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KEEP 'EM GOING: MOTIVATING YOUR WORKFORCE TOWARD HIGH PERFORMANCE
By Gregory P. Smith - Consultant
Money may attract employees to the front door, but something else has to keep them from going out the back. Managing people takes an entirely different approach than it did just a year ago. Managers and supervisors must place equal importance on employee development as they do on guests and customers. Today’s workers don’t just expect a paycheck, but good employees also want personal fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment. A well-administered program allows people to celebrate success, have fun, and feel good about who they are and whomever they work for.
The size of your organization and the age of your workforce dictates which type of program works best. One organization improved motivation and almost eliminated turnover by creating a family environment including special incentives like these below. While not all of these ideas may work for you, I hope they will spark some thought on ways you can do similar things to motivate and encourage employees.
Every year employees celebrate their work anniversary with a cake and receive $50 for each year they have worked for you. Employees’ children receive a $25 gift certificate on their birthdays.
They reward employees with a “Safety Bonus Program.” Each employee’s driving record is screened twice a year. Anyone who has a citation is removed from the program. Those employees remaining in the program at the end of the year split $2000.
To minimize the “we-they” syndrome, every Friday employees rotate jobs for one hour. For example, the counter person works on the makeline. Someone from management will work in the kitchen, etc. This builds a stronger team and improves communication within the company.
One of the easiest and most effective programs to initiate is peer recognition. Peer recognition gives employees the power to reward each other for doing a good job. It works because employees themselves know who works hard and deserves recognition. After all, managers can’t be everywhere all the time, and employees are in the best position to catch people doing the right things.
Queen or King for the Quarter.
Dayton Metro Housing created the QUEST program to reward their workforce for demonstrating good customer service skills. Each quarter, employees receive three tokens. When they spot a fellow employee or manager providing good customer service, they hand them a QUEST token. At the end of the quarter, the person with the highest number of tokens is crowned king or queen. Those with eight or more tokens are “knighted.” All the King, Queens, and Knights attend a special banquet. At the end of the year all token winners can use their tokens to bid on various awards and prizes. Furthermore, the individual with the highest yearly number of tokens is bequeathed a “scepter.”
You’re Magnificent!
At the MAG Insurance Company they use a form of recognition called “You’re Magnificent!” The form is printed in triplicate and given to all employees to nominate each other for outstanding behavior. The top copy goes to the recognized employee. The second copy goes to the employee’s supervisor. The third copy is posted for everyone to see on a bulletin board. Once a month they take the posted copies and randomly draw the names of five individuals called, “You’re Magnificents” for $10 gift certificates. Then three additional “Magnificents” are drawn each quarter for a $250 gift certificate.
No-Mistake Bingo
Try this: for every mistake-free day where no orders are messed up or complaints called in, employees are awarded a bingo number. Each employee has a card and plays the game. A pot grows at the rate of $1 per day with a starting amount of $100. The employee who wins at No-Mistake bingo is awarded the cash in the pot. If they go over 100 days without a mistake, it increases by $2 per day. If you have a mistake, the pot falls back down to $100 and it starts over again. If someone wins, the pot remains at same pay out level, and continues to grow $1 or $2 per day.
A work environment that attracts, keeps, and motivates its workforce is one that gives workers a sense of pride, accomplishment, and purpose in what they do. These informal programs provide an effective strategy for motivating employees and they are simple to administer. They do not cost much, do not take much time, and do not complicate the payroll. Instead of providing cash incentives, you can substitute by providing winners with extra breaks, movie tickets, time off, t-shirts, and other small gifts. If you would like a free subscription to our newsletter, please email us the word “Navigator” to info@chartcourse.com.