"I Work for Uhhhh...Mmmm..."

Have you ever been asked where you work and been hesitant or embarrassed to disclose your employer for fear of possible verbal retaliation, or worse? For example, how many people to do you really know that work for the IRS? (No offense meant IRS). What if you work for a certain bank or credit card company? If your employer possibly has a not so good reputation for whatever reason, no matter what employer it is, you understand what I'm talking about.

Jesus said in Mark 3:25, "... a house divided against itself cannot stand." That's why it's especially important to have all employees on board with a real vision that actually matters to the individuals working for the company and not just the big guys at the top.

As an employer, you need to have a real vision that actually matters to the individuals working for the company not just the rich folk employed by the company. I'll give you an example. It's fine for the board to say, "We will tell our employees in order to be a leader in this industry we have a goal of being 25x more productive than we are now with a net profit of a kajillion dollars by 20-. That aughta motivate them."

I can tell you from experience, that doesn't mean squat to an employee who makes 11$ an hour who is trying to feed their family and work through school, etc....What's in it for them? What motivation is that company going to give to that individual who does the company's front-end work and has to put up with other employee's mistakes, complaints from customers, etc? Some would say, "To keep their job."

That's fair, but it's not good enough.

If they know better and have a little bit of room, that employee could quit and go work for somebody who they 'perceive' to give them more value. More pay, more bonus, more flexibility, more recognition, more benefits, more security, less micromanagement, less barriers to movement and promotion within the company, etc...

Employees are like customers and they don't have to be employed with you. Some might for various reasons, but don't think those reasons are permanent. If you're not a company that properly motivates your employees by making value real to them individually, and then on top of it who doesn't stand behind whatever integrity the employee first believed was there to begin with, then your company is out one more good and possibly great employee that left with a bad taste in their mouth.

So, as a business owner, what do you do?

1) Be honest with your employees.

2) Do what you say you were going to do, unless you have a valid reason for not doing so. Share with your employees the reason for the change.(Hint: "Because I want to make more money," is not a good reason.)

3) Get a vision and clearly communicate that to your people.

4) Make it real to them by tying in everything they do everyday into some aspect of really tying in that dream and goal.

5) Listen to what their needs are and don't be afraid to change what you are doing if it means retaining good employees.

6) Everything hinges on integrity. If the employee thinks you are sham or can't be fully trusted, the employee won't be properly motivated. Do what you say you were going to do even if no one is looking. Even if you think no one will know, God does!

I know as a business owner, there are many things to take into consideration and there is a fine balance between business growth and satisfying the individual moral needs of your employees. If you've been in business and consider yourself successful, then I'm confident, you can find and attain that balance. No, you won't be able to please everyone. I am not asking you to. However, you can make improvements by changing, growing in small ways now, continually being open to change and growth in the future.

As an employee, examine what motivates you.

What do you need from your employer in order to work more productively? I am sure you have said to yourself, "I would do more of this, if only my company would do more-" or something similar. Does your company offer that? Maybe in a different division or position? You would be surprised what you uncover when you start asking questions. Be respectful. It might help to ask for resources on whatever topic you are trying to learn more about or ask to arrange informational interviews internally to simply learn more about other divisions in your company.

So if you are an employee, start examining yourself and your employer. If you are an employer, start listening to your employees. The process can be slow and sometimes difficult to make changes, but then neither one of you will be ever again stuck with the answer, "I work for Uhhh, Ummm....mmmm."