It would be misleading to make managers and supervisors think that there's a secret to motivating and inspiring their fellow employees. In fact, only the employees themselves can do that, and so the role of the management is to create and foster an environment in which employees are given the opportunity to seek personal motivation and inspiration in their jobs and careers.



This might sound harder than it seems, but the truth is that everyone knows how to create such an environment. If you asked yourself what would make you happy (at the workplace), most people would come up with things such as job satisfaction, good working environment (i.e. people you work with and the resources provided to facilitate this), good employers, and the list goes on and on. One thing that underpins all of these elements is the extent to which an employee's skills are utilized in their position within the organization.

One reason retailers hesitate to hire over-qualified staff is that they often become bored or dissatisfied with their work, once they've mastered and fine tuned the key elements required to perform the ascribed task efficiently. In other words, they have skills that are not being used, and therefore their talents are not applied to the extent that they find ideal for their qualifications. An employer needs to make sure that the skills and talents of their employees are being applied to their full potential, because that is the only way that employees will find work satisfying and challenging at the same time. How do employers do this?

Everyone has their dreams and goals, and each one of these dreams and goals are uniquely different. What employers need to understand is that putting people together means finding ways for people to help each other achieve and navigate their way towards those goals, rather than the employer forcing the company's ideals and goal onto the employees of the organization. Therefore, give the employees what they want and need from their jobs, and they'll give you what the organization wants and need from them. Only by the two different parties (i.e. the employer and the employee) working towards their own goals can conflicts be avoided.

Remember, the employee is not being paid for a company to do a job, they are accepting an offer from the company to supply them with their expertise and skills. The working relationship between a employer and employee should be one of mutual respect, understanding, and the aim to help each other realize their own dreams and goals.