THIS & THAT
Treat your staff to a smile, win productivity
Of late have you been facing performance issues with your team? When the performance numbers of your division don’t measure up it is definitely a cause for concern. What do you think you should do to overcome your worries? According to expert advice, the first thing you must do is to remove the frown from your face and replace it with an attractive smile! Though the advice sounds a bit counter-intuitive, it is known to work wonders in bringing about an instant turnar
ound of bad situations.
According to research, the simple act of being nice towards your employees has a dominant impact on their productivity. It is here that your smile comes in handy. It is the most important part of being nice.
Your smile pulls people towards you. It tells people that you are affable, approachable and caring. Along with the smile try saying or doing something nice that brightens their day. A small compliment can go a long way in making people feel happy and energetic.
A smile like any other emotional expression is highly infectious. So when you smile, your employees smile too.
Smiling employees have more fun, work harder, get along well with their co-workers and as a result are more productive.
Harry Paul and Ross Reck, the authors of the book Instant Turnaround! point out, “Employees regulate the amount of effort they are willing to put into their jobs based upon how they feel they are being treated. If they feel they are being treated well, they will become excited about giving their absolute best efforts, which means they will work way beyond their job descriptions. If they feel their efforts are unappreciated, they’ll pull back and do what they have to do to just to keep their jobs. And if they feel they’re abused, they’ll get even by figuring out a way to sabotage their boss’s performance numbers, or they’ll look for a job somewhere else.”
Managers in general are too preoccupied with performance numbers that they completely ignore paying positive attention to their employees. They hardly realise that managing employees strictly by the numbers can prove to be highly counterproductive. If you believe the more tightly you control your team, the harder they will work, you are absolutely wrong.
In reality, micromanaging your employees actually brings down their productivity. Your tightening of controls, signals to your people that you don’t trust them enough.
In the absence of trust, employee will not put in their best efforts.
So, if you want to turnaround your division’s performance start focussing more on the people and less on the numbers. When your equation with people improves, numbers will automatically go up.
Being a nice, smiling manager goes hand in hand with being a highly successful manager. Therefore, smile and do the following to motivate your employees to work harder:
• Show them that you have faith in their abilities and let them understand that you are on their side.
• Focus on their needs instead of yours. Understand their concerns and address their needs promptly.
• Reach out to your people and work alongside in order to understand the issues they face.
• People crave for appreciation. So, make it a point to compliment your employees for jobs well done. Regularly thank them for their good efforts and hard work.
• Listen to what your people have to say and actively seek their opinions on things that matter to them. It shows you care for them. When employees feel valued they will be only too willing to give more than 100 percent to their jobs.
• Turn work into fun. By introducing a bit of laughter and smiles you can make routine jobs more interesting.
A smile doesn’t cost you anything. On the other hand it brings loads of benefits to you. It makes you likeable. When people like you they trust you. And when they trust you they work hard for you.
Also your smile makes people around you feel good about themselves. Happy employees are undoubtedly the most productive ones.
When the entire workplace is characterised by contagious excitement, it translates into a win-win for everyone—for you, your team, your organisation and for your customers. So, keep your frown aside and smile your way to success!
