Making your money go further
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Choosing what will motivate your staff and suit the style of the company is also vital if your scheme is to succeed.
Omaid Hiwaizi, founder and joint managing director at London-based integrated marketing communications agency HHM, spends a considerable amount of time finding out what will keep staff on their toes. The company runs a series of initiatives. The simplest and cheapest is also one of the most effective: a beer fridge on display in reception.
Staff working late can take a bottle back to the desk. “A few cases of beer a week isn't expensive, but makes the office more relaxed and productive.”
This is obviously not appropriate for client facing companies or bigger businesses where a more even handed formal scheme is more appropriate.
Jo Waggerman, is a training manager with bespoke communications company EWA, and says this is where employee of the month awards can fit. She says that despite their reputation they can still work if they done correctly. She runs the scheme for the 60 consultants manning the Teacher Training Agency's telephone information line. "We have intelligent staff doing repetitive, call centre work, so keeping them motivated is a major challenge."
The scheme recognises staff who have contributed to customer service or helped improve work between the six teams. Each 10-strong team nominates a candidate from their own team or others. "People should have done something beyond the call of duty, making a real benefit to customer relations or internal teamwork," she says.
Nominations are read out at a monthly meeting. "The meeting allows us to wind down, recap the week and talk about business issues. We then make a big feature of reading out the nominations. All nominees get a certificate on the wall, a bottle of wine and round of applause, while the winner gets lunch with a colleague of their choice and an extended lunch hour. It isn't expensive, but it works."
Which, according to Nick Meinertzhagen of M2 Motivation, brings us back to the main point. Motivation isn’t about how much you spend but how effective it is and more often than not, less is more.
“Managers underestimate how much they can do, and even small changes can make a major difference. A simple thank you is a big motivator and costs nothing,” he says.
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