Who Else Wants to Motivate and Retain their Star Employees?

By: Daiv Russell

It seems so very simple, eh? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule seems so all-inclusive that it would be a remedy for all human relations. Just handle everybody the same way you would prefer to be taken care of and all will flow easily, yes?

But wait... There something off...

Would your twenty-five year old top gun salesman want the exact same goals out of their job that your forty-something billing clerk wants? Is your technical staff looking for the same goals and reimbursement as your receptionist?

Apparently, their wants are quite different, though many managers implement a one-size fits all approach when commending their most important staff. After an important project is done, everyone is awarded the same award, whether you give them a meal or a gift card. Giving an identical reward to each contributor is what's right, isn't it? But do you think it's really fair to your best staff?

Keep the Key Staff

Too few entrepreneurs know that the 80/20 rule lesson about their workers teaches that only 20% of their workers produce 80% of your entire business' bottom-line. Further, almost every management book refers to studies which compare the productivity of the best workers to the least skilled (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 approach is about 4:1. So now how much more does this extraordinary variance in value end up costing?

Assuming that your yearly cost for the least skilled person is $30k, how much does it cost for your best staff? Since a decent amount of the costs for staff stay the same, they don't go up in relation to base pay. For the intent of this examination, let's use some worst-case , $60k. Assuming that your $30k employee generates $30k of value (otherwise they'd be reallocated, right?). If your best employee is a measly four times as productive as the worst, they deliver far more value for how much more they cost.

If your business pays for more training for the low-end players, costs immediately go up, but without any guarantee that productivity will likewise go up. Consider, also, what part 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 new guy who has a few interpersonal problems, occasional quality issues, some trouble following instructions, and shows up late on Mondays because of the occasional hangover

Apparently your best performers are worth weight in good. As such, it's incredibly important for every small business owner to keep their winners, as this handful of hotshots represents most of your team's value. Their experience with your unique systems together with their talents and ability to get the job done in a pinch makes them nigh unto priceless.

But, what's the most effective way to reward your best people? What should you do to indicate to those top performers that they're wanted, and boost the likelihood that they'll stay with you?

What's the most effective way to reward your best people?

Pay them cold, hard cash. If your $30k employee devotes himself to 70-hour weeks during the last month of a key initiative, most pure monetary rewards would come in at a rate less than minimum wage. Just rethink this choice. This can be quite insulting, seen, instead, as a half-hearted attempt to buy them off and ease your guilty conscience. Regardless, after the IRS gets his chunk, the ultimate value of this money may end up being a lot less than it costs to pay it out.

Pay for a training trip. Some folks might be happy to be rewarded with a chance to take training in a place with the company picking up the check. They may even try to spend the week before or after, at their expense, just to really benefit from this opportunity to stretch their legs. Watch out though, this could be mistaken by your high achiever that you found their results lacking. They might believe that they have to have further training to be worthy of the ultimate reward that they hope to get. If your staffer is thin-skinned, they might be concerned that all of that effort they exerted was a warning sign to you that they were struggling along. Proposing a training incentive in this circumstance could be mistaken that their struggle was obvious to you, and now you are taking remedial action.

Offer a promotion. Though the glamour of a notable title or tangible gains associated with a promotion may encourage some, more and more workers have come to recognize the dangers of the Peter Principle. They're concerned that their work lives will change drastically if they are promoted to manager. Your powerful personnel probably delight in their current job. That's why they're so gosh darn skilled at it. Before trying out a promotional reward, make sure that the new role truly uses the talents and abilities of these high achievers, or you may end up having to replace them. If you risk it, ensure your rewardee understands that it's alright to switch back if something doesn't work out in the new situation.

Provide extra paid time away from work. Everybody wants to get away, right? However, if you give this reward to a very committed person who is so completely immersed in their job that they have little else in their lives of the workplace, they may not know what to do with themselves during this free time.

Do unto others as they would have done unto them.

As you can see, there are innumerable methods to reward your best. It's easy to be tempted to give each of your team members the same award. It's especially tempting to give them an award you would be happy to get.

These examinations reinforce an all-important process: communication. To summarize, ask your hotshots what they really would like. What award will let them to truly understand that they are loved? The experiences that causes a person to turn into a great account manager is quite distinct than the path of a great administrative assistant. You may be shocked by the answers you are told. Actually, your staff may be surprised, as well, to learn that you are listening to their ideas to decide upon the reward for their efforts.

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 merely want to be praised at a company gathering?

What rewards have they received in the past that really made them feel good?

The answers can differ notably for each person, depending upon their long-term ambitions, how their desires at this time are being fulfilled within Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and the current difficulties in their life. Don't make the blunder of taking for granted that the answer you receive now will remain the same throughout your key performer's career.

Ultimately, instead of hoping to reward your staff the way you would prefer to be rewarded, break The Golden Rule, and spend the time actually understanding their needs and wants. By involving them in decisions that affect their lives so immediately, you might unexpectedly cash in on the Hawthorne Effect, and encourage your employee by proving you care. You will likely find that you've produced a work setting that makes your high achievers happier than they've ever been. Consequently, they will uncover methods to push themselves to new levels of productivity, appreciating that their pains will result in rewards that are truly important to them. You may even earn their admiration and allegiance for a lifetime.

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More information on... The 80/20 rule Maslow's Needs Hierarchy The Hawthorne Effect Daiv Russell is a small business management consultant with Envision Engineering.

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