Motivate Your In-plant Staff

At the recent National Government Publishing Association conference, in Bellevue, Wash., speaker Wes Friesen, of Portland General Electric’s in-plant, listed 10 ways for in-plant managers to motivate their employees:

1. Personally thank them.

2. Take time to meet with and listen to them.

3. Provide specific feedback about performance.

4. Create a work environment that is open, trusting and fun.

5. Provide information (or they will fill the vacuum with gossip).

6. Involve them in decisions.

7. Provide them with a sense of ownership in their work.

8. Give them a chance to learn new skills.

9. Celebrate successes.

10. Recognize, reward and promote them based on performance (not politics).

To read other management tips from Wes Friesen, and learn more about what happened at NGPA 2008, watch for the December issue of IPG.