Once you
move past the basic notion of keeping workers safe, your goal should be to keep team
members focused and happy! Happy workers
are much more likely to help you create the customer experience you want.
Why? I think its basic human psychology.
If your team
feels un-appreciated, un-safe or un-happy, they will be spending a great deal
of their time and energy “protecting themselves.”
This energy might be channeled into making sure they get credit for
work, bringing down others, complaining, or simply looking for another
job! All of that time will NOT be directed
to making your customers get a great experience.
And oh by
the way, if you do lose team members, how hard is that on the team (and the
customer experience)? Studies show that
replacing a team member costs 1 ½ times more to the business based on training,
time off, interviewing, etc. Let’s face it;
replacing a good team member is a real pain!
So what can
we do to make sure the team feels appreciated?
There are lots of ways to make your team feel appreciated. And frankly, there is no “right” way to do
it. But the good news is, your team
members are no different than your customers!
They do want to be valued…so the concepts are the same. Let’s start with just a few here!
Greeting Cards:
You may want to dismiss this as old school (and it is) but sending your
team members the occasional “thank you” card will absolutely make them feel
special! I do this every now and then
for our team. I don’t want it to be a
scheduled thing because then they might come to expect it. The magic is when they open their mail to
find a sincere note from me…out of the blue!
“Thanks for being a part of the team…and making it a better place!” It’s a simple, but wildly powerful, message.
Service Awards:
What does this mean? Quite
simply, it means you create a program that makes a public display of
appreciation for their time served on your team. It can be a certificate, a watch, a ring,
etc. But it creates a lasting bond that reminds
them why they like working for you in the first place!
Oh…and for
those that say, “My employees just want cash.”
No they don’t. More and more
studies are showing that cash is LESS valuable than a real gift and show of appreciation. Cash will be spent on groceries and gas. The idea of something like this is to create
a positive memory every time the employee looks at the gift. That creates real long term value! I don’t mind the idea of including cash if
you want…but it shouldn’t be the only thing!
Incentive Awards:
The concept is very similar here as with Service Awards. You want to give your team a reason to
strive. Cash might be a part of it, but
the most powerful gifts are more than that.
I remember vividly when my wife and I were recognized as Sales Leaders
of the Year back in 2004. We received a
watch and were brought up in front of the group. I still wear that watch and remember that day
fondly! It’s about creating lasting
bonds and memories like that with your team!
Team Day Out:
Take just one day out of the office as a team together and do something
fun. We will take a day each year and
head to restaurant and head out on a boat.
We usually try to do some sort of team building exercise in order to get
to know each other better as well. Each
company culture is different. But we
find this is a fun way to get tighter as a group.
As I said,
there is not a specific “right” way to create this kind of culture. But there is a real connection to a good team…and
how they treat your customers. So you
need to consider bringing “joy” to your team if you hope for them to Deliver Joy!
This is a short excerpt from the upcoming book "Delivering Marketing Joy!"
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