Incentivize the Masses!

What is the one thing that would increase employee productivity and morale, and decrease corner office blood pressure?  Well, besides a taco bar (or better yet a smoothie bar)?  Incentivize your cubicle army, regardless of you industry.  What would light the fire of productivity for you, the led?  Say it with me, "Show me the money!"  Now I'm not advocating that employees should be paid for doing the status quo.  Far from it!  Regardless of what industry you are in, the idea to provide a base salary plus commission (or quarterly profit sharing) is perfect.  A 10/10.  The only people who may not like it are the ones that are on their way out the door.  Give your employees a reason to wake up early, go out and club something into submission (metaphorically that is) and drag it back to the cave.  Your young buck just brought in $500 worth of extra business?  Whip out the checkbook and give that person a commission check.  Most bosses would say, "Why should I do that?  That's part of their job!".  How do you make a snowball?  Add small amounts of snow together until it reaches a critical mass.  Same concept here.  You can't expect someone to keep motivation because you ask them to or because that is what you would do.  Actions based solely upon motivation are finite.  Many bosses, and some leaders, assume that all they need to do is provide a paycheck.  Many will just offer the industry standard.  That is a giant fail!  How is that showing loyalty to your employees?  At the same time, don't waltz in to a position and expect to make six figures because you think you are special.  We're all in sales, so get your cubicle army involved!  Everyone can take up arms in the fight against wastefulness, whether it is time or company resources.  Just because a boss or leader expects it doesn't mean it will be accomplished.  Incentivize, incentivize, incentivize.  You'll be amazed at the results.

Work-Life Integration

 It's not mysterious, and it's not like what you see on TV.  I'm saying you should be friends with your co-workers (okay, maybe not all of them), and if you can't, then you need to pack it up and go find someplace you can.  But first, a flashback...

The Let Down

 

A team leader in my company recently told me, "This job has one function: to fund my lifestyle".  What a letdown!  Almost like finding out that Groundhog Day isn't a national holiday (don't get me started on "Columbus Day".  A holiday for getting lost?  Really?).  I'm not advocating for those people who believe they live to work.  That crowd is delusional and in need of serious medication.  In my situation I actually chalk this up to the company losing (or never having) its culture.  Many of you may be scratching your head with the "company culture, eh?  I thought that was something from those leadership infomercials".  Let's use Zappos as an example. 

The Case Study (And Free Advertisement)

Tony Hsieh wrote about company culture and values in Delivering Happiness and made it pretty clear that these two things are the bedrock of Zappos.  It's no small wonder that his focus on culture and values has moved Zappos into one of the best places to work (#11 in 2012).  The company is phenomenal.  Employees are hired based upon how well they can integrate into, and contribute to, the company culture.  The important take-away?  The company core values are written down, and the management and owners make sure that these values, the foundation of the culture, are always communicated and encouraged regularly (not just a slide at the annual meeting).  Since the employees are part of a great culture, they also tend to be friends and have relationships outside of work.  Am I saying you shouldn't have non-work friends?  Not at all.  But do you have any people at work you would hang out with?  If not, why?  

What Now?

It's difficult to approach company leadership and ask questions about the core values and culture.  Many small businesses were started by the current set of leaders, and they may still be in that mindset of "It's not the why, it's the how and the when".  Working in a culture-less company is a very heavy burden for workers to bear.  If you are in this situation, take a moment and jot down some ideas about the culture and take them to a team leader or company leader.  Ask some hard questions (in a tactful way).  If they are less than receptive then you may have a decision to make.  Truly worthwhile work is something that must resonate with your core values, and if you cannot determine what your company values really are, then it may be time to start examining the situation.  A "thank goodness it's Friday, oh no it's Monday!" approach isn't how you want to spend your working life.  If you can't stand who you work with, then you need to change them or change you.  Plain and simple.

Be Dissatisfied with the Status Quo

This is probably one of my greatest irritations.  I cannot, for the life of me, understand why people are satisfied with the status quo.  As Dan Cathy (of Chick-Fil-A) says in the Entreleadership Podcast interview with Jon Acuff, "...make incremental improvements every day in every way...".  This is the most basic thing that the led can do, without some directive from the boss or team leader.  Always look for ways to improve your customer service (especially to internal "clients", i.e., your fellow workers) and to improve the product you push out the door every day.  Imagine for one moment what your DMV experience would be like if one, just one, representative turned it up a notch.  Probably not the best example, but roll with it.  Take a second to think about how you can make that change that improves what you do, how you do it, and why you do what you do.  Now go do it!  Exceed expectations!

You there, be accountable!

Nothing is more frustrating than walking into an office ambush. In one way or another we have all experienced it, and it ironically looks just like a scene from Office Space, and may actually involve TPS reports. It's apparent that all forms of communication are down, and this is a life or death issue. The end result? You end of frustrated by the lack of prior communication, confused by what the issue really is, or a combination of the two, which just further exasperates the complex web of pseudo-institutional structure. Typically these ambushes are in response to a small issue that has either never been discussed beyond the entire office email that was sent out or is the result of the perturbations of an insomniac project manager.

There may be a myriad of reasons why these issues continue to balloon as time progresses, but it comes down to effective communication. As a cubicle inhabitant, you often aren't privy to what decisions are being discussed in the corner office. The lack of communication often rides down the gravy train to project managers or team leaders, and finally assumes shape on your desk as an inane email about using the proper cover sheet for an internal report. The how or the why has long been forgotten, and when prompted, your team leader or boss may cock their head Lassie-style and wonder what on Earth the confusion or frustration is really about. This is the point where you, the cubicle dweller, the led, need to step forward with some concise questions that can stimulate the leadership juices and get that train back on track. This is where the rubber meets the road, where your unique status as the led will help the company leadership figure out that the seemingly little idea is going to cause big headaches.

Whining will get you absolutely nowhere. Complaining to the secretary at lunch will also provide no relief. Instead, compose an email to the leadership position directly above you, and make sure to detail all your concerns, frustrations and angry, witty retorts. Now delete that email. You want to keep your job, right? Go walk around the building, then come back and write down all the reasons that the issue at hand is detrimental to the company as a whole, to employee morale, etc. If you look at the list and determine that you are indeed being a whiner, toss that paper, take a deep breath, and ask yourself what you can do to make the situation easier on everyone. Nine times out of ten this is the path that should be taken when a new directive comes down from the corner office. Instead of complaining, take that cover sheet and make it a fillable form so that it can be filled out in less time. As the led you may not be privy to why you have to do it, but you can definitely figure out a way to make the process easier for everyone. This way less time is spent thinking about how bad the task really is, and more time is spent actually doing your job. Personal accountability by you, the led, will trump poor decision making by your boss (most of the time).