Developing corporate culture to keep staff highly motivated


Managers (and particularly owners) of businesses often lose sight of the fact that grass-roots staff are less concerned concerning the business than are the bosses. Their motivations and aims are often very different from those of senior management - and paying them a salary doesn't necessarily guarantee that they'll usually act exactly as management would wish.

For marketers, the problem is especially severe when dealing using the sales force. Salespeople usually function away from the company, and thus away from supervision: even though they are usually paid commission, this is no guarantee that they will really do what they say they're going to do, go exactly where they say they are going to go, and see the people they say they're going to see. In brief, almost everything has to be taken on trust.

Creating a corporate culture in which everyone feels committed to the aims of the firm will create a social pressure on staff to do what they're supposed to complete, when they are supposed to complete it. This social pressure could be a great deal more motivating than money, or indeed anything else: the esprit de corps that makes soldiers go into battle is according to it.

Amway will be the ultimate company for developing a corporate culture. Founded in the 1950s, Amway makes use of a direct sales force of more than 3 million people worldwide (12,000 in Britain alone) to sell household cleaning products.

Motivating and controlling such a diverse sales force would be impossible in any conventional way, so Amway relies on its corporate culture - derived from American free enterprise principles - to make sure everybody is going in the exact same path.

Salespeople are known as ABOs - Amway Business Owners - which instantly provides a label suggesting independence. Motivational tapes and books are accompanied by normal meetings in which salespeople are given pep talks, frequently in an almost cultlike atmosphere.

The net result would be to build a feeling of being component of something large and important. This contributes to a sense of wanting to help the process along by selling more, by recruiting more salespeople, and by growing the Amway business.

Amway also supports a number of ethical and charitable activities, which further builds a corporate culture according to helping other people to improve their lives. In turn, Amway salespeople can (and do) feel proud to say that they're working for Amway.

Have a clear idea yourself of what your corporate vision is going to be. Communicate the vision consistently and frequently. Ensure that the staff can see that there's something in it for them in terms of self-esteem and the esteem of other people. Help staff to realize the vision.

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This article was sent to us by: Leah Rogers at 01202011

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