In previous articles we have made reference to the research found in the Watson- Wyatt World Human Capital Index®, that only 26% of  workers are fully engaged (motivated, exceeding expectations) in their work, while 55% are disengaged, and 19% are actively disengaged (so unhappy they are spreading discontent in the workplace.)  What that means is, if you are average, only 26% of your employees are motivated to give their best.

No matter how large or small your company, having a team of motivated, engaged and hard-working team members is crucial to your business success.  When employees are not motivated, their job performance suffers-they become less productive and valuable to the organization.  You pay a heavy price when team members have motivation issues.

You need to learn how to light a fire under team members who have lost their motivation, whether a formerly engaged worker whose performance has declined over the years, or a long-term problem employee who has failed to improve.  This article will give you some tips to light that fire.

There is no secret formula for engaging and motivating employees, because motivation can be as individual as the employees who work in your company. But you can boil down employee engagement and motivation to one basic idea-- finding out what your employees want and finding a way to give it to them or to enable them to earn it. Based on that idea, do what you can to determine what motivates your employees or team members, even if you have to ask them.  Here some other ways to engage your team without having to spend any money.

• Add some fun and variety to the more routine jobs.
• Give your team a choice in how they do their work.
• Involve your employees in decision making and problem solving.
• Promote teamwork between employees.
• Avoid harsh criticism when correcting mistakes.
• Develop goals and challenges for all team members.
• Provide lots of encouragement.
• Make recognition, appreciation and positive feedback a part of your daily routine.

We plan to offer a no-cost webinar on how to engage your workforce early next month-a great way to start the New Year.  This will presented right before we travel back to Guam for an extended stay in mid-January.  More information will be forthcoming, but if you are interested in signing up now, please contact me at tom@watson-training.com.

One of the amazing things to me, whether in Texas or on Guam (where we now live a big part of the year) is how hard it is to reach someone when you call them on the phone.  The number one reason I can't reach people is because, "they are in a meeting."  I'm wondering how many of these meetings are truly effective and how many are costing companies money?

Meetings are a multi-billion drain on the global economy every year.  It's the very real cost of BAD meetings.  Poorly run meeting are a silent killer inside a company.  They frustrate people, diminish productivity, reduce the bottom-line and negatively affect the corporate culture.

Surveys have indicated that senior managers and supervisors spend at least 50 percent of their time in meetings.    They also have found that 50 per cent of the time in meetings is a waste.

That means if a manager spends 20 hours per week in meetings, 10 hours a week are ineffective and unproductive.  If 50% of their time is spent in meetings, and 50% of that time is considered wasteful, then 25% of their time at work is spent in bad meetings.  Consider then, the waste of time and money in  companies where most of their managers and supervisors are attending meetings most of the time!

Where else in an organization would such excessive waste be accepted?  Nowhere!    In most manufacturing organizations for example, less than 5% of waste from scrap is unacceptable. 

So why do BAD meetings continue to happen? It's not because the people in the meetings are ineffective or incompetent.   It's because smart businesspeople lack the tools and training to effectively run meetings, and manage the multiple personalities attending the meetings. Isn't it about time to turn this situation around so that your meetings are run effectively?    Effective meetings will save, rather than cost, your organization money.

If you want to calculate how much it cost every time a meeting is held, try the Meeting Ticker.  It's a tool to measure how much money is spent attending meetings. You enter the number of attendees, average hourly salary, and meeting start time, and watch the dollars add up in real time. To try it out, click here.

Our company has helped numerous companies save a ton of money over the years by teaching those who conduct meetings to do so more effectively.  Don't let meetings drain your bottom-line.