New Jersey Enterpreneur - Small Business, Entrepreneurs and Venture Capital

Got your attention with that headline? I hope so. Getting managers to take time to learn how to handle their employees is like pulling teeth. On the other hand, they go home and read books about training their dog, changing bad pet behaviors into good and providing loving companionship. What?s wrong with this picture?

The art of managing people can be learned but where?s the book? There are lots of them out there. Most are heavy volumes of theory about what makes employees productive. You can learn all about performance plans, incentive compensation, goal setting, leadership techniques and motivation. Good news! It?s much simpler than that.

A few years ago, The Gallup Organization (you know them, the Gallup poll people from Princeton) did a huge study about what makes employees tick. They interviewed 80,000 managers in 400 companies (the largest study of its kind ever undertaken). After all this work one thing was crystal clear: “Employees leave managers, they don?t leave companies.” They came up with the top 12 things that managers can do to motivate employees to stick around and be productive. Guess what? Not one of them had anything to do with money!

Before we get off the subject of money let me be clear that insufficient money will drive someone to another job ? it?s a basic of our capitalistic society. But lots of money doesn?t keep employees in place and it doesn?t motivate them to continuously improve their skills and competencies.

So then why do I say it?s simple? Let?s go back to that dog analogy. All the books on dog training focus on one thing: positive reinforcement of good behaviors. The basic advice is don?t hurt the animal, “treat” the positive behavior. Show your pet you love them and focus your correction on how they are acting out.

When the behavior is good, you give a reward. Sit Rover. Good boy! Here?s a treat. Give the treat over and over and pretty soon Rover will sit when you say the word. But you must keep repeating the treat. Watch handlers of show dogs in the ring. No matter how well the dog is behaving or how many dog shows they?ve been in, the dog always gets a treat. Enthusiastic recognition is also recommended. This means lots of petting, praising and excitement by the handler. Treats and recognition combined feed two of the animal?s strongest needs: reward and affection.

What?s the response when the dog is bad and you take out the rolled newspaper? Likely he?ll run away and avoid being around or he?ll aggressively growl and snap. So how do you let him know the behavior is bad? Immediately say “bad dog” and put him in his kennel.

Okay, let?s translate these rules to employees. How often do you give your employees a treat? I bet they?re lucky if it?s once a month. Sometimes it?s never. Repeated positive reinforcement is the best way to enjoy repeated good behavior. The treats don?t have to be large. Simple compliments will do. Words like “nice job”, “thank you” and “well done” work well. The occasional lunch out or small thoughtful gift provides the same effect. You can also encourage good behavior at work by verbally reinforcing specific actions. “I really liked the way you handled that difficult customer.”

Now, what do you do when the employee?s behavior is bad? Most managers ignore it because it?s uncomfortable to give constructive feedback. Then the behavior repeats and repeats until you?re “up to here” with it. That doesn?t serve either the employee or you well. So you need to give immediate feedback. Just like the dog gets a visit to the kennel, employees need to be aware when their performance is less than ideal. And they need to know it immediately. Go back to the dog training book. If you punish the dog for a puddle on the floor long after it?s been made, how will he know what you?re upset about?

There?s a very simple book that explains these concepts in business. It?s called “The One Minute Manager” by Ken Blanchard. You can read it in less than an hour and get a lifetime of managerial wisdom. Blanchard points to three simple management rules. Here they are:

Give your employees a verbal treat on a regular basis. Provide immediate input to correct inappropriate or unproductive behavior. Make sure each person understands exactly what is expected of them.

Follow these simple recommendations over and over again and you?ll win your employees? good performance for many years. With goodies in hand, “treat” your employees the same way you “treat” your dog.