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Fueling the fire: Motivating your staff over the next week

Take a lesson from the 'age of rail' to keep your stores humming through this last week of holiday shopping.

December 17, 2014 by Doug Fleener — President and Managing Partner, Dynamic Experiences Group, LLC

One of my favorite analogies at this time of year is comparing the task of motivating and inspiring our teams to a fireman's job on the old steam engine locomotives.

In the early days of railroading, a person called the fireman was responsible for maintaining constant steam pressure by continuously throwing wood or shoveling coal into the locomotive's firebox.

If the fireman didn't maintain the correct level of steam, pressure would fall and the engine would slow. When the train was going up a mountain the fireman would have to add wood or coal at an even faster rate so the train could maintain its speed.

Your role over the next week is to maintain your team's positive attitude, customer focus, and emphasis on maximizing every customer opportunity.

As store fireman — excuse me, leader — you need to continue fueling your team's fire. Instead of wood or coal, your fuel includes the following:

1. Praise the right behaviors and actions, and of course great results.As leaders we sometimes think it but forget to say it. That doesn’t fuel the fire.

2. Thank people for their effort and contribution. People appreciate it when you express your thanks and gratitude. I knew one manager who thanked her employees for coming in at the start of their holiday shift. She rightfully believed it was a choice for people to work retail during the holidays or not, and she always wanted to share her gratitude.

3. Give people a much needed moment off the floor.Sometimes people just need a break from the craziness, but they don’t take it because the store is so busy. Unless the store is extremely slammed, insist that each person take five or ten minutes to refuel and recharge off the floor. You’ll be amazed at the impact that can have on sales.

4. Let go of the little stuff.So what if the backroom or break area is a bit messy. Does it really matter if someone is three minutes late coming back from lunch? Making a big deal over those things is only burning fuel that takes away from what really matters.

Some owners/managers/executives wait until the end of the holiday to do many of these things. They tell themselves that things are too busy to bother with it now. They figure they'll show their appreciation afterwards.

If a locomotive fireman did that, the train would run out of steam reaching the top of the mountain.

If we wait too long to fuel our teams they will run out of steam. Opportunities will be missed.

It's up to you to maintain the fire. You have the fuel.

(Photo by JamesPetts.)

About Doug Fleener

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