It appears deceptively simple, eh? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule appears so global that it should be a panacea for every relationship. Just act toward everybody the way you would like to be handled and all will flow wonderfully, correct?
But wait... Something's amiss...
Would your company's twenty-five year old big shot account rep want the same things from their job that your forty-something billing clerk wants? Is your technical staff hoping for the same goals and reimbursement as your receptionist?
Obviously, their needs and wants are very different, though too many managers implement a one-size fits all approach when commending their highly valued staff. When a big job is completed, everyone is awarded an identical award, whether it's breakfast or a gift card. Providing an identical reward to each contributor is what's right, isn't it? But is it actually fair to your key employees?
Hold On to the Most Valuable Performers
Too few business owners know that the
Pareto theory lesson about their staff means that 2 out of 10 of their staff are producing 80% of your entire business' income. Further, nearly every management book refers to case studies which compare the productivity of the key staff to the not so competent (yet still effective) staff. The difference between the extremes have been reported as broad as one hundred to 1. The closest these numbers ever seem to get to one another is about 4:1. So now how much more does this extraordinary variance in value end up costing?
Assuming that your annual salary for the company's least competent staff member is $30k, how much does it cost for your key staff? Since a fair bit of the costs for an employee stay the same, those costs don't increase in relation to base salary. For the intent of this example, let's use some worst-case figures, $60k. Assuming that your $30k person delivers $30k of value (otherwise they'd be gone, right?). If your key employee is a mere four times as productive as the worst, they deliver far more value for how much more they cost.
If your company invests in more training for your bottom-rung staff, costs immediately increase, but without any assurance that productivity will similarly increase. Consider, also, how much of your pay 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 a few interpersonal problems, occasional quality issues, some trouble listening to reason, and shows up late on Mondays due to his occasional hangover
Apparently your key 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 represents most of your team's value. Their familiarity with your unique ways of doing things together with their talents and ability to get the job done in a pinch makes them practically priceless.
Now, what's the most effective way to reward your key people? What should you do to prove to those high 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 plan to keep your best people?
Show them the money. If your $30k staffer cranks out 80-hour weeks during the final push of a key project, most pure monetary rewards would come in at a rate
far below minimum wage. Just reconsider this alternative. This can be quite offensive, seen, instead, as an insignificant effort to pay them off and ease your guilty conscience. Regardless, once the IRS gets his piece of the action, the ultimate value of this money might end up being a lot less than it costs to give it out.
Send them to extra training. Some people might be thrilled to get an opportunity to take a course in a place on the company dime. They may even try to spend the weekend before or after, at their expense, just to really benefit from this opportunity to see a new place. Be careful though, this could be mistaken by your top performer that you found their efforts lacking. They might wrongly assume that they should get further training to be deserving of the real reward that lies waiting. If your achiever is sensitive, they might be concerned that their effort they exerted was a warning sign to you that they were struggling along. Suggesting an instructive award in this circumstance could be interpreted that their difficulty was apparent, and now you are taking remedial steps.
Promote them. Though the draw of a notable title or material benefits accompanying a promotion may encourage some, more and more workers have come to understand the dangers of the
Peter Principle. They're worried that their world will change a great deal should they are promoted to manager. Your turbocharged talent probably
enjoy what they're doing right now. That's why they're so incredibly talented at it. Before trying out a promotion as praise, ensure that the new job truly takes advantage of the talents and abilities exhibited by these high achievers, or you may end up having to replace them. If you decide to risk it, make sure your rewardee understands that it's alright to switch back if things don't work out with the new situation.
Offer extra vacation time. Everyone wants to get away, right? However, if you offer this reward to a very dedicated person who is so completely dedicated to their career that they do little else outside of work, they may not know how to handle this leisure time.
Do unto others as they would have done unto them.
You can see that there are many ways to reward your top. It's easy to be tempted to offer each of your employees the same reward. It's
especially tempting to offer them what you would want.
All of this leads to a fundamental concept:
communication. Simply put,
ask your best what they
really want. What is it that will allow them to actually understand that they are loved? The life that causes someone to turn into a great account manager is very distinct than the life of a great office manager. You may be stunned by the answers you get back. In fact, your staff may be amazed, as well, to find out that you are really giving them a voice to decide upon the award for their hard work.
- Do they want more money?
- Do they want more demanding assignments?
- Do they want a little time away from work to appreciate their children?
- Would they prefer more mentoring?
- Do they simply want to be praised at a company meeting?
- What rewards have they received in the past that really made them feel appreciated?
The results can fluctuate considerably for each person, depending upon their long-term goals, how their needs are currently being met within
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and the current challenges in their life. Don't make the mistake of assuming that the answer you get today will hold true throughout your top performer's career.
In the end, rather than hoping to reward your staff the way you would like to be rewarded, break The Golden Rule, and spend your time actually understanding their needs and wants. By involving them in decisions that affect their lives so immediately, you might unintentionally benefit from the
Hawthorne Effect, and encourage your people by showing you care. You will likely learn that you've developed a workplace that makes your high achievers more contented than they've ever been. Accordingly, they will discover ways to push themselves to new levels of efficiency, realizing that their pains will result in rewards that are actually meaningful to
them. You may even earn their respect and loyalty for a lifetime.
