As a final note on the Millennials, Kiplinger pointed out that they are remarkably optimistic, confident about their futures, eager to take on challenges in life and are open to change, just what we need.
Diversity in the workforce is turning out to be a big advan- tage at Dotson because it brings different ways of thinking to our many teams. One caution, however, as pointed out by Betty Shanahan, CEO of the Society of Women Engineers is that we must be aware of the illusion of inclusion. Just because a Hispanic or woman is on the team does not mean that you have diversity. It is very important that individuals are encouraged to bring their true self to the organization and not adapt or conform to the dominate group norms. Only when everyone comes with their true self do you have the benefits of diversity.
6) Create a motivation Culture
After 40 years in management, I have come to the conclusion that everything that I thought provided long- term motivation was wrong. Most importantly, I now realize that it isn’t money. Pay can, however, be a de- motivator if not fairly administered.
One of my favorite books is “Drive,” by Daniel Pink. He clearly and convincingly provides evidence that more money is an incentive in activities that require only me- chanical skills. If an activity requires even rudimentary cognitive skills, a monetary bonus will actually produce less. There is a superb video where Daniel Pink illustrates this phenomenon on YouTube (search RSA Animate Drive), which has been viewed nearly five million times. Pink points out that one of the motivators is mastery of a task. People want to get good at things and to make this happen, they need education. Dotson started a reimbursement program for any class an individual might choose to take. At minimum, we pay 50% (up to $1,500 a year). Depending on the class, we will pay 100% and allow the employee to take the class during work time. Our initial fear was that this might cost us significant dollars if everyone took us up on the of- fer. This concern was quickly offset when we realized what an incredible company we would have if every employee invested $1,500 in their personal education.
Another motivational realization for me was highlighted in a January 2010 “Har- vard Business Review” article on “What Really Motivates Workers.” The author’s
International Journal of Metalcasting/Fall 2011
conclusion was this: “When workers sense they’re making headway, their drive to succeed is at its peak.” We know this from our own lives. When we are working on a diffi- cult problem, we feel good when we are making progress. We get excited when new equipment is being installed. The activity around a Kaizen event gets people involved in im- provement. The nice thing about understanding this motiva- tion is that as managers, we can provide this motivation by regularly letting people know progress is being made.
7) Create feedback mechanisms
It was 1973 and I was new at this game. Bud, a 60-year-old, was in my office for a review. He was now sales manager for our foundry and before his last foundry closed, he was running everything there. Bud impressed me, and I learned something every day from his knowledge of the foundry in- dustry. I went through the review thinking that I had covered
Figure 4. Dotson engagement survey results on the 11 questions with 90% or more of the employees in agreement.
Figure 5. Dotson engagement survey questions that had the least agreement. 11
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