Too many supervisors, managers, directors and executives in call centers, customer service and telemarketing environments are doing unnecessary hard time for committing what I call motivational murder. I'm not referring to the management misdemeanors that we all commit from time to time as leaders. I'm talking about the ultimate felony: buying into the false theory that money -- commissions, bonuses or raises -- make employees more positive, motivated and somehow better.
Crime and Punishment
Many of you are guilty, no jury necessary. You've committed, and continue to commit, motivational murder in the first degree. The belief that money is the best or most important motivator of your people will cost you valuable time, revenue, income, personal and corporate goals, employees and, if you're not careful, your job.
As a former inmate myself, I'm all too familiar with the ball and chain that many of you are dragging around. While I never lost a job because of it, committing motivational murder kept me from achieving corporate goals and cost me valuable time, lost revenue income and some of my best employees.
Yes, I've been there. I've seen the destruction first-hand. I've known the frustration of not reaching goals because employees don't or won't perform at 100%. I've felt the intense anger of losing income due to sub-par performance. And I've lived through the disappointment of losing good employees because of my stubbornness or, in some cases, ignorance.
But my life of crime is behind me. I realized that while money will always be a motivator, it's not the only one and, in most cases, not the most important one. Non-monetary motivators -- employee recognition, time off, effective training, a positive work environment and career path -- are far more important than cash to most people.
And you? If you're doing professional hard time for motivational murder, let's talk about setting you up for parole and a happier, more productive life on the outside. And I hope that some of you managers in the premeditative stages can avoid this felony that is sweeping our industry.
In most cases, you're probably already under enough pressure to increase productivity on a decreasing or stagnate budget, right? While department, division and corporate budgets are shrinking (dramatically, in some cases), you are, no doubt, expected to meet aggressive performance objectives while reducing turnover by keeping employees happy. At times, these conflicting pressures might make you feel like calling the "funny farm" to see if any padded rooms are available.
Don't do this just yet. Instead, relax and close your eyes. Dream about a work environment filled with positive morale, healthy competition, fun, high-performance employees. Okay -- snap out of it. I know it's not easy. But I'm also not suggesting that you need to hire David Copperfield as a consultant. Magic isn't necessary. What is essential is implementing a proven process that includes the following three steps:
Own up to your crime. Admitting the problem is always the first step to recovery.
Commit to change. Don't get tangled in your paradigms. If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Commit to change. Challenge yourself with new ideas. Remember Ted Kennedy's speech at Bobby Kennedy's funeral? Among the most memorable lines were: "Bobby said to many people in many parts of this nation that some men see things as they are and ask why. I dream things that never were and ask why not." So dream things that never were and ask yourself, why not?
Execute. Follow the Nike theme -- Just do it. Knowledge isn't power. The application of knowledge is power.
Starting the Parole Process
It's easy and effective. Instead of feeding your ego with the false notion that you know what motivates people, ask them. That's right. Learn from your agent employees what is important to them. I got tired of guessing wrong or stupidly operating by what I thought I knew. I don't know about your crystal ball, but mine is permanently in the shop.
I got copy of a form that lists ten generic motivating factors relating to the job and passed it out to all of my staff. I asked them to think about their answers before assigning values to the factors (from one to ten), in order of importance.
Boy, did I learn a lot. Studies and research using similar forms show dramatic differences between what leaders think motivates their people and what really does. I found the same thing to be true when my staff and I went through the exercise for the first time. And here's a news flash: Cash ain't king. In fact, cash usually shows up in the middle of the list of importance, below non-monetary factors.
I'll bet the house that you'll see similar results when using a form like this in your organization. For the last ten years, I have had all my employees complete such a form every six months. And we kept team notebooks for each leader to use accordingly. What a management tool! I couldn't and wouldn't live without this in a call center.
What about you? Are you interested in knowing what really motivates your agents. Do you care to know? Or are you not interested in happier, more productive, profitable employees. According to Webster's Dictionary, motivation is "something from within, not without, that prompts or incites an action." Because motivation comes from within, it's not your job as a leader to actually motivate other people. In fact, you can't. Your job is to create an environment where agents will be self-motivated.
Time for lock-down. Cell doors closed and lights out. We end with one question: How many more unnecessary days, weeks, months or years are you going to spend in the yard?
Dave Worman, also known as "Dr. Motivation," is the author of "Motivating with Sales Contests" and "Motivating Without Money." He is also a featured speaker at sales and marketing conferences across North America. You can reach him at dave@doctorofmotivation.com.
