How to Bake Employee Engagement into Your Company

Managers and recruiters would rejoice if they could get inside employees' minds to know what motivates them. But until Google develops mind-reading devices, managers are turning to the bountiful lists that live on the web for tips on how to inspire and retain top-notch employees. Those aren't enough, argues Jay Forte on Human Capitalist. Instead, managers need to turn to real-life examples of companies that are doing it right — and wrong — for truly actionable advice.

One company that motivates employees through its unorthodox customer service — similar to that of Zappos — is G Adventures, an international travel adventure company. After reading the book "Looptail: How One Company Changed the World By Reinventing Business" by Bruce Poon Tip, CEO of G Adventures, Forte gleaned three important tips for motivating employees and boosting employee performance.

Employees are often a company's most valuable asset, so hiring new employees that fit the job position and company culture is essential. To hire wisely, G Adventures has developed a process that evaluates the candidate's behavior and experience. Says Forte, "They have a personal commitment to only let the right employees into the organization because these employees will be in direct contact with their customers. They value their customer relationships so significantly that only allow those employees who fit the job to get the job."

Once the right employees are working for the organization, managers should set clear goals and expectations and provide training and opportunities for career growth. "To be able to do this, all managers [at G Adventures] take the time to know their employees — their talents, interests and values — in order to know how to support their growth, advancement and commitment."

To keep employees motivated and driven to perform their best, companies provide incentives and rewards, but G Adventures uses a different model for incentivizing employees — "Employees control how much of their incentives they achieve based on their effort and hard work."

Read more at Human Capitalist.

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