Are staff rewards the key to retaining people?

A staff rewards program isn’t going to magically solve any issues your teams may have. Rewards (like pay rises, bonuses and treats) are a short term solution and quickly forgotten if your staff are not happy in their job. No matter how many free lunches you give them, if your team is not motivated and engaged you will not get the results you want and ultimately you may find your best people are moving on to pastures new.

So what is the answer? Well, as always, it’s complicated – you need to look at rewards from a much broader perspective.

Firstly, do you know what makes everyone in your team tick? If you do, then you can shape a ‘rewards program’ for each individual, that is tailored to their top motivators.

For example, the Star profile is motivated by recognition, they could be encouraged by a reward, but only if everyone knew about it! However the Friend profile is more motivated by working in collaboration with a group. Financial or other rewards will have very little effect on this type of person, but working with a good team with shared values and goals is likely to keep them happy.

When you extrapolate the above examples across 9 motivators, many of which have potential to interact with each other, it is easy to see how building a tailored reward program for each team member can be quite a daunting task. But with the right assessment in place, simple and straight forward action plans can be put in place to address these complexities.

Of course, some people ARE motivated by financial rewards (the Builder profile particularly), so it is worth considering a staff rewards program. In recent years these have developed with technology so that now you can subscribe and run your entire program via an online portal. They do offer some useful benefits :-

1. You can often select the type of benefits your team receives
This is great because any reward really does need to be tailored to the individual, some people might like a free gym membership and others would prefer donuts!

2. The automated systems ensure rewards are delivered in a timely fashion
One of the most difficult aspects of a staff reward program is ensuring that milestones are checked and rewards delivered, so that staff don’t feel like they are being forgotten, so the automated programs are great for making sure rewards are given on time

My clients commission me to carry out Team Motivation Reviews for a wide variety of reasons. Some clients want to improve sales or results, others want to know which team members they should be developing or ensure they retain their best team members. Whatever the reason for the initial enquiry, rewarding staff is often a question that comes up at some point. If you ignore the issue, or rely on financially based rewards systems, then you may find your team shrinking quickly!

Leading your teams through significant change

In 2015 global merger and acquisition activity reached an all time high, exceeding the previous high set in 2007. Factors such as cheap debt financing and pressure to improve efficiencies in a slow economy have meant that 2016 is shaping up to be another record year in M&A.

With more companies consolidating you may find that significant change is coming to your organisation. Any change can affect the performance of teams, but significant change, such as a merger or buy out, can be an even more difficult period to lead your team through effectively. So what can you do to help your team achieve in a period of change?

Understand your team members as individuals

How well do you really know your team? It is essential in a period of change that you understand the subtleties of each individual. What are their skills? What motivates them? Do not assume just because people have the same or similar roles that they are the same.

For example, some people embrace change and will be seeing the opportunities to influence it. However others prefer stability, so are likely to be worrying and asking questions about what the changes mean. Your job as a leader is (still) to get the best out of everyone, including establishing how the different types can work together effectively.

Help your team members to understand each other

Once you’ve taken the time to understand what drives and motivates your team it is important that all the team members understand each other. If the team’s top motivators are well aligned you can manage that motivation (and hence performance) at team level. If the motivators are more diverse, you will need to work more at an individual level, which is likely to take more effort and energy.

By engaging the team in this process everyone can help by understanding how to get the best from each other. This will add an extra dimension to your team working, accelerating the success of change management.

Identify individuals who may be ready for a role change

You may find that some of your team members are ready for a change. This may be a change of role within the team, or it may be a move to another team or role. It is important to get these role changes right and ensure that people are happy with the role changes suggested and do not feel that they are being moved as a result of the change in the organisation.

Put the emphasis on communication

Be clear about what you expect from the team and each individual. Help them to define what success looks like, alongside clear objectives and measures. This will not only help your team communicate with each other and work better together, but will also improve their ability to work with other teams, especially those from an organisation you merge with or are acquired by.

If you are not sure how to get started understanding the individuals in your team, get in touch and I’ll talk you through how we can help.

 

Team building sessions – do they work?

I once met with the team leader for a new client who told me he wasn’t too keen on doing the Team Motivation Review his HR Director had contracted me to carry out. When I asked why, he told me that he had spent ‘a small fortune’ on a team building session in the last 6 months and not only were most of the team not very keen, but it made ‘absolutely no difference whatsoever’.

So the question is…..Team Building Sessions, do they work?

Well the short answer is yes, they can, but you must consider a few essential points:

What are the objectives of the Team Building Session?


Obviously the main objective will be bringing the team together, but to what end? Are you hoping to achieve more sales? Perhaps you would like the team to work more effectively together? Are there issues between team members? It is very important to take time to recognise the objectives, before you start planning.

What kind of activity should you pick?

Many activities can be used to create more cohesive teams, but it is essential to pick the right activity for your team and to meet your objectives. If your team like dining out and visiting the theatre in their spare time, then they are unlikely to enjoy orienteering in the Welsh mountains.  It may be a good idea to ask your team what activities they would enjoy, although bear in mind that you can’t please all the people all the time. Also keep in mind that some activities are not conducive to building teams; quad biking for example might be fun, but it is a solo activity and not likely to give any team benefits.

In terms of objectives, if you want to increase sales, find an activity that is sales related, and preferably competitive (but not TOO competitive!).  If you have team cohesion issues, pick an activity that has a defined outcome, where the success of that outcome depends on the team working together.

Hold a pre-meeting

Rather than surprising your team with an announcement of a Team Building Activity, consider holding a pre-meeting with the team. You can use this to outline the idea of Team Building and the aims of the activity, as well as canvassing opinions on what they would like to do and what they would like to get out of it.

