REWARD TO RETAIN STAFF

EP #28

 

“Do I need a life coach?” You’re listening to Episode 28, with Rhiannon Bush

 

Welcome to the Do I need a life coach? Podcast. We’re here to discuss the ins- and outs- of the life coaching industry and give you tools to use, to see for yourself. I’m your host, Rhiannon Bush. Mother, management consultant and a passionate, certified life coach.

 

Out on my morning walk this morning - I get up at 5am to go for a nice big walk, all by myself, I love it. I find 5am early and I used to always get up at 6am, but 5am was a bit too much for me. But if I don’t get up at 5am now, I don’t get my walk in. My walk gives me a chance to clear my mind, I have some me-time, I do some professional development and really go wherever I want (within walking limits of course). My morning walk gives me so much and I find when I do it, I’m just so much more energetic and patient throughout the day, especially around the 3pm time when I usually feel a little slump in my energy levels and concentration. I also find when I’m walking on my own in the morning, I have creative thoughts, I piece together information in new ways that I’ve been learning that I may not been piecing together before, and I just really take a breath before my day starts. I’ve always enjoyed alone, isolated, time by myself and for those of you who are parents, you’ll know that once you’ve had kids, that time is harder to find and so it definitely helps me manage my emotional energy and it’s time I really value.

 

So on my morning walk this morning, as I was walking I thinking about money. I think about money a lot. I like money  and I like thinking about it. And this morning I was thinking more specifically about the money we’re paid in a job. Now for a long time I have heard people say that no matter what you’re doing, you should do it to the best of your ability – your job, your housework, your cooking, your workouts, etc. make it as good as you possibly can. This is also very much I was raised. But I didn’t realise until recently, as in the last five years, what a barrier to quality time can be. If you have a lot of time, you can spend that on what it is you’re doing. If you have a shorter amount of time, you have to find a way to get it done. Because in order to produce quality work, completed, well rounded work, within a time frame, you have to understand what you’re capable of, your pace of working so you know how long to commit for to get it done. With a time crunch, the ability to be perfectionist, or spend forever on it is removed, you need to get something out the door. But time is often what will depict the quality if you’re used to working that way or don’t know what you’re capable of producing at what pace.

 

I also think it’s interesting when you’re working in a job, getting paid a certain amount of money what thoughts you have around it. I think there’s a real mentality and culture of whinging and people claiming they’re not paid enough for what they do and I’m curious as to where that comes from because when you have a greater understanding of business and the costs associated with running a business, and the risks it takes for business owners to hire people, pay them and keep those business doors open, it’s substantial. But I can see that when it doesn’t matter how well you’re doing your job or how many extra hours you do, you’re paid what you’re paid. It’s this time-for-money system where as employees, we’re capped by the amount of hours we’re paid to work and in which we’re to produce work. This is why I went into sales, where my results would give me extra money, and what I was paid had a direct correlation between my results, or should I say my efforts, and the money that landed in my bank account.

 

As in everything you do, do it well. Add as much of your knowledge and skills to what you’re doing as you can, in the time you have to do it. Be efficient with your time and produce. This way, when you’re doing things outside of your ”work” time, you can truly enjoy it and not think about the work you’re doing. That’s the benefit of being an employee. It’s safe. As someone who started their own business, believe me when I say it’s safe. So enjoy the luxury of getting paid to do what you do, having your benefits paid, being about to walk in and out without having the pressure of keeping the doors open and the mouths of your employees fed. When you’re at work, be fully, completely, holy at work – focused, productive, effective.

 

If you’re a business owner, an employer, middle-manager, team-leader and you have staff (maybe not all) that are under-performing or have a negative attitude, I’d consider that maybe they’re not in the perfect job for them. And that’s okay, that can be worked out. What’s really important is it everybody needs a certain amount of pay to feel safe to pay their bills and cover their expenses, and have a little bit extra to enjoy life. I do implore you though to have some kind of bonus structure. We have I your higher achievers who produce (measurably) above and beyond what you pay them in comparison with their level counterparts within the organisation, get that reward structure happening. I recently had this conversation with someone and they were talking about non-monetary rewards. I personally prefer monetary awards – as I said, I like money, and I also understand that a business may not be able to support that but money talks’.

 

I remember a client I had was working for someone who kept rewarding her. It was a bonus amount because of the work she’d been doing and she was able to book a holiday for her and her family. Or she was given a laptop. Not just getting a laptop to use, but was able to go and buy a brand-new laptop for work and then keep it. And I remember this client saying “I just feel so valued when my boss does things like that. It feels like I’m doing a really great job and that they notice and appreciates it, and then he gives me something significant as a thank you”.

 

When she left that employer, unfortunately it wasn’t her choice and redundancies were being made, her boss said to her that she was worth being paid substantially more than what she was currently being paid and that he’d made a lot of money from her. And that left a little bit of sour taste in her mouth. It was really great knowledge to have, she went on to have a role that paid her what she was “worth“ but there was an after-effect from that conversation. And who knows, maybe the redundancies were happening because the business couldn’t support that type of bonus structure.

 

So what I’m saying is if your employee comes out performing and producing in a way that you value, and you want to retain them… reward them. Make sure that there is some standardised structure in your business or cost centre that enables you to reward staff who are performing above and beyond what they’re paid. The reason it needs to be standardised and communicated it so it is fair and then all staff members know what they need to do to have that reward as well. By standardising it you can also ensure the business is able to support it longer-term, and you can use an existing staff members who are over-performing to model and establish the expectations you can use to establish criteria for those incentives. They shouldn’t be biased towards someone’s skill set if they’re especially unique, but should establish a level of output that will help the business or department generate more revenue to support the incentive structure. Reward your staff when they add value, especially when that value has a return on investment because of what they’re producing and creating.

 

If you’re an employee, you can start to work out what you need to do to add more value in your role to get paid more. What else can you be doing to create efficiencies, processes, and capabilities to save time and money or bring more money into the business. It’s very black and white.

 

That’s all I have for you this week, by for now, have a wonderful week.

 

 

 

 

Hey! Before you go, I always find reviews really helpful when looking for new information or insights…

 

I you’ve found this podcast valuable, please take a minute to write a quick review about what you’ve found most beneficial for you, so other people can benefit from your insights, and listen in too. I would LOVE that!

Also, if there are any topics you’d like me to cover specifically about life coaching or the life coaching industry, visit rhiannonbush.com to contact me. Thanks for joining and I’ll see you in the next episode of Do I Need A Life Coach?!

 

 

Please note, this transcription may not be exact.