People Dynamics Newsletter - People Matters
Issue 62, April 2010 | Back to Newsletters Index
PD News
Welcome to the last quarter for the financial year. A flat out few months has seen us helping a number of clients with their recruitment, policies and updating contracts for Fair Work, mediation, and continued leadership and staff development.
We hope you have had a productive few months and all is well. From all of us in the office, have a safe and happy Easter break and a well deserved rest. We hope the Easter bunny finds you!
Your Employee's Love Language
I often have managers ask me about incentives and how to keep their employees engaged. Some still believe that is about money, but many studies and surveys have shown that money is about 4th on the list of what actually motivates someone. Sure, extra money is always appreciated, however it is short term and tends to be forgotten about after a few weeks. Longer term motivators and incentives are still seen to be the working relationships and the strength of these within the business, particularly if people have friends within the business and the relationship with the boss. As they say, someone will join a business because of the business and leave because of the manager.
It is vital therefore to find out what your employee’s ’Love Language’ is. What motivates them? What would be a good incentive for them? For some it is verbal thank you and possibly a gift of flowers or movie tickets for a job well done, for others it is flexibility for study or family commitments, others it is receiving feedback on their work, interesting and variety work and autonomy in their role. Each employee will predominately favour one or a certain mixture depending on their circumstances and personality. Find out what their ‘love language’ is, if you’re not sure, ask them… in all of our studies, people are often surprised to hear that sometimes it is just getting that simple thank you.
As they say, it is important to catch people doing the right things as well as those that need addressing!
Fair Work Reminder
If you have not come up to speed with the latest in the Fair Work Act and updating your contracts, then please get in contact with us or visit the website www.fairwork.gov.au for more information.
Legal Update
Recently a Victorian Supreme Court ruling awarded more than $240,000 to a former shoe factory worker. The worker was repeatedly exposed to Benzene, which resulted in the development of asthma. He requested a breathing apparatus when dealing with the chemical, however the employer was hostile to this request and it was denied. The court found the employer was guilty of breaching required OH&S standards and was fined.
Employee health is one of the most important aspects in the workplace. It is essential that employers set firm contracts and procedures in place to provide employees with guidelines on OH&S as well as other requests for a healthier workplace. If you would like more information on contracts or setting up a formal request system, please do not hesitate to contact us.