This will create a focus for the activity, and you can start to gain the team’s commitment to it before it even starts.

The Team Building Activity is the start, not the end

Ensure that you get the best from your Team Building Session by scheduling a follow-up session on your return. Involve the whole team to get feedback on what they enjoyed, what they feel they got out of the experience and what issues were resolved. You can also pin point any opportunities that may have been missed, or anything that did not go so well.

The most important thing is to capture any actions that you and/or the team need to take to move them forward, and who is going to take ownership of each action (ideally the team would own most of the actions).

So remember to do your preparation and review the activity on your return to ensure you get the best from your Team Building investment.

“But did the team leader commit to the Team Motivation Review?” I hear you ask!  When I explained how we can help him to understand what makes each person tick, if they are enjoying their jobs (and if not, why not, and what can be done about it), and even if they are thinking of leaving, yes he did.  You can see the results in the case studies area of our website.

The effect of the wrong role

It is easy to end up in the wrong place (role) at the wrong time.  You keep working at it, because you don’t want it to fail and because changing your job will inevitably cause BIG changes in your life. However being in the wrong role, can cause huge stress for you, your colleagues or team and your family.

Walking away from the wrong job is not an occasion for sadness and disappointment, it is an opportunity for joy! Look around you at the people you know who LOVE their jobs – how are they different from you? They’re not…they just had the confidence to say ‘no’ to the wrong roles and ‘yes’ to the right one.

It is exponentially more important for leaders to enjoy what they do, as it has such an impact on their teams, the business and ultimately their own success. A leader who loves their job will be motivated, enthusiastic and driven.

As a leader you need to:-

• Set a vision for your team and have a clear strategy to achieve it
• Give your team responsibility by delegating goals and objectives (not tasks)
• Be enthusiastic about your team developing themselves
• Recognise and recruit people who are better than you are at specialist skills
• Help, empower and coach your team to be the best they can and succeed

Here are 10 signs to look for, which mean you could be in the wrong role :-

• You find the role difficult and often make mistakes
• You feel like you don’t fit in with your colleagues
• You don’t talk about your work to friends and family
• You get poor feedback from your team and superiors
• You are ‘just doing it for the money’
• You can’t be yourself
• You feel bored and are easily distracted
• You dread Sunday evenings because Monday morning means work
• You don’t dream of promotion and career advancement
• You watch the clock, waiting for 5:30pm to come

If you are in the wrong role, make a change and you could be a winner!

If you are still not sure whether you are in the wrong role, or you lead people who you think might be in the wrong role, contact us to discover how we can answer those questions for you.

What does your team think of you?

Whenever we run a motivation review for team development we get to hear and see what team members think of their leader – with fascinating results.

We know that staff make plenty of assumptions about their leaders.  After all, leaders see all, hear all, know all, do all…….don’t they?  I mean, a leader would never have a problem with confidence, would they?

So it’s no surprise (to us!) that 99% of teams are unable to identify what motivates their boss.  Perhaps they are too busy looking down to look up.  Those that do look up will see ‘management behaviours’, which imply certain motivators.  However the leader is likely to be using their skills to adapt their behaviours, which may cause some internal conflict with their motivators.

That perception by staff could be very limiting when it comes to communication, collaboration, influencing and even career prospects for each individual.

With a little insight, the team can actually make their boss’s life easier, while enjoying their own roles so much more.  That sounds like a win/win to me……

Collaborative Leadership

I find Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, a fascinating character.  As a gradual (and sceptical) convert to Apple products, from an iPod to an iPhone to a Macbook, it is great to hear the insights of how the company, and particularly it’s leader, operates.

In this shortened version of an interview, Jobs explains how he is a ‘facilitator’, not a manager, and how committees are frowned upon.  What I like is the recognition that to attract and retain key people means accepting that they will often know more than the man at the top.

How Motivation Drives Performance – Builder Profile

So we’ve seen how Directors, those who seek control, can maintain and increase their motivation levels.  Now let’s take a look at the Builder.

If you have Builder as one of your top motivators, you are motivated by money and material things.  You like a high standard of living and you tend to compare yourself with what others have, and want more.  You will regularly review your financial investments, and are likely to have multiple income streams.

How Motivation Drives Performance – Director Profile

So we’ve seen how Experts, those who seek mastery, can maintain and increase their motivation levels.  Now let’s take a look at the Director.

If you have Director as one of your top motivators, you want to be able to influence the way things happen, especially having control of people and resources.  This includes making critical decisions about how these are used, and tends towards management roles.  You are self-confident and provide clarity for others.  Consequently you like clarity from others, which means clear objectives and strategy from above.

Leaders – Treat Followers As Equals

Enjoy this simple, light-hearted look at how a leader’s natural skills encourage the initial following, which quickly grows into a movement.

There are many qualities required in any such situation – confidence, self-belief, energy, empathy.  Let me know what else you spotted.  The motivation of the leader is clearly Spirit, and their passion for what they believe in.  But is is their ability to let followers lead others which ultimately makes the difference.

How Motivation Drives Performance – Expert Profile

So we’ve seen how Friends, those who seek belonging, can maintain and increase their motivation levels. Now let’s take a look at the Expert.

If you have Expert as one of your top motivators, you seek mastery of a subject, and you like to pass that knowledge on to others.  You actively seek opportunities to demonstrate expertise in the specialised fields in which you operate.   Training opportunities are highly motivating for you, though a course is not always necessary, as you enjoy self-development too.