Ways to motivate your staff when raises are not an option
We have been on a pay increase freeze for a little over 2 years now. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to motivate employees, when money is not an option?
Thank you!
I manage a part-time staff on the weekends, and my company does not give raises to part-time staff. Whenever I ask my staff to step up and be professional, they usually tell me "I'm not paid enough for what I have to put up with, I need a raise." I have a hard time figuring out how to respond to that.
I've enjoyed reading everyone's response. I once owned a small business with 11 employees. Sometimes when productivity was low due to a lack of drive from employees I would throw small carrots in front of them to intice them to work harder without $ being involved. Sometimes that might be giving them a deadline to meet and allowing them to get off work early on Friday if they could meet it, but paying them for the complete day. It would never cost me $, because the goal more than paid for the employees pay, even letting them off early. Its amazing what people can get done if they know there's a benefit in it for them.
Linda,
I think this is a good idea as you pointed out can bring an improvement in morale in a fairly inexpensive way.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
We also are challenged with this dilemma. We are actively re-inventing ourselves to pull ourselves out of a downward tailspin, restabilize and re-orient towards a trajectory of renewal and growth. All of this requires of course a tremendous amount of courage, perseverance, vision, increased workload and a fair share of the chaos that comes with the whitewater of over-lapping, changing directions. All with no pay increases in sight. At the end of a particularly challenging and dark week, I am just starting to envision some not too expensive, but much needed facility upgrade activities that may help us to effect improvement in out surroundings and therefore our attitudes about our work place. A feng shui kind of antidote to the other layers of messiness that is inherent to change. Of course, these projects will include more time and energy, but maybe working together and in a way that is different than usual will have an uplifting impact.
I completely agree and love the rubber duck game. We organized a social committee "Funsies" to do small special things throughout the year. We gave out homemade sugar cookies on National Cookie Day, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for everyone on National Peanut Butter Day, just to name a few things. These are fun and inexpensive. Our employees now look forward to the National "Whatever" Day that we celebrate at least twice a month. Even wearing hawaiian or bowling shirts on casual Fridays helped. Since we began these, our productivity has increased by 33%! There are so many great ideas that have a huge benefit.
As a manager it becomes a little frustrating when you lead a successful team but are not allowed to reward them financially due to a pay freeze. I am a firm believer in always giving recognition to my team for a job well done and look for ways of celebrating our success as a team.
This has been a challenge for my team as well. There have been little or no raises, and there deosnt seem to be much opportunity for either internal and/or external recognition. I tell them how wonderful I think they are, but it only goes so far. The team has gotten smaller, as positions have gotten eliminated. So now, most staff members are feeling more demotivated as there salary has stayed the same and they have taken on additional responsibilities and working harder.
Also, I know as the manager it is our job to motivate, inspire, and encourage....but just sometimes I wonder "who motivates the motivator?"
Unfortunately, we have been in this situation over the last several years. Despite the wage freeze, my campus has been able to maintain a higher than average employee retention rate. My employee retention averages 6.7 years. As someone mentioned, we would all like a little more in our paycheck. Job satisfaction is so much more than the monetary benefits. People want to feel a sense of belonging, they want to feel appreciated and included. This begins with communication. Foster an environment where your employees feel valued. As campus leadership we know that our staff might not have a say in policies and procedures, but they need to feel their opinion is heard. Allow them the platform to discuss and engage when changes are made. Create a campus culture where they know they can approach leadership with an open door policy. Reward employees for a job well done. Simply creating a certificate of appreciation goes a long way to motivate employees. If you have more than one campus, colloborate with sister schools. Hold in-service trainings- allow them to share best practices. Empower managers on your team to speak/lecture during these trainings. You will quickly find that your staff is motivated by more than just money! Remember, we are in education for the outcomes, not the income.
Motivation without monetary incentive of a sales team has been the greatest challenge of my career. Indeed recognition, pot lucks, team building, are all effective, but it seems for short term. I have seen a lot of turn over of very talented people from my company and others for higher paying jobs.
What else can we do?
What's working well out there?
I agree with this and find that not everyone is inspired by money, but more often positive feedback.
I have assigned three members of my team to take the lead in moral. We attempt to identify a new game our employees can play each month. The game itself is usually revolves around work performance. Last month we did a rubber duck tossing contest and the number of ducks an employee received was based on an individual’s monthly work performance. The winner of the toss contest received a t-shirt.
I find the employees can be very creative when it comes to keeping their own motivation up.
Lisa,
yes, there really are many ways to encourage & thank our employees, even when funds are tight.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This pertains to our company and we were concerned when the announcement came out. Most people now-a-days have the mentality that they are just happy to have a job. We have encouraged our employees to keep a positive attitude and focus on our true mission and that is for our students.
We have issues small incentives like a gift card and a sincere thank you for all their hard work. Sometimes it's a small acknowledgement that goes a long way. We also plan team events to build morale and create a bond with each other.
My company faces the same challenges, as it seems many others are too. It's hard to rally the troops when they have dollar signs in their eyes. Assigning responsibility, recognizing a job well done, team building, group collaboration and potlucks are all ways we try to motivate each other.
Angela,
these are all great ideas & you are right. This shows your team that you value them & what's more that you trust them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I've also found that employees are appreciative, and in turn more motivated, when I have done this. As long as the work is done, I've "overlooked" leaving early or coming in late. Birthday recognition and "thank you" cards usually help too. Amazing what a Starbucks run will do for your team too.
Glenn,
this is a great idea & can really help improve morale, maybe even more than extra money.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Give time off when work is slow or a job is completed ahead of time.
Anitere,
this is so true & to help keep everyone moving forward with that same direction.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
