Most people think motivating employees is largely about pay. This is a simplistic view, which isn’t particularly helpful for team leaders and managers who are trying to get the most out of their people in challenging times.

Consider this list of motivators:

• Give employees authority along with responsibility. It is easy to tell an employee they are responsible for accomplishing a particular task or goal. It is easy to say they will be held accountable if they don’t succeed. The hard part is, giving up a measure of control so that the employee has a certain degree of authority.
• People want and need to be recognized. It is no different than when you were in third grade and you received a gold star or had your name prominently listed for some classroom accomplishment. It felt great then, and it feels just as good now. Sometimes managers fail to understand the need to recognize accomplishments (no matter how small they seem to be) of team members.
• Keep employees in the information loop. Make sure you let your people know about critical organizational accomplishments, challenges or opportunities. Being informed gives employees a feeling of ownership. All too often, managers let their people know when it is too late. This causes people to feel more like victims than participants.
• Provide direct, personal feedback to employees as quickly as possible — preferably within 24 hours. Most people really want to know what their manager thinks of their work. Additionally, the more detailed the constructive feedback is, the better employees will respond to it. Handwritten comments signed by the manager are usually best, but providing email communications works effectively as well.
• Other motivators include celebrating employee birthdays, anniversaries and work-related milestones. In addition, social and recreational activities, including employee softball or bowling leagues, creates a sense of togetherness and team spirit.
• Saying “thank you” on a consistent basis really motivates people. It doesn’t cost anything, takes little or no time, and leaves a lasting impression.

In general, this is the rule of diminishing returns.

The idea is far more important than the actual percentages, and greatly applies to the art & science of management.

What would happen if you were to spend 100% of your management time on the greatest 80% of payoffs?

What would happen if you ignored the other 20% which could be grouped together at management distractions?

With few exceptions, this “real world” business rule applies to any profession, be it business, law, medicine, and even in the military theater of operations.

Looking at the business of sales, interesting enough this is where “virtual business” turns this rule on end. The problem with doing real world business you need “someone” working on every lead, potential customer, and customer.

In the virtual world the process is reversed – create once use on many. People self-assess and base their buying habits on evidence on trust, credibility, and company focus.

The more you provide “succinctly” the better the return. While in appearance there is much upfront work from the vantage-point of the “first sale” its merits are found in self-replication – do it once and capture the 80%, with 20% effort keeping working at it and the 20% will materialize, and without additional salespeople.