If Only Fabio Capello Had Used Company Gifts
July 21st, 2010 by admin
Ok, so maybe they wouldn’t have helped. It has been discussed that a good World Cup for England could have provided a vital stimulus for the economy at a vital time. With a gloomy budget and negative headlines everywhere you look, a good World Cup run, beginning with a win over Slovenia, could have been the pick-me-up the nation needed.So much for that. Who would have a predicted a sneaky win against the corporate gifts in the tournament, followed by a thorough thrashing by our good friends from Germany? Let’s just hope that beating the Aussies in the cricket followed by a good Wimbledon for Andy Murray makes up for the disappointment of a shocking World Cup.Anyway, with that rant over with, let’s try and make sure we don’t all make the personalised pens in the workplace that Fabio Capello made with the England squad. Much has been made of his hard, disciplinarian approach, and for years business gurus have argued the benefits and drawbacks of the carrot or stick method of motivation.It is fairly obvious which side of the fence Mr Capello favours, with strict discipline and a culture of fear the preferred method of motivation chosen by “The Squadfather”. There were certainly signs of his icy exterior melting towards the end of the tournament, when he offered the squad beer the night before their sole victory against Slovenia. But while it wasn’t the beer that lead to the victory (although you never know…) having a break from the strict regime and being given a reward certainly goes a long way towards improving morale.It is the same in business. A motivated workforce who feel that their efforts are being rewarded will always produce more results than one that lives in an atmosphere of negativity. Although there will always be the argument that discipline has to be enforced, especially with a camp full of multi-millionaire playboy footballers, in the real world employees respond better to incentives and rewards. With a motivated workforce being driven by positive management, discipline takes care of itself.Corporate gifts and awards can provide fantastic motivational tools, and their affect on motivating a workforce cannot be ignored. Whether they are used as sales incentives or as rewards for good performance, corporate gifts can improve team morale and lead to a happy and efficient workplace. In these slightly chastened financial times, when awarding big bonuses isn’t always an option, corporate gifts can provide an affordable way of keeping hard working staff motivated.