Boost your bottom line by bolstering your
employees. By encouraging staff with praise
and autonomy you’ll recognize increased
sales in short order.
By Claire Sykes
ROM YOUR WAREHOUSE and office staff to sales people, your
employees are your most valuable assets. Without them, who
would help you “mind the store”?
While they may depend on you for a
job, you depend on them to do their jobs
well – and it takes more than money to motivate people. People are motivated when
their efforts are recognized and their
achievements rewarded. Plenty of positive
feedback and a generous display of appreciation also helps, and when a working
environment fosters favorable attitudes, an
employee views their position as more than
a job, a mindset that ultimately enhances
your business and your bottom line.
F
MOTIVATION IS CRI TICAL
“It used to be that employers hired “help-
ing hands”. Today, it’s not good enough to
simply rent the behavior you want from
people,” says Bob Nelson, Ph.D, author of
1501 Ways to Reward Employees. “You’ve got
to find a way to elicit their best effort. You
have to make employees feel valued so that
they want to do their best work on a daily
basis, to consistently act in the best inter-
ests of your business.”
Motivating your current employees is
even more critical in face of the fact that
finding good ones is increasingly harder.
Those who don’t stay cost you in turn-
over expenses, time and hassles, not to
mention lost sales.
“A non-exempt, hourly worker em-
ployed only three to six months runs you
thousands of dollars in the recruiting and
training costs it takes to replace that per-
son,” says Nelson. “Meanwhile, he or she
takes away an incredible amount of exper-
tise and knowledge.”
Certainly it helps to hire people who
already feel motivated to work in a retail
environment, but your next employee
needn’t have previous retail or sales experi-
ence to succeed. Many people can learn
those skills, but you can’t teach high en-
ergy, a positive attitude and attention to
detail. You have to hire people lovers, so
they naturally give excellent customer ser-
vice, which will translate into sales.
