February 4, 2012

Do you have enthusiastic employees? People who are excited to do their jobs and contribute whatever they can to further your business? If you are like most entrepreneurs, you don’t.

But you can reverse this situation and turn your employees into real fans. It all starts on their very first day.

On a typical first day at an average company, the new employee fills out forms, orders business cards and sits alone. Maybe they get to go to lunch with the intern. After that long first day, someone at home asks, “How was your day?” And with that, they relive the awful start. You've squashed their enthusiasm from the very beginning.

There is a better way, actually seven better ways, to foster enthusiastic employees.

Celebrate their first day

Be prepared before a new employee gets to work. Thank them for joining your company, maybe even with a greeting card. Have their business cards already printed the day they start. It is something to show when they get home that night. Tell them how excited you are to have them as a part of your team. Then, go out for a department lunch.

Define their role

Have a plan ready. Show, don't just tell, your new employee how important they are to your team. Let them know how you'll measure their progress so they know what to expect. Help them understand why their position is critical and beneficial to your company.

Use a buddy system

Designate an employee to take the new person under their wing. This needs to be a formal system. The buddy should meet with them regularly, address their questions and help them navigate the company. They should be available anytime the new employee needs some help.

Drop 'all business, all the time'

Break the barrier between business and fun time. Have departments take employees out for bowling or to a sporting event. Take a hike during company time. This might sound crazy, but the much-needed break will promote bonding time and build enthusiasm. Celebrate birthdays and personal announcements.

Have daily huddles

Get the whole company together every morning for a brief 10-minute standup meeting. Give rapid updates on the good news, as well as the challenges the company is currently facing. Have a high-energy person lead the huddle so that everyone is excited for the day ahead.

Recognize publicly

Announce in front of the company specific contributions or accomplishments that individuals make. This is so critical, and daily huddles are a perfect opportunity for this. Not only does this show your employees that they are appreciated, it motivates others to achieve goals or go above and beyond what you expect of them.

Reprimand privately

This builds loyalty. When you need to discipline or correct an employee, do it privately and do it with compassion. It's important not to embarrass anyone.

Employees are likely your company’s biggest assets, so treat them that way. Take the time to foster a community that promotes enthusiasm about work. Don’t lose your employees to boredom, apathy, frustration or the competition just because you don’t invest in them personally.

Enthusiastic employees keep up the morale of the whole team. They do an exceptional job and they're more committed to the success of the company.

Image credit: Thinkstock

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Mike Michalowicz, Article, motivating employees, managing employees, employee appreciation, employee retention

Join the conversation ( 6 )

• Christina Krenek 3 months ago

  

  Thanks, these are great ideas! A new-hire’s first few days at the office are crucial. Assigning a “buddy” and promoting enjoyable bonding time are great ways for team employees to build relationships. When employees don’t fit in with the team or the office environment, it’s a huge problem and often leads to turnover. To expand on these points, here’s another interesting article on just how much employee turnover costs and how successful onboarding can prevent it! http://info.profilesinternational.com/profiles-employee-assessment-blog/bid/77634/What-Does-Employee-Turnover-Really-Cost-Part-4

• Kate Haney 3 months ago

  

  I love most of these ideas and am concerned about one: celebrating personal occasions, like birthdays. For some people, this is an unwelcome intrusion on their privacy, their work day, and their wallets (especially when it escalates to donating to the not-really-voluntary gift fund). Celebrating work events, like promotions, new customers, and awards, is fantastic. Extending private life into work is less clearly effective and can be counter-productive for some.From a legal standpoint, birthday celebrations can unfortunately turn into age-based harassment ("over the hill" and "youngster" comments are extremely likely on birthdays).

• Robyn DiMichele 3 months ago

  

  Simple but effective. Why don't more managers "get it". Ruling with an iron first is no way to go, but unfortunately it's practiced more than I care to admit.

  • TPEntrepreneur 3 months ago

    

    So true... I think in some cases the ego overrides the emotional IQ.

• Tony Lagman 3 months ago

  

  This is a return to basic but a nice and helpful reminder to those who have forgotten.

  • TPEntrepreneur 3 months ago

    

    No question about it... it is a return to basics. The question is, how many leaders will actually "return?"