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It looks so very simple, eh? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule appears so global that it might be a fix for every relationship. Just handle everybody the way you would appreciate being handled and all will flow smoothly, yes?
But wait... Something appears to be wrong...
Would your twenty-two year old big shot account rep want the same goals out of their job that your forty-something billing clerk does? Is your technical staff aiming for the same goals and rewards as your receptionist?
Obviously, their desires are very different, but many managers apply a universal approach when rewarding their key employees. When a important job is completed, all staff receives an identical thing, be it dinner or a gas card. Delivering the same thing to each person is what's right, isn't it? But is it really fair to your top staff?
Retain Your Best Performers
Too few business owners know that the Pareto Principle lesson about their employees indicates that 20% of their employees deliver most of your entire company's income. In addition, just about every management book refers to case studies which compare the productivity of the top employees to the not so capable (yet still useful) employees. The spread between the top and bottom has been found to be as much as 100 to 1. The nearest these numbers ever seem to get to one another is at best 4:1. But how much more does this extraordinary sway in value end up costing?
Assuming that your annual salary for the company's least capable staff member is $30,000, how much are you paying your top staff? Since a lot of the costs for an employee are fixed, those costs don't increase in relation to base pay. For the intent of this example, let's use some worst-case numbers, $60k. Assuming that your $30k person generates $30k of value (otherwise they'd be reallocated, right?). If your top employee is a measly four times as productive as the worst, they deliver far more value for how much more they cost.
If your company pays for more classes for your least valuable staff, costs instantly increase, but without any promise that productivity will likewise increase. Consider, also, what part 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 breakroom
The newbie who has a few interpersonal issues, occasional quality issues, some trouble following instructions, and shows up late to work due to an occasional hangover
Apparently your top performers are worth the effort. As such, it's incredibly important for every small business owner to keep their best, as this handful of hotshots embodies the bulk of your team's value. Their experience with your unique ways of doing things combined with their talents and ability to get the job done in a pinch makes them practically priceless.
So, what's the best way to reward your top people? How do you show those top performers that they're appreciated, and increase the likelihood that they'll stay with you?
What's the best plan to keep your best people?
Pay them cold, hard cash. If your $30k worker cranks out 100-hour weeks during the final push of a key effort, most exclusively monetary rewards would come in at a rate way under minimum wage. Just rethink this choice. This can be quite offensive, seen, instead, as an insignificant effort to buy them off and ease a boss' guilty conscience. If you do decide to follow this path, after the IRS gets his chunk, the net impact of this cash can end up being far less than it costs to pay it out.
Send them to extra training. Some people might be happy to be rewarded with a chance to attending a training event in a place expenses to the company. They may even ask to spend a few days before or after, on their own, just to really benefit from this chance to get away for a bit. Watch out though, this could appear to your superstar that you found their performance in need of training. They might assume that they have to have further classes to be worthy of the more desirable reward that they hope to get. If your staffer is sensitive, they might get worried that their effort they exerted was a red flag to you that they were struggling along. Offering a training award in this circumstance could be interpreted that their challenge was apparent, and you are now taking corrective action.
Promote them. Though the draw of a notable title or tangible benefits associated with a promotion may inspire some, more and more workers have come to recognize the risks of the Peter Principle. They're concerned that their work lives will change drastically if they are promoted to team lead. Your powerful personnel probably delight in their current job. That's why they're so incredibly skilled at it. Before trying out a promotional reward, be sure that the new job uses the talents and abilities of these talented folks, or you may end up having to replace them. If you take this chance, make sure your key staffer realizes that it's alright to switch back if things don't work out with the newly promoted situation.
Give more holiday time. Everyone likes time away from the office, right? However, if you give this bonus to a very committed worker who is so totally dedicated to their career that they don't have many friends of work, they may not know what to do during all of this spare time.
Do unto others as they would have done unto them.
You can see that there are quite a few mechanisms to reward your most valuable. It's easy to be tempted to give all of your workers the same award. It's especially dangerous to give them something you'd like yourself.
These examples take us to an all-important process: communication. In a nutshell, ask your superstars what they really want. What reward will let them to truly feel respected? The path that causes someone to become a talented account rep is very different than the path of a great administrative assistant. You may be shocked by the answers you are told. In fact, your employees may be surprised, as well, to learn that you are truly listening to their ideas to decide upon the reward for their hard work.
Do they want more money?
Do they want more demanding responsibilities?
Do they want some relaxation time to appreciate their children?
Would they prefer more mentoring?
Do they merely want to be acknowledged at a company gathering?
What have they received in the past that really made them feel appreciated?
The results can fluctuate notably for each individual, depending upon their long-term ambitions, how their desires at this time are being met in Maslow's Needs Hierarchy, and the current difficulties in their life. Don't make the blunder of taking for granted that the answer you hear today will remain the same throughout your high performer's career.
Ultimately, rather than hoping to reward your people the way you would like to be rewarded, break The Golden Rule, and invest your time actually learning their needs and wants. By involving them in decisions that affect their lives so directly, you might inadvertently take advantage of the Hawthorne Effect, and inspire your staff by demonstrating you care. You will probably notice that you've produced a workplace that makes your high achievers more contented than they've ever been. Accordingly, they will find a way to push themselves to new levels of efficiency, appreciating that their hard work will result in rewards that are truly meaningful to them. You may even earn their admiration and commitment for a lifetime.
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