As a manager, your responsibilities probably include planning, preparation and active participation in the recruitment process and candidate selection. Once hired, it is also up to you to engage, inspire and motivate new recruits as well as veterans who work in the company. Here are four verbs to help you be the manager chosen among all candidates, as well as followed and appreciated by your employees.

I- PAY CONSEQUENTLY, IT’S THE BASIS

It is well known that all employees want to be recognized. Well paid, consistently in line with their talents, an employee will be more successful. Once a worker is satisfied with their salary combined with a good compensation plan, as a leader you benefit from a good basis to motivate and ultimately create the coveted commitment. A synergistic harvest follows. As illustrated by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, when secure and valued, employees are more likely to be motivated. With this physiological base and need for security met, they are ready to fulfill their need for belonging, esteem and accomplishment. Fulfilled by these hierarchical necessities, employees are ultimately ready to create, collaborate and contribute. Paying employees is an excellent return on investment that allows employees to climb the ladder towards achievement.

Evaluate your recruitment practices in relation to the compensation you offer. Salaries, benefits, time off, vacations, community involvement: review all of these criteria according to the types of profiles you are looking for. Then, measure your proposal against the competition. If necessary, make the necessary changes to attract the talent you are looking for, including the best on the market, those who are with the competition.

While you’re reviewing compensation, also review working conditions in relation to work-life balance: hours, four-day weeks, remote and hybrid work modes.

Seize the opportunity to innovate. Survey your employees on what they value in terms of working conditions. You might be surprised to discover how easy and inexpensive it is to make dreams come true.

Training activities, development courses and personalized coaching are often at the top of the list of top performers. In addition, certain government programs allow you to benefit from support and subsidies. Do your homework.

Volunteer days and hours offered in your community have exponential powers, including for your company. Employees happy to contribute spread the good news of your generosity. Employees, the company and everyone benefit from this pride in helping. Mentoring programs are also popular. It’s not just mentees who appreciate this match. Mentors also mention the benefits of this esteem.

II – MANAGEMENT IS A PERPETUAL CAROUSEL

Define expectations, educate, empower, discipline and reward: these five steps of personnel management are fundamental. It is a primordial cycle. Yes, it always has to be started again. And beyond the process of welcoming and integrating new recruits, this wheel must be activated each time you state a new objective.

Without the continuous application of the five steps of this management principle, some perceive a lack of rigor as well as the absence of direction. Shortly after, a climate of mistrust sets in. Favoritism and discrimination can also be discerned; nonchalance follows. Ultimately, commitment disappears.

To avoid this slackening, this lack of work ethic, look in your 2020 rearview mirror. Review the hiring and especially the orientation of your new recruits. If necessary, fill in the gaps in the usual requirements that are not met.

Using the five steps mentioned above, clearly define your vision for 2021. Invest the time it takes. Make sure that everyone, according to their role and responsibilities, knows what is expected of them. Share the why. Educate on the how. Equip employees so that everyone is equally equipped and can develop to achieve what is envisioned. Don’t delay. Validate regularly with feedback, even negative feedback. Set up action plans to achieve the actions. Congratulate them on the spot! Reward them and start again. I warned you, it’s a perpetual cycle.

III– COMMUNICATING IS ESSENTIAL

Be careful, communicating well does not mean giving scientific monologues. Leaders’ communication is not one-way within their profession, in their circle and their language. Proper two-way communication is mandatory to inspire, motivate and engage. Successful business communication allows for feedback, suggestions, initiative and asking for explanations.

A leader who communicates effectively is empathetic. He adapts his communications by modulating them according to his interlocutor with his skills and competencies, as well as according to the department or sector to which he is addressing. To have this different perspective, you must spend time with employees and know their reality. What do they dream of? What do they need to function well? What keeps them awake at night?

Successful communication is also concrete and coherent. Cohesive, it clearly indicates the role of each person. Everyone understands how they help achieve the objective. They are aware of the capacities required for their link in the chain of achievements. With this clairvoyance, everyone feels responsible for the success of the company. The communication of objectives also includes measurable specificities and precise deadlines, as well as the determination of the consequences of not achieving the anticipated results.

IV– RECOGNITION MEANS MUTUAL RESPECT

Admire and honor the unique talents of each member of your team. Offer opportunities and grant a promotion. The confidence you show with these gestures contributes to self-esteem and empowers the employee. Aware that you appreciate him, the employee to whom you entrust tasks wants to succeed. Responsible for your recognition, he does not want to disappoint you and works to deserve this mention.

Honors, marks of recognition and prizes are prized by professionals. These praises can be public or private mentions, trophies or even virtual notes in the chat and come from human resources professionals or colleagues. They can be framed by nomination processes or take place spontaneously. The choice is yours. Recognize, appreciate, and also encourage others to do so: within your team, to other teams, to your client’s superior, or directly to your supplier. Sowing recognition creates goodwill. Don’t just recognize results; also compliment efforts.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps you already knew these practices? If so, great. Now you know that you must implement them as strategically as all your other goals. Start the year off on the right foot: pay accordingly, manage regularly, communicate with empathy, and recognize respectfully. You will quickly have an inspired, motivated, and engaged team. As a bonus, you and your team will both be happier at work, in your workplace, or each at home. After reading this, inspiring, engaging, and motivating may seem simple to you. I grant you that. The act of inspiring, engaging, and motivating is primitive. Inspiring, engaging and motivating means humanizing the work required of each employee. Your most valuable resource is not your products, but your people. Treat these human beings as you would like to be treated: with humanity.

Published February 2021 in The reference of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines du Québec (c) Julie Blais Comeau