Motivating employees is
easier said than done,
says Steve O’Kane. And while it
can be difficult, it’s an issue
leaders strive to manage.
Over his career as an executive, the president of trucking
company A. Duie Pyle Inc. says
his greatest challenge has been
empowering staff members. The
key, he’s found, is a process that
starts with gaining credibility
and trust and is then maintained
by recognizing employee
achievements and, more important, by good communication.
“Employees, I think overall,
just love communication,”
O’Kane says. “They thirst for
communication.”
For A. Duie Pyle, which posted 2007 revenue of $223 million, that has meant tailoring its
communication process to the
needs of its employees, the
majority of whom are constantly crisscrossing the U.S. and
Canada. So every six to eight
weeks, the company puts out
CDs that include information
about what’s happening in the
company and the industry to
keep those on the road connected.
Smart Business spoke with
O’Kane about the steps you can
take to help motivate your
employees.
Gain standing.
First off, you
need credibility to be able to do
it, and you gain credibility over
the years with a little bit of a
record of success. When you
try things and they work and
people around you see them, it
helps you motivate them to do
the things that the company
requires for that success.
On the flip side of that is
when you make mistakes —
and I’ve made more than my
share in my time — you have
to own up to them. A, you
have to fix them and do it
quickly, and B, own up to them
publicly and get it behind you
and move on.
You have to correct it, and
those that are around or
involved in the implementation
— that are part of the execution team of whatever mistake
you made — then it’s important
to revisit with them what was
done incorrectly, how it was
fixed, how you go forward
from here, and you want to
admit your role in the error.
If you do those things, you get
credibility with the people you
work with, and I think that puts
you in a position where you
can use standard techniques to
keep them motivated.
