Several years after buying a practice in Saco, Maine, Dr. Sandra Mitchell had a team of mostly young staff she found to be generally bright, competent and reliable. But Mitchell felt the practice was suffering from a pattern of attitude problems among her employees — from petulant behavior to an uninspired approach to work.

The problem, Mitchell’s office manager had told her repeatedly, appeared to be simple:

“I do not compliment them on their job performance often enough,” Mitchell wrote in a Veterinary Information Network (VIN) message board post in April, asking for advice from fellow veterinarians ( Message Boards Link ).

The challenge of finding practical, effective and affordable ways to motivate employees is common to virtually all businesses. Countless management books offer tips on everything from designing perk programs to perfecting words of praise. In veterinary clinics, where many staff members take on a high level of responsibility and employer and employees interact all day long, staff morale and performance are constant concerns.

Motivating staff may be getting trickier as the Millennial generation — those born between 1980 and 2000 — makes up an ever-larger share of the labor force. According to some studies, as well as popular perception, this generation was brought up on abundant praise and now needs it at work.

In the message board discussion started by Mitchell’s post, VIN members offered a long list of approaches they’ve used to help keep employees happy and productive. One sends handwritten notes of appreciation. Another gives small gifts purchased at clearance sales. Food and drink seem to be universally effective.
“Shocking what a couple $20 pizzas can do for morale!” wrote Dr. Ginny Kunch, of Anchorage, Alaska.

Another VIN member, Dr. Michal Harris of Orange Park, Fla., uses a game she calls Blackout Bingo. She creates a bingo card but instead of numbers it lists 25 tasks such as “carry bag of food for elderly client” or “explain one procedure to five clients.” At the clinic’s monthly staff meeting, Harris gives a $100 gift certificate to the person who fills out the Blackout Bingo card first. If each staff member has completed it, they all get a $50 gift card. Harris said the employees can get help from anyone on staff for the game, and that it has helped to teach teamwork to younger staff.

“It’s in everyone’s best interest to finish Blackout Bingo,” she said.

But Mitchell was already taking many such steps to motivate her staff. She provided a monthly staff lunch, pizza on busy days, and often brought in snacks or ice cream. She gave out gift cards for exceptional performance, and even took staff on a winter ski trip and a summer overnight whitewater rafting trip.

Instead, it was lack of verbal praise that gave Mitchell trouble.

“It really is unnatural for me to do the all day long ‘good jobs,” Mitchell said. Raised with what she describes as “a hard German work ethic,” Mitchell never expected to be complimented for merely fulfilling her responsibilities. She struggled with the idea that her employees did, apparently, need routine praise.

Figuring out how to handle Millennial-generation workers has been a worry for baby-boomer managers for years. Journalist Ron Alsop, a longtime reporter and editor for the Wall Street Journal, is a frequent speaker on the dynamics of the millennial generation and author of the 2008 book “The Trophy Kids Grow Up.” He writes on his webpage that “employers are facing some of the biggest management challenges they’ve ever encountered. They are trying to integrate the most demanding and most coddled generation in history into a workplace shaped by the driven baby-boom generation.”

According to David Bowles, Ph.D., co-author of the 2009 book “Employee Morale: Driving Performance in Challenging Times,” performance is the key outcome of high morale, and the reason why it should be taken so seriously.

“Recognition is one of the most powerful drivers of morale,” Bowles said. “The whole aspect of morale is built around relationships and the connection we feel to the organization and the job. The relationship with the boss is key; without that being in good shape, morale at the individual and group levels becomes very difficult to achieve.  As part of this relationship we need to have some feedback to tell us how we're doing, a pat on the back when it’s good and guidance when it isn't so good.  When we don't get it, especially the positive part, over time it demoralizes us.”

In the thread, VIN members offered a number of suggestions on how to give praise. They included: trying to praise each person once a day; praising someone every time you leave an exam room; being sure to say thank you and please; and making your thanks more like praise when someone has dealt well with a difficult or upset client, poorly behaved pet, or a difficult procedure. “Thanks for holding that naughty Fluffy” is helpful as well as respectful in acknowledging a job well done.

In the thread, Mitchell asked how to give more positive feedback to her employees. It worked: After starting to give compliments throughout the day rather than just for large issues, Mitchell noticed an improvement in staff attitude within 10 days, she said in an interview. She also implemented Harris’ “happy jar.”

“I own the practice and my staff runs it,” Mitchell said. “Without them I couldn’t do any of the stuff that I do. It’s like a marriage: I have to give and they have to give. I have to make it comfortable for them to do their jobs. They just need constant hand holding and back scratching that I have not provided.”