Specific - Every goal must be specific. It is not enough to state, "I want to improve my communication skills." Instead, set a goal such as, "I will learn one new word a day for the next three months." The more specific and detailed a target is, the more you can visualize its outcome.

Motivating - Is the goal important to the person who is responsible for achieving it? If not, they may lose interest, particularly if it is a longer term objective. Once again, this reinforces the concept of involving the employee in the goal setting process.

Achievable -- Goals should have a 75% chance of accomplishment while still challenging the individual to push themselves beyond their existing comfort zone.

Relevant -- Each goal must be relevant to the main objective of the corporation.

Time Bound -- Set a time frame and deadline for each goal. Ensure the deadline is realistic but, at the same time, challenging (Robertson, 2002)."

The second issue for XYZ employees involves diversity. The company has hired many immigrants in the past 12 months and the cultural and language barriers are having a negative impact on production according to the employees interviewed. Diversity is a growing element of business today (Meeting, 2005).

To help change the company needs to implement a diversity awareness program. In this program social events once a month that feature food and music from different nations should be held during an extended companywide lunch period. This will encourage the employees to embrace the differences of others and to find a common ground that they can use to work together with.

A study conducted a decade ago found that employees today are much less loyal than they have been in the past (Pecen, 1996). This may be due to the nationwide downsizing that millions of workers suffered through during the 1970's, and their loyalty shifted from their companies to themselves. Today, motivation has to offer something that is tangible and immediate if the company wants the employees to work hard and stay focused on production.

Business owners across the United States are looking for ways to keep high-quality workers loyal and motivated. On average, American companies lose half of their employees every four years, according to Frederick Reichheld, author of The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits and...

U.S. companies also lose half their customers in five years, he adds, which suggests that employee attrition may have a significant impact on customer loyalty.
Retaining a good employee, however, also affects business productivity; not only does the long-time employee help retain customers, but he can also become better at what he does, growing more productive over the years (Pecen, 1996)."

CONCLUSION

Studies have been conducted for years about how to retain employees. The general consensus is that employees are not as loyal as the used to be and they need personal goals and tangible rewards of they are going to work harder and be more productive. In interviewing the employees of XYZ Corporation it was found that the removal of the previously enjoyed attendance and performance rewards program created the feeling of not being appreciated. Employees also reported a lack of desire to work hard when they would now receive the same pay regardless of their production performance.

In addition the recent hiring of many immigrants created language and cultural barriers between employees which had a negative impact on the company performance.

ABC Research believes after the interview process and literature study that the way to motivate the employees of XYZ is to re-instate the performance and attendance incentive bonus program and to provide a monthly diversity lunch to provide a foundation for employees getting to know each other and embrace their differences.

We believe if these two recommendations are followed the company will enjoy higher production numbers through the efforts of motivated employee efforts.

References

____(2006) Motivating Hispanic Employees: A Practical Guide to Understanding & Managing Hispanic Employees.(Diversity and Global HR)(Book Review)

____(2005) Meeting the challenge of motivating employees to embrace wellness.

HRMagazine;

McKenna, Terry (2002) Motivating the front line. (The Personnel Touch).(employee motivation) National Petroleum News

Nickels, William G. Understanding Business/William G. Nickels, James M. McHugh, Susan M. McHugh. 7th edition

Pecen, Mike (1996) Motivating employees. (Cover Story) Do-It-Yourself Retailing;

Robertson, Kelly (2002). Secrets to motivating your employees.Canadian Manager