Make It Easy
Make It Easy
IN the last two columns, we have looked at hiring and training employees. Both of these are great, as long as you know how to do No. 3: Motivate your employees. Use rewards to
motivate employeesHow? First, keep your promises. Not only is this a good idea, it keeps you out of legal trouble. One employer promised me a trip to a neighbor island if I met a certain sales goal. I worked my heart out to reach the goal and eventually surpassed it. He then announced to me that he couldn't afford the neighbor island trip, "but here is a lauhala hat instead." I was crushed and began looking for another job immediately. I kept the lauhala hat as a reminder of the importance of promises.
Second, humans are pretty much motivated by two things: Benefits and consequences. I smoked for 16 years, and like many people, tried everything to stop. On the eve of my 30th birthday, I was reading a Cosmopolitan magazine, with my feet on the table, a cigarette in one hand and a scotch in the other. I turned the page to an article screaming, "Smoking Ages You!" Riveted, I read that cigarette smoke settles on the skin and works its way through several layers. There it breaks the collagen down and makes your skin sag. The good news was that if you stopped smoking before age 30, all the damage would reverse itself and you would not look 70 on your 40th birthday!
My big sister had diligently sent photos of black lungs, articles on throat and lip cancer and had generally tried to scare me into quitting. Nothing worked, because the benefit for smoking was higher than the consequences for smoking. I didn't believe it would happen to me. Suddenly I had a benefit for quitting smoking that was higher than the benefit for smoking! In four hours, I would turn 30! There was still time! I put out my cigarette, tossed all the accompanying paraphernalia and never picked up a cigarette again. Vanity wins again! And so do benefits.
Want to motivate your people? Figure out their benefits for undesirable behavior. Then offer higher benefits for the desirable behavior ("you get to keep your job" isn't the best choice here.) Only use consequences as a last resort.
Beth Terry is president of Pacific Rim Seminars.
This column is excerpted from her upcoming book,
101 Ways to Make Your Life Easier. Send questions
on management, customer service and other issues
to beth@bethterry.com.