One thing your staff will not tell you during performance evaluation - Hear it before they walk away

“You can't motivate people; people are self-motivated.”

Or rather, self-interested.

This does not mean that you burn your motivational-theory books. What it means is that motivation is not static, but contextual.

For example, a cash bonus is good.

But it's better to personalise the gift. How?

To the newlywed, a candlelit dinner voucher for 2 is more exciting. To the working mom, a paid family trip to the zoo is more meaningful. To the career-minded executive, an accompanying handwritten letter signed by the boss is more rewarding.

If motivation can be applied straight from the books, then it's easy. And because it's easy, it's rarely life-changing. Our job as managers is far more than just being easy.

This coming children's day, how are you rewarding your staff members who have children at home? Or your Gen Y co-workers, who are "children" of some proud parents?

A.B.U.S.E. Takeaway for QuickBooks Users

The QuickBooks Employee Centre is often overlooked as a data mine to help managers interact better with staff members.

The following shows an employee record in QuickBooks:

First, 2 main tabs (Personal Info tab and Employment tab) under each employee name allow you to keep useful details of the employee. (QuickBooks uses main tabs and sub-tabs to let you put information in logical categories). Some standard details that you can maintain are birth date, hire date, and designation.

As a flexible software, QuickBooks also allows you to add custom fields (up to 7 fields) so that you can keep track of other meaningful employee information (as illustrated above).

Secondly, update any general details of the employee by using the Notes field (click the Notes button above).

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Armed with all these valuable information, you now have the intelligence to relate personally with each staff member:

Note: This report is customised from the standard report (Reports > List > Employee Contact List).

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