Out of the Management Box – things that will work!

Thinking out of the box... out of the management box. Getting results from committed hearts rather than forced labors.

1. When you give out company gift vouchers or stock options or salary increments, get the department senior manager to personally sign on the envelop with some encouragement messages. A personal touch from the top. A high-impact reward.
2. Send out emails to top management on your engineer’s accomplishments, and forward that sent message to them with more encouragement messages. Talking good things behind their back. They’ll realize you’re proud of them
3. When Person A is helping B at work, acknowledge them, individually. A for helping. B for knowing where to go to get help. Show them your appreciation. They just made your work easier.
4. When you’re hiring, let the team know your candidates. Get them to recommend names. Get some of them to even help in the interviewing process. It’s a win-win for you. They’ll feel that you value their presence in the team and that you value their input. On the other hand you just made your work easier.
   
5. Arrange for team outings: movies, barbeque, hiking, bowling, etc as a reward for their hard work. Just your team, not the whole department. Sponsor the event. It's a long term investment. They'll do you more important favors later on...
   
6. Buy self-improvement/motivation books during their annual performance review. Present as a personal gift. This is especially useful when you’re communicating areas of improvements. Books I’ve tried before:
   · Practical Intelligence
   · Emotional Intelligence
   · Social Intelligence
   · 7 Habits
   · How to be the Employee Your Company Can’t Live Without
   · The Rules of Work
   · The Leader in You
   · Managing Up
   
7. When you need them to work after office hours or on weekends for good reasons, tell them frankly about your dilemma – and that this will be their favor to you, and you will let them decide if they can do it or not. Most of the time they will do it. People are more willing to go the extra mile as favors than to be forced. But you'd have to do your part first. Give.. then take.
   
8. When you’re asked to select only one person for a highly sought-after assignment, let it be known to the whole team that this will happen. After you decide talk to those who didn’t get it first. They’ll know that you did not forget them. They’ll feel important to get the news first, although not a good news for them.
   
9. Thank them on their anniversaries with the company. Mention their specific contributions that made a difference. They’ll know you value their presence.
   
10. Create a fun & positive team identity. Make a crazy team tshirt and give to everyone in the team.
11. Spoil the market. Make your engineers feel valuable & appreciated to be part of the team. An emotional hook lasts longer than a financial one.