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Working Moms
groovygrl
member
How to motivate staff w/out $ or many "normal" incentives?
groovygrl
member
in Working Moms
I am struggling to motivate my staff (only 2 right now) bc there is just not much I can offer them... No bonuses or raises are being given, our HR does not allow work from home for their classification, they both flex their time already as much as they can within the HR rules/constraints, I cannot offer more vacation time, and one of them is likely looking for a new job bc of a recent degree but it could take time for that to happen. THat person is my poorer performer so just getting that person to do what is in the job description has been enough of a challenge, I can't really tack on career developing challenges when I can't seem to get the basics (to be fair, my predecessor had very low expectations and didnt hold this person accountable for a lot). The other does not have a lot of interest in furthering career plans so offering leadership type opportunities to build a skill set or get further developmentally are not something that would be viewed as a perk, more like extra work and responsibility, but that person is very responsible and motivated and good at the job as is.
I feel a bit at a loss, any creative rewards or incentives anyone has used?
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Re: How to motivate staff w/out $ or many "normal" incentives?
You can't always get people to respond to positive reinforcement, especially if they're used to low standards and getting away with figurative murder. What might suit you better is a little "tough love." In short- go through their work, figure out where they aren't meeting your standards, and make it clear that you 100% expect better performance from them. If they don't meet your requirements, then have consequences for their lack of performance.
I don't mean turn into a power-hungry biznitch, by the way. It is possible to do something like that without being bossy, aggressive, or mean. Simply set clear standards and hold to them no matter what excuses they make. Do be prepared- the process will be rocky and they'll probably complain a lot. In the long run, however, they will either learn to respect you and perform to your standards OR they will move on and you will be able to replace them with people who WILL respond to different kinds of incentive.
My personal, non-involved advice.
Thanks. I actually agree totally with this but in my recent addiction to linkedin have been reading all these articles about strong leaders & motivating others etc and I just feel like I'm not in a position to do that and am failing somehow to 'motivate' my team. I have already had a few heart to hearts w/ person 1 and have thrown out that a perf improvement plan will be the next step and I see it coming soon... the other person & I worked on some ideas for a position revision, but my boss pretty much told me there will be no changes in the dept until next year if we can prove that we (uh, I?) can turn the dept around from the previous performance that I inherited. So there is a potential light at the end for that person but it has a wait time.
I do think that they both understand that the things we're trying to do & put in place are for the benefit of the dept & eventually for them personally but at this point in time, it is a lot of work that they didn't have to do before. Sigh.
Thanks so much!!! I appreciate that. I work in a field where there are no bonuses unfortunately, for me or them. I try to do the complimentary type things to other ppl esp with person 2 who does a great job (person 1 is more of a challenge) and I nominated that person for an award (didn't get it but was told about the nomination though I wasnt sure if it was appropriate if I told the person I was the one who nominated- the committee did not and it seemed a bit patting myself on the back to say that I was the one who did it though I would think she assumes it was me?). I have taken them both out to lunch to celebrate some personal accomplishments but maybe I should do it more just 'because'. I also have tried to shoulder some things that were not always my 'fault' to take one for the team as the manager, and have supported getting some things like new computers and whatnot even though I don't think it is a 'perk' necessarily lol.
One thing I struggle with is really trying hard not to reward person 2 more or treat them differently, which is hard b/c their performance is so much different (their roles are actually different too but everyone works closely together).
why don't you see what motivates them?
There are tons of online questionaires or assessments that you can have them take to see what motivates them. Maybe they like public appreciation, or being in a leadership role, or maybe they're motivated by just saying thanks.
Good point! They both want to work from home and flex their hours more, we've talked about what they'd like in terms of that (and the one wants a promotion & more $ but I already addressed that)...HR will not allow either (no WFH for them and no flexing outside of like 7a-7p type hours). But I will look around and see what types of tools there are, thanks!