it’s interesting how something seemingly intangible can have a significant effect on
everything that we count to be tangible (in this case – PROFITS).
Of course enthusiasm isn’t all that is required in stirring the commitment of a work force, but I chose it
because to attack a challenge, it needs to be broken down into its simplest form. The form where other
issues stem from in rippling successions.
Briefly let’s look at few pointers on how to drive employee productivity through enthusiasm …
 BUY-IN: until someone believes they stand to loose something from the failure of an initiative,
you might not necessarily get their full and undivided commitment towards it. This does not
include the threat of loosing the job, this is negative motivation, which can only serve its
purpose short-term, but its fuse burns out on the long haul. Make them stakeholders in the
venture firstly by making them buy into the vision of the organization. Depending on the type of
business, you can develop your structure to include them in the profit and loss of the business.
This will surely get their attention.
 CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT: every type of enterprise has its demands, it also comes with the
appearance it must present. These are two factors one must consider when developing a
working environment within an organization, it influences your business culture, interactions
within the organization and a host of other elements. The important thing to consider is not to
make the business environment too generic that it is impervious to flexibility and adaption. And
this also applies to all the parts of the business, including client interaction, business processes
and other components that makes it a business. It must also not be too fluid that it lacks
stability and structure.
 REMUNERATIONS: timely and fair remunerations are never to be trifled with. Of course some
would expect it to be the first on this list. The term ‘fair’ is also relative in some quarters, but I
will blanket it with this interpretation – within the confines of human decency and dignity.
Timeliness will feature almost automatically when fairness is a standard. Wages are important,but bonuses and incentives are equally effective, because they serve as additional income that
put a little extra on whatever budget that has been made on the fixed wage.
 ACCOUNTABILITY: a sense of accountability is key in gaining confidence and trust within an
organization. It also affirms the fact that they are indeed stakeholders and perceived as such in
the venture. This in no form is having to explain every tough decision made, but a sense of
responsibility towards them must be shown and the air of burden of responsibility must be
perceived evidently in all decisions taken.
These few points might seem to fall under the “Ideal Conditions” box when it all comes down to reality
and implementation of ideas, but even when the conditions are right, you still find some lapses in the
system.
The reality is, some employees will never be motivated enough to give you their utmost best. Of course
surcharges, sanctions or outright dismissal comes to the mind of any employer, mostly when the
employee is costing the organization a lot of clients and invariably money. An employee dismissed may
not be missed or hired by your competitor, but a client and all the potential referrals they could bring
will be surely missed and might find your competitor to be more attractive.
Effectively motivating an employee to be more productive is one step in this two step process of
increasing productivity. Understanding the kind of employee one is dealing with is a fundamental
discovery that saves everyone time, energy and resources while channeling them productively.
CLASSES OF EMPLOYEES
 CANOES:
 They need to be micro-managed.
 Their productivity is not always commensurate to the support they receive.
 They are complainers, never satisfied with any policy, change or decision.
 They lack the interest to be in their current job and it shows in their absent-mindedness.
 They do not see the need to develop themselves outside what the organization makes
provision for.
 VOYAGERS:
 They are passing through on their way to Utopia.
 The job is a temporary fix to idleness, hence it shows in their commitment.
 They never go in fully because they have no long term plans to be there.
 They believe everything must be done on their own terms.
 They develop through the system only to use it as a springboard.
 ANCHORS:
 They are loyal.
 They are committed.
 They have come to stay for the long haul, mostly because they are comfortable and
don’t like changes.

 They are good at taking instructions and following them through.
 They get developed only when they feel its necessary, but do not aim at shaking the tree
of progress.
 ASSETS/LEADERS:
 They are loyal
 They are committed.
 They have come for the long haul, mostly because they buy into the vision andpo want
to be part of the success story.
 They develop irrespective of circumstances, they are there to win.
 They want to climb the ladder of success, with results to show for their success.
The above classes are under the assumption that the conditions are set to motivate them as stated
earlier.

Any employee that you have to ‘buy’ their time and commitment is not worth keeping, their loyalty is at
a price and one day someone else will demand to pay higher. Every class of employee is identifiable
within the first week of hiring, a keen look for the signs then you know who falls in which class. Quickly
identify them and invest in them accordingly. Balancing motivation and employee management to
improve productivity is a process one must embrace inevitably.
Not disputing the reality of life that the grass will always seem to be greener with a competitor or
another organization in the perspective of an employee or two. Because change is a force with endless
influence, it affects everyone in different ways. Nevertheless, until you start to groom Leaders and
Assets, your business will be a thorough-fare spot for persons in search of Utopia. Considering a few
might hold the hands of some clients on their way out as a possibility, keeping employees comfortable,
productive and profitable is more economical than the other alternative of not doing so. The result of
such folly is simple; low productivity and low profitability, unfortunately one might not cause the other,
the dominos are aligned to fall in that order in soonest of times.