Igniting the Spark in Your Employees

Create a fair and transparent workplace that allows for autonomy and is free of fear

Rajesh Srivastava

[Photograph by Chris Isherwood under creative commons]

Episode 6 - The New Rules of Business

What should you do to engage your employees? If you recall Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it could be that your enterprise is merely satisfying their basic physiological needs, but is expecting them to be self-actualized. To expect self-motivation and commitment, the intervening hierarchy of needs—safety, a sense of belonging, and esteem—must be met.

Make employees feel secure in their jobs and build a culture of trust to fulfil the other two needs.  

To build trust, ensure that people work without fear, allow autonomy, have a fair and transparent system, have clear communications, and honour your promises.

At the same time, follow the maxim: trust but verify. Create a system to identify those who misuse the trust and take swift action against them.

Also read the related column here

If you have a question, write in to askrajesh@foundingfuel.com.

 

Was this article useful? Sign up for our daily newsletter below

Comments

Login to comment

About the author

Rajesh Srivastava
Rajesh Srivastava

Corporate Veteran, Thought Leader,

Educator & Bestselling Author

Rajesh Srivastava earned his engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, in Kanpur, and studied management at the Indian Institute of Management, in Bangalore. He has over three decades of experience creating value in fields as diverse as the alcoholic beverage industry, food and commodities, personal care, lifestyle industries, education & publishing. He has conceptualised, launched, and nurtured over fifty products which enrich the lives of Indian consumers’ every day. Brands he has promoted include Bagpiper, McDowell Signature, Royal Challenge, Blue Riband, Blue Riband Duet, Captain Cook, Park Avenue Personal Care Products.

In 2002, he was named President of J. K. Helene Curtis Ltd, a Raymond Group Company. Over the next three years, he steered it to a 33% revenue growth (CGR) and doubled profits, despite operating at a time when the FMCG industry was recording a near-flat growth.

Mr. Srivastava also writes for journals and appears in broadcast media on topics of market analysis and trend recognition. His articles and columns have been published in Mint, Telegraph, Outlook, Mid-Day. He has also been interviewed as a business and marketing analyst on BBC World, Aaj Tak, and CNBC.

He has been invited as a keynote speaker, by premier schools, business schools, hospitals and corporates such as IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Nagpur, IE Business School, Spain, Jamna Bai Narsee International School, Mumbai, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Godrej & Boyce, Tata Telecom, Indian Oil Corporation, ICICI Bank, Crompton Greaves, Alstom India, Marico’s Ascent Foundation, AGC Networks Limited, Valmont Corporations, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, S&P Global, BSH Home Appliances and John Deere.

He has also been conducting customised workshops for many of the finest corporates including Mercedes Benz, Siemens India, Reliance Industries Ltd., Citibank, and Credit Suisse.

In 2011, he was named the Chief Operating Officer of S. P. Jain School of Global Management - Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney. He has been awarded the Best Professor Award for two consecutive years - 2009 & 2010. He also served as Adjunct Faculty at IIM Indore between 2008 to 2015.

He practises as an Independent Consultant and coaches CEOs.

Penguin Random House has published his two books, ‘The New Rules of Business’ & ‘The 10 New Life-Changing Skills’. Both have become national bestsellers. 

Also by me

You might also like