This topic was submitted by Keith Gonzalez for a new discussion. What do you think?
I’ve noticed in my past employee population, some of my students rise to the occasion of ownership of the tasks that need to get done. I’ve consciously tried to give this opportunity to each student worker to take on the tasks of the lab, showing them the equipment, how to set it up, and the scheduling calendar. Some students automatically checked the calendar during their shift to make sure everything was covered. Others just couldn’t care less. I know that each student comes with her/his own motivations for success. I just wonder if there are some techniques in getting the ones who are less involved in their jobs to become more attentive to their duties without me having to always be “nagging” them.
I think if you have hired the right students for the job and laid out your expectations for success in training you’ll find yourself nagging less. Frequent feedback and assessment also helps reluctant and perhaps “less motivated” staff gain competence and commitment.
With student employees I think is is critical to remember the importance of situational leadership. Some need much more direction than coaching or support while others are willing and able to run on their own.
Have you tried publicly praising the ones who do it the way you want it done? Maybe you already do this, but you convey a number of message when you state what things you liked on something like like a periodic newsletter or blog or bulletin board on which you post information, like, “Kudos this week to Madge, who not only did what I expect in checking the calendar, but observed a conflict while I was away from the office and came up with an effective and appropriate resolution. Good job, Madge.”
Things you have done there:
Madge feels good.
Everyone who sees it can be reminded that the task is an expectation.
People who want to be the recipients of kudos can see that there was a direct connection between doing this expected task and you feeling that Madge is doing a good job.
Your staff understands that you will notice.
You don’t have to feel like all your feedback is nagging.
Obviously, it takes some getting used to to phrase this sort of thing in a way that feels natural to you, and that doesn’t come across as chirpy or patronizing, but I think it’s worthwhile even though half the time half the student staff then rotates out in just a few terms and it feels like it’s kind of never-ending.
Though I don’t supervise students, I work in a suite of offices with student ambassadors. They are so willing to help and when asked to share thoughts about solving a problem, the responses are great and their motivation is high. Purposeful curiosity is a tool to engage and build solution based thinking. My two cents.
This is a common problem, Chris, and I’m so glad you brought it up! My office has a rotating group of 3-5 student workers each school year to cover the front desk, do data entry, and help us market our services and events. I’ve come face-to-face with the motivation problem many times and I can tell you that it will not go away on its own. Checking in at the beginning of each shift can be an important way of communicating what needs to be done. Periodically, the office is slow and the student worker will spend that time on Facebook. While it may seem harmless in the moment, I’ve noticed that it can have a detrimental effect on his/her entire work, because of its all-consuming nature.
Here is a suggestion, based upon something that worked well for me with a group of student workers a few years back. I got a clipboard and on it placed a list of things that were happening that day (guests, events, deadlines, etc.), routine duties that needed to be done (by shift), and special projects that could be volunteered for. I found that the students loved the special projects. They especially loved when I asked them for their input as to what could be improved around the office. Before you knew it, one student worker was reorganizing the library (which included creating a spreadsheet of available book, identifying those that were outdated, and developing an ingenious color-coded system of labeling by subject).
The moral of the story: if you treat your student workers as full-fledged members of them team (even including them in team meetings, when you can) and try to identify their specific area of gifting, they will take the most routine job and make it their own.
I’m a fan of coaching student employees, rather than assessing them. Yes, coaching involves some assessment, but the key difference is that students often arrive with an underdeveloped sense of how they can and should contribute to the workplace. I think if you simply assess them, they learn where they need improvement but not how to improve.
In coaching, set clear expectations with each student, insure they understand those expectations, meet with each of them once a week or twice a month, and help them learn that path to successfully meeting expectations.