Motivation. What does that mean exactly? According to the Oxford Dictionary it means two things:
- ‘A reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way’
- ‘A desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm’
If you put that in the context of a bonus or incentive scheme, which definition comes into play? Typically it’s number one.
What’s the problem with this? Well, nothing if the requirement is transactional. With this approach, the scheme will drive exactly what is asked of it. However, with a workforce who feel they need to have a connection with the brand, product and ethos of the company, motivation is much more complex; therefore more aligned to definition two.
Through my experience of developing bonus schemes with clients, I’ve identified eight critical components that provide a strong motivational foundation:
- Know and understand role attributes and behaviours. Think about a role in your organisation and somebody established and doing a good job – what attributes and behaviours do they have? Now apply this to all the roles in your organisation.
- Have a strong product/service identity. What sets you apart from your competitors? What can make or break you? Is the offering packaged in an exciting way, does it excite your people to sell?
- Be clear on numbers and objectives. Keep the explanations simple - translate the jargon into internal language, for example from ‘EBITDA’ to ‘our long term profitability.’
- Understand how much a sale costs you. Don’t give too much of the pie away by running an expensive bonus scheme. Be transparent – a low margin requires greater quantity of sales, a high margin requires more quality sales. Knowing this will help to ensure financial effectiveness of your scheme.
- Be open about what strengthens your position in the market place. If not a unique offering, what differentiates you? What makes a customer come back? If a unique and innovative offering, what makes them trust and try you for the first time?
- Recognise your culture what type of employees ‘fit’. Your recruitment and selection process is important. Don’t squeeze a square peg into a round hole. Accept what you need might change in the future and have a nimble recruitment strategy in place to address that.
- Have the right people in the right place at the right time. What roles do you need to maximise potential and optimise efficiency? What should the dynamics of the team look like?
- Establish what ‘good & great’ looks like. Which group has the greatest leverage? What’s the financial impact if more focus was given to the ‘goods’ to increase their performance? What will inspire ‘underperformers’ to improve? Do they have the tools, training and support needed to achieve the level of expected performance?
Foundation completed, let the building of the scheme commence. Don’t replicate a traditional design, think back to the attributes and behaviours above and keep them in mind? Understanding the basics behind what drives your people is key to getting a bonus scheme that incentivises the desired performance, creates a positive ‘employer brand’ and delivers a positive impact on your bottom line.
For more blogs on motivation: 'Sales bonus - your five point plan to motivating the middle' – by Deborah Rees
