认可：提振兼职员工士气的法宝

    即使是公司的专职员工，要想激起他们的工作热情也是非常困难的事情，更别提在家办公的员工或兼职员工了。而在Stella & Dot公司，这已经成为一种常态。公司CEO杰西卡•赫林曾与人合作成立过婚庆网站WeddingChannel.com，目前她在Stella & Dot公司要负责管理10,000多名设计师，其中大部分都是兼职。公司通过在线和室内展示会的方式销售饰品。那么，激励兼职员工的秘诀何在？以专业人员的标准对待他们。她说：“认可是最强有力的工具，而且不需要任何成本。”因此，她特别强调公司招聘经理需要有一种天生的感恩的心。她补充说：“发现人们正在做有益于公司的事情是一门细致的艺术。”以下就是她给出的建议。

提供公司自行设计的培训

    许多大公司都提供继续教育和个人成长的机会，我们也有一个网络学院，为所有设计师提供职业发展培训。不过，培训内容均由我们自己编写，这是因为现有的资料并不符合我们的要求。它们高高在上。如果人们参加我们的测试，给出了正确答案，就会看到一个小小的视频文件，对你说：“亲爱的，恭喜你，答对了！准备大干一场吧。”这种方式能让销售人员瞬间得到巨大的满足感。我们很专业，但这并不意味着我们就不能具有幽默感。

了解员工

    虽然我的设计师们很少到办公室来，但我每天都会亲自给至少10位设计师发电子邮件、打电话。我给他们发短信息，或者在他们的Facebook页面上留言。我每天都会找出他们的成功之处，送上我的赞美，这已经成了我每天必修课的一部分。我们提升员工时，都会给他们送去鲜花、香槟或巧克力。还记得上一次你老板送花给你，对你说“非常感谢”这样的话是在什么时候吗？这些其实只是举手之劳，但却影响深远。

请优秀员工分享心得

    我们不会对成功的员工指手画脚，告诉他们该如何如何，而是让他们来告诉我们，以及其他人那些做法行得通。我们有一位设计师就站在自己家中，以她自己的生活的真实空间作为背景，网络摄像头前和我们分享了她的故事。我想说的是，并非只有你一个人每天忙得团团转。要知道，这个设计师有5个孩子，但你可以看看她取得的成绩。亲眼看看她是怎么做到的，这样，你也可以做到。我们总是努力发现员工的闪光点。例如，他们在某个月份的工作格外出色，我们会关注他们在这个过程中都克服了哪些难关。总之，在肯定员工时，我们很注意方式，不会让其他人觉得我们在批评、指责他们。

    译者：阿龙/汪皓

    Getting your regular employees fired up about their jobs is hard enough. But try doing it when they're working from home and part-time. For Jessica Herrin, that's business as usual at Stella & Dot, where the onetime WeddingChannel.com co-founder now oversees 10,000 mostly part-time stylists. They sell accessories online and through in-home trunk shows. The key to motivating a freelance workforce? Treat them like the professionals that they are. "Recognition is the most powerful currency you have, and it costs you nothing," she says. That's why she makes a point of hiring managers who have a natural sense of gratitude. "It is the careful art of catching somebody doing something good that you want them to repeat," she adds. Here's her advice.

Provide your own training

    We have an online university, so we're providing professional development, just like great companies provide continued learning and the opportunity to grow. We write all of our own content because a lot of what's out there isn't right in tone. It talks down to people. When someone takes our quiz and gets an answer right, a little video flies in that says, "You got it, baby, you're ready to go." It gives salespeople a lot of instant gratification. Just because we're professional doesn't mean that we're not fun too.

Get to know your employees

    Although my stylists rarely come into my office, I personally e-mail and call at least 10 stylists every day. I text them, I post on their Facebook page. Part of my regular to-do list is to find and celebrate successes. When we promote someone, we send flowers, champagne, or chocolates. When was the last time your boss sent you flowers and said, "I appreciate you"? It's so simple, and it goes so far with people.

Top performers trade tips

    Rather than mandate how a successful employee acts, we let them tell us -- and everyone else -- what works. We have a stylist tell her own story into a webcam, standing in her home, getting recognized with her own world in the background, giving a message to everyone. I like to tell people that it's not like you have the monopoly on busy. This person's got five kids, just so you know, and look at what she did. Here's how she did it, and you can do it too. We try to specifically have a takeaway. For example, if they had an amazing month, what were the challenges they had to overcome to get there? When we recognize people we do it in a way that's not preachy or demoralizing to others.