What is the Root of Employee Engagement?
Internal motivations will always trump external incentives, every time.
A lot of employers assume the easiest way to increase employees’ engagement, and therefore their output, is through holiday bonuses.
After all, who doesn’t love a little more cash in their pocket?
In some ways, this thinking is correct. Your employees do need an incentive.
Don’t fuck the bonus.
External motivators, like bonuses, are a good way of keeping happy employees happy, or hook new talent. But they are a terrible way to fix low morale, or engage disinterested employees. Just like duct tape, they only keep things together long enough for you to actually fix them, or until they completely fall apart. Not only do they not fix the problem, but throwing more money at the issue only makes it harder for you to address the problems in future.
Entrepreneurs usually don’t have the time, or the money, to mess around with bonuses in the first place. Within the time it takes your employees to spend that bonus, they’ll forget and think “what’s next?”
The problem with the bonus is that it’s once per year, but it effects are supposed to last the entire next year. When else in your life is that applicable? The happiness you get from a new outfit or a haircut or finding $20 on the ground is fleeting– so why would a bonus be any different?
In his book Traction, Gino Wickman writes that it takes approximately 90 days for a human to fully reset. If you have a strong meeting that defines clear goals and expectations on January 1, expect the positive effects that induced to fade off by April 1, when it’ll be time to schedule another one.
So instead, ask yourself how you can invest in them all year-round. Think about it like a subscription-box method. They should be seeing some return each month.
Give them something internally that motivates them. Whatever that is.
The great thing about this, if you think about it, is that internal employee motivations and leadership goals often align better than external motivations do. (How many times have you heard the CFO complain about having TOO MUCH employee job satisfaction?)
Most leaders in business are constantly thinking about the output of their companies, the revenue they’re making, and how to improve both.
A key lesson they need to learn is that your output is directly correlated with your input. This is true of individuals and companies.
Good authors read a lot of books, great investment bankers are always researching financial data. And any company that has great products, great culture, and great financials, needs the input from engaged employees. Engaged employees have pride in their work, they stay longer, come in earlier, and have a vested interest in how the product, service, or company actually performs.
One of the best ways to accomplish this? Invest in a personal brand for them. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Everybody loves to tell stories about themselves, they like to talk about the things they do well. A strong personal brand does that for your employees.
A personal brand allows any individual to take the pride they have in their work and share it with the world. An employee who is accountable for their work not only to their boss, but also to a greater audience, is always going to be a better worker than one who isn’t.
They will use the responsibilities they have at work to promote their brand outside of the office. The better they do at their job, the better their brand is received, the better their brand performs, the more engaged they become in their work. And the cycle continues.
I have seen from personal experience that a strong personal brand is one of the best intrinsic motivations possible. One of my former employees, and longtime friends, Cole Mather, is the perfect example of how motivating it can be. His personal brand is all about writing, and sharing his insights with anyone who will read his content.
Am I sad that his personal brand eventually took him to bigger and better things than my agency? No, I am proud to see where it has taken him, and it is a great selling point for future employees: “look at the kind of brand we can create for you.”
A personal brand encourages an individual to improve themselves because they are their own product. And the smarter, better, and more talented a employee becomes is always good for the company!
Time spent on the personal brands of your employees is time spent on the foundation of your company, and it will return to you manifold.
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