It looks very simple, doesn't it? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule seems so all-inclusive that it should be a fix for all human relations. Simply behave toward everybody the same way you would appreciate being taken care of and all will run smoothly, right?
But wait... It seems that something is wrong...
Would your twenty-two year old big shot sales guy want the same goals out of their job that your forty year old office clerk does? Is your technical staff aiming for similar goals and reimbursement as your receptionist?
Indeed, their needs and wants are quite different, however many bosses apply a universal approach when appreciating their key staff. When a large project is finished, all staff gets an identical reward, be it breakfast or a gas card. Giving an identical reward to everyone is what's right, isn't it? But do you think it's truly fair for your best people?
Retain Your Most Valuable Employees
Too few entrepreneurs realize that the 80/20 rule lesson regarding their workers teaches that only 20% of their workers produce most of your entire company's bottom-line. Further, just about every management book talks about case studies which compare the productivity of the best workers to the least capable (yet still useful) workers. The difference between the best and worst have been found to be as high as one hundred to 1. The nearest these numbers ever seem to get to one another is at best 4:1. So now how much more does this extraordinary variance in value wind up costing?
Assuming that your yearly salary for the company's least capable person is $30,000, how much are you paying your best staff? Since a fair bit of the costs for staff stay the same, they don't increase in relation to base pay. For the intent of this examination, let's use some worst-case numbers, $60k. Assuming that your $30k employee generates $30k of value (otherwise they'd be gone, right?). If your best employee is a mere four times more productive than the worst, they deliver far more value for how much more they cost.
If your company pays for more classes for your bottom-rung people, costs instantly increase, but without any assurance that productivity will similarly increase. Also consider how much of your salary is factored into the "cost" of this moderately competent employee? Probably none. Management costs are usually invisible, factored away as overhead. It certainly
feels like you're being productive - trying your hardest to bring along the strugglers, hoping that they eventually rise above their shortcomings. Consider how much of your time is spent with either of these employees:
- The self-managing dynamo who, with speed of a bullet train, handles customer complaints, delivers defect-free results, and even cleans up after himself in the break room
- The trainee who has some interpersonal issues, occasional product defects, problems listening to reason, and shows up late to work due to the occasional hangover
Indeed your best performers are worth their salt. As such, it's crucial for every small business owner to retain their top performers, as this group of your greatest makes up the bulk of your team's value. Their experience with your unique systems combined with their talents and ability to get the job done in a pinch makes them nigh unto invaluable.
So, what's the most effective way to invest in your best people? What should you do to indicate to those top performers that they're wanted, and boost the chance that they'll be there for you when you need them again?
What's the most effective method for motivating your superstars?
Pay them cold, hard cash. If your $30k worker puts in 80-hour weeks during the final push of a key effort, most exclusively cash rewards would come in at a rate
far below minimum wage. Simply rethink this choice. This can be extremely offensive, seen, instead, as a paltry offering to pay them off and ease a boss' guilty conscience. If you do decide to follow this path, once the taxman gets his share, the ultimate value of this money might end up being far less than it costs to give it out.
Pay for a training trip. Some folks might be happy to be rewarded with a chance to attend a course in a new city with the company picking up the check. They may even try to spend the weekend before or after, at their expense, just to cash in on this opportunity to take a breather. Watch out though, this could come off to your high achiever that you thought their performance less than desirable. They might assume that they have to have further classes to be deserving of the eventual reward that they hope to get. If your worker is thin-skinned, they could get concerned that their extra work they exerted was an indicator to you that they were struggling along. Suggesting a training incentive in this situation could be mistaken that their difficulty was apparent to you, and you are now taking remedial steps.
Offer a promotion. Though the allure of an impressive designation or material gains accompanying a promotion may motivate some, more and more workers have come to recognize the hazards of the Peter Principle. They fear that their work lives will shift drastically if they become a position of greater responsibility. Your superstar staff probably
delight in their current job. That's why they're so incredibly talented at it. Before trying out a promotion as praise, make sure that the new position honest takes advantage of the skills and capabilities present in these talented folks, or you may end up having to replace them. If you decide to go for it, ensure your key staffer knows that it's alright to get their old job again if something doesn't work out in the newly promoted position.
Give additional holiday time. Everybody needs time off, right? However, if you offer this bonus to a very dedicated worker who is so wholly dedicated to their job that they don't have many friends of the workplace, they may not know how to handle this free time.
Do unto others as they would have done unto them.
You can see that there are innumerable ways to reward your best. It's easy to be tempted to offer each of your workers the same reward. It's
especially dangerous to offer them what you would want.
These examples take us to a very simple process:
communication. Simply put,
ask your superstars what they
really would like. What is it that will allow them to truly understand that they are respected? The experiences that causes a person to become an excellent account rep is quite distinct than the life of a great office manager. You may be amazed by the replies you are told. If truth be told, your staff may be surprised, as well, to find out that you are actually listening to their ideas to decide upon the award for their hard work.
- Do they want money?
- Do they want more demanding work?
- Do they want a little relaxation time to appreciate their children?
- Would they like more mentoring?
- Do they merely want to be recognized at a company gathering?
- What have they received in the past that really made them feel good?
The results can differ drastically for each person, depending upon their long-term objectives, how their needs at this time are being fulfilled in Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and the current difficulties in their life. Don't make the mistake of taking for granted that the answer you receive today will hold true throughout your high performer's career.
In the end, as opposed to attempting to reward your people the way you would like to be rewarded, break The Golden Rule, and invest your time actually understanding their needs and wants. By involving them in decisions that affect their lives so immediately, you might inadvertently cash in on the Hawthorn Effect, and motivate your people by showing you care. You will probably find that you've created a work environment that makes your high achievers happier than they've ever been. Accordingly, they will uncover methods to push themselves to new levels of efficiency, understanding that their pains will bring about rewards that are truly significant to
them. You may even earn their respect and allegiance for a lifetime.
