Igniting the Spark in Your Employees

[Photograph by Chris Isherwood under creative commons]

Episode 6 - The New Rules of Business

What should you do to engage your employees? If you recall Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it could be that your enterprise is merely satisfying their basic physiological needs, but is expecting them to be self-actualized. To expect self-motivation and commitment, the intervening hierarchy of needs—safety, a sense of belonging, and esteem—must be met.

Make employees feel secure in their jobs and build a culture of trust to fulfil the other two needs.  

To build trust, ensure that people work without fear, allow autonomy, have a fair and transparent system, have clear communications, and honour your promises.

At the same time, follow the maxim: trust but verify. Create a system to identify those who misuse the trust and take swift action against them.

Also read the related column here

If you have a question, write in to askrajesh@foundingfuel.com.