Greetings!

This is the time for motivation!

Employees are experiencing all types of emotions lately….frustration, fear, anger, uncertainty, and excitement. Companies in general are tightening up the purse strings, exploring ways to cut expenses as revenues are under stress, and trying to stay ahead of the fast approaching ball of the economy.

Now is the time for you as a business owner, manager, supervisor, boss to motivate your employees and clients. You want to keep the cream of the crop employees and clients so you must make them feel important to the success of the company.

I was in Louisville Kentucky speaking at a conference this past weekend and while having breakfast Sunday I watched television. A show titled “Business Focus” featured a company that simply sent out an email to its employees to find out what they were thinking and feeling about the economy and how it was affecting them. At first, that sounded pretty silly, asking employees an open ended question, talk about opening Pandora’s Box!

However, it served as quite the motivating step. The owner was quite taken back with the responses that he received via email. The employees opened up and said that some would be looking for work closer to home if the gas prices continued rising. They would not be able to afford driving. So he did something different, thought outside the box if you will. He is paying anything above $2.50 a gallon to his employees. His response is that it will cost more to replace and train new employees than the cost of gas. Now that is motivation!

While you may not have this option, you do have many others to motivate your employees. Drop by branches, departments etc. and give everyone a beach ball since it is summer now; treat them to a boxed lunch brought to their location, let them select a day to work from home, or implement a president’s breakfast and have them join you to hear what is going on in their lives. These are only a few suggestions….by the way, a simple thank you is also motivation. These same ideas can be used for your clients. Think outside the box….The point is to tell them they are important and communicate, communicate, communicate!

What are you doing or experiencing as a way to motivate? Please let us know so we can gain more ideas.

Have a great weekend!
Nyda

Greetings! 

This past Tuesday I was the keynote lunch speaker at Hodges University in Ft. Myers for the Southwest Chapter of the Public Relations Association. The conference focused on the various applications of electronic media to create a “buzz” about your company or organization. The speakers provided ways to incorporate electronic media, but as most of you know I am always thinking of how various applications affect image and brand.

I delivered to the group my five key points. These points will help provide a foundation from which to ensure the use of electronic media positively enhances image and brand. The following is a brief insight into the key points.

Please give your take on the subject and how have you seen electronic media used effectively and ineffectively.

#1
The “cornerstone” of the master marketing plan…your defined and desired image and brand….does the “buzz” fit?

First take a minute and think about the image and brand of your company or organization. You should be able to do so in three sentences or less. As you analyze any electronic media, determine if the “buzz” it may create is a fit within the master plan.

 #2
The back room functions eventually reach the client…are they informed?