Mail-Meals-Money

After spending many of my early years in the Military I often heard "An Army marches on its stomach". As a former member of the Army I can attest to the validity and the importance of chow. We were taught early on that "food is a fuel, if it tastes good that's a bonus" You really learned how to accept this fact when it came to some of the early MRE's. People used to give our cooks a hard time. Granted many times I did not know what I was eating, however it was hot, and Tabasco made it all better. I have seen now, that MRE's are approaching a gourmet meal. (in comparison). It was not just food that kept our morale high and kept us in good spirits. Communication was important.

Mail?was extremely important. I can remember keeping letters in my pocket in the field and re-reading them over and over. Letters from home, friends, and family kept us informed and most often inspired. If you were fortunate enough to receive mail from your significant other often it may have had a great scent to trigger even more memories. We would share each others mail from time to time as well. It was equally disappointing to not hear your name at mail call. Today's soldiers sadly do not get that experience at the same level. Email, and electronic information have replaced it.

Money?was important, but as a young private, it certainly was not very much. We would wait in the pay-line to sign for our check. Then we were allowed to head to the bank to deposit or cash it. Once a month the post practically stopped working for payday. except for banks, the PX, the commissary, and anywhere you could spend your money. Soon after we moved to twice a month pay and direct deposit. I can remember old timers saying " I have more time in the pay-line than you have in the chow line" At that time it was probably true. None the less, Payday was an important day for the Morale of the soldier.

What does this have to do with your company? Great question.

Mail-?

Not necessarily literal mail, although it may arrive in that format. More importantly it is information. Outside of what you may deem critical sensitive information, there is almost no such thing as too much information. What are the companies goals? What does the company care about? What are the companies Social Causes? What does my department need to do to help get there? What do I need to do for my Department? The questions and their format are endless. What is important is that you realize the importance to the team. Help them share the vision by helping them see the vision.

Excessive closed door meetings, clicks at the water cooler, etc., can appear to intentionally exclude others. They begin to feel alone and not important. Possibly moving them into the "quit in place" stage, and they may even become recalcitrant. Feeling ostracized by leadership is a terrible place to be. Involve your team as often as possible. You don't have to lead through consensus, as that is quite frequently impossible, but you should sincerely care and desire to keep your team in the "know". This is part of keeping the "mail moving."

Meals?-

Earlier we discussed literal feeding. Sure you can be like any number of companies that give their team free, coffee, fruit, whiskey etc. (not sure about the whiskey) However that is fleeting and typically not an anchor or a deal breaker. More often the lack of feeling fulfilled at their career, or position, leads to employee atrophy and starvation. If a team member does not feel "fed" or "fulfilled" by their career they will begin to atrophy. This is not a healthy place for the team member, the company or the companies customer. Morale is very contagious. Find out what made your team member choose their career or position with your company. Not the money reason, the "why", find what makes them feel fulfilled, or appreciated. I have seen most team members feel "fed" when they know they matter. The work that they do is important and recognized by leadership, peers and customers. Careful not to "over-feed", as this can create paralysis. They become dependent on praise and do not work independently very well. It is definitely a balancing act and even more in today's ever changing work force. I have found over the years that This is the most important of the 3 M's.

Money-?

So much emphasis is put on this, and so many believe that money is first on the list. Survey after survey have ranked money below; a friendly work environment, flexible schedule, a feeling of belonging, making a difference with the product or service. Yet this is the first place employees and employers go when someone says they are unhappy or are leaving. This is because they are not sure how to fulfill the other two areas. When someone comes to you and says, "I am quitting" the first question should not be where are you going? Why are you going there? It should be " What turned your head" when a person is happy in a relationship, a job, or a career rarely will they turn their head. However when they are unhappy they will begin looking. If its too late to save them, ask them what could have been done different. If they say it is only money, dig deeper. That is rarely the cause. If you throw money at them it is usually temporary and in 6-12 mos you are back at square one again. Money is the hole that you can never ever fill. Don't try to.

In closing;

Feed your team what fills their hearts and minds, fill your team with positive information, and pay them for their worth. Take care of your people and they will take care of the company and your customers. Be an employer of Choice.