Reading the excellent Ihatehr.com blog post

http://ihatehr.com/2008/11/01/an-experience-in-bad-customer-service/

about the lack of customer focused attitude of two workers in a DIY superstore got me thinking about motivation and boredom amongst staff. But is it their fault?

Leaving aside the obvious “how can they treat their customers (& therefore job) with such disdain with all the unemployed people around” aside, how can you objectively measure the attitude & talent of your workforce?

Bearing in mind that we all have slumps in attitude from day-to-day, but overall, what would be a good measurement of some one’s attitude to work?

We think, and we have said before, that it is impossible to motivate someone to do a good job.

All managers can do is put in place procedures to recruit talented people and help them to motivate themselves.

Here are 12 questions which are taken from one of our favourite books “First, Break all the rules. What the world’s great managers do differently”

These questions are gathered from hours of extensive research by the market research company Gallup. (When you read the book, you will see just how comprehensive the research was and therefore how relevant and accurate these questions are).

Ask yourself, if you printed these off, (and you can by the way http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2402421/firstbreakalltherules) and passed them around your staff as a questionnaire, what would the answers say about them and say about you as a manager and the wider organisation and what would they say about the workers themselves?

Here are the questions

Question 1 – Do I know what is expected of me at work?
Question 2 – Do I have the materials and tools I need to do my work right?
Question 3 – Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
Question 4 – In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
Question 5 – Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
Question 6 – Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
Question 7 – At work, do my opinions seem to count?
Question 8 – Does the mission or purpose of my company make me feel like I am important?
Question 9 – Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
Question 10 – Do you have a “best friend” at work?
Question 11 – In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my progress?
Question 12 – This last year, have I opportunities at work to learn & grow

What would the workers at the DIY store have said if they had been asked to fill it in?

Now, don’t get me wrong, if someone worked for us & could answer “yes” to the above questions but still were not performing, then as the song goes, there may be trouble ahead but before you go pointing at others – first look at yourself.

The secret – tune into other people needs & motivations – not yours. As soon as you do, your problems will solve themselves (or to be more accurate, other people will literally solve them).