Answering Your Questions on Motivation and Staff Rewards

This week I wanted to do something a little different. As an influencer, it’s important my blogs are always engaging, fresh and dynamic.

I write about my experiences, and share my insights in the hope you will gain something valuable from reading them. After 30 years starting and scaling businesses, I have lots of stories. Stories of failure, stories of success. Stories as a businessman, stories as an employer. Stories as an entrepreneur, stories as a mentor.

But what’s the point in having all of these stories? Well, I can share them with you, and you can learn from them.

In that sense, everything I write should be tailored to you.

That’s why, this week I asked you to send in your questions.

I’m consistently asked about maintaining motivation at work. Building a career can be daunting and tedious so becoming complacent can happen way too easily. Motivating yourself is a very valuable attribute, but a difficult one to foster.

Another of my FAQ’s Is all about how to get a pay rise, or how to reward your staff. The majority of people feel they’re underpaid, but instead of doing something about it, they begrudgingly carry on.

Surprisingly, this isn’t the right tactic.

So, with those two themes in mind, I answered five of your questions:

? Arnaud Soleilhac? : “What reward plans have you put in place to attract and retain high achievers at your organisation?”  

Different people work differently. That may sound obvious, but it’s important that as employers, we understand this concept when it comes to offering rewards.

For some, a pay rise is the ultimate ‘thanks’ at the workplace. It’s a sign they’re doing a great job, and they’re appreciated.

However, this type of reward is sporadic, and involves a lot of decision making, hard work and negotiation from both parties. 

I believe it’s important we reward our staff on a regular basis. Not with monthly salary increases, but with small gestures that can make a big difference.

For example, every week I ask every member of my team to send me a weekly update on their progress. I read through each report and send an email with areas I’m impressed with, and those which have room for development.

This type of personal mentorship really breeds a good work ethic, illustrates employee appreciation, and shows that I do actually care – that I’m not an elusive manager.

Another reward I’ve found very effective involves equity opportunities. I invest in several different businesses, and surround myself with a team I trust and respect. Therefore, as an added benefit, I offer my employees the chance to gain equity in new investments. This not only creates long-term loyalty, it makes my team feel as though they’re part of something much bigger.

? Hamza Betraoui:  “How do you get your employees to give you 100% with minimal monitoring?" 

This is all about building trust. As I mentioned above, my weekly reporting is a very effective management tool, as it ensures every member of my team is keeping track of their successes and areas for improvement on a weekly basis. Therefore, each person can tell me what success looks like, and what steps need to be taken in order to achieve it. 

I believe absent management results in lack of morale and productivity. If you’re never at the office with your team, it creates a low performing team culture. I’m a busy guy, and I travel a lot. However, I have – and always will – make the effort to get into the office and work alongside my team.

Similarly, we adopt an open-office style culture. I’m not sitting alone in an office – I’m sitting opposite my communications team. I’m sitting a desk away from my finance guy. The HR team can ask me any question, at any time.

This open door policy means my team can work more effectively, and want to give 100% because they can see the direct benefits automatically. 

I also think it’s really important every employee has the chance to innovate, and come to their boss with creative ideas. Which is why I encourage autonomy within my team and will always listen to someone if they want to discuss an idea.

  ?Matt Standen?: "How have you found intellectual stimulation provides motivation compared to common motivators such as pay incentives?” 

Like I said previously, salary increases aren’t the be all and end all of incentives.

One incentive I believe is absolutely essential within business is effective training and development.

I know that sounds so boring and corporate, but offering your team the chance to excel themselves professionally is a huge advantage.

Not only are they upskilling, and molding their own route to success, as employers we benefit from increased market insight and new-found knowledge which directly impacts productivity levels.

I believe salary incentives are always short lived. Intellectual stimulation, on the other hand, is a gift for life. Knowledge cannot be taken away from you, and it’s the only way to better yourself in the long run.

? Emma Speirs?: “What has been your biggest setback? And how did you find the motivation to dust yourself down and overcome it?”

That’s a difficult question. As an entrepreneur, I’m not afraid to admit I’ve failed several times. I’ve invested in businesses that have completely flopped. I’ve acted out on a whim and, in turn, have paid for it massively. 

I think my biggest setback in business stems back to my first time starting up. My father always assumed I would take on the family business, but that was never my dream; I wanted to start something of my own.

When I told him my plan, it broke his heart, so I had no support, no qualifications, no money or experience. 

Like any entrepreneur, starting up meant I had no brand, no clients, no team; I was a nobody. Therefore, people didn’t want to do business with me.

I was shot down a lot, I was drowning in unpaid invoices, I had credit card bills and commitments stacking up BUT I never gave up. 

I found a small broom cupboard on Pall Mall and although it had no window, and only room for a desk and chair – I knew the address would provide me with added credibility.

Next, I decided to go back to basics and talk to everyone. I knew i just needed to get in front of the right people and I could sell it so I worked day and night, seven days a week. 

Once I’d started to build my credibility, I focused all my attentions on talent attraction and ensuring I had the best team to help me execute my vision.

I think like every entrepreneur, it was a real struggle failing and picking myself back up over and over again. But the positives always outweighed the negatives.

Motivation comes from knowing the though times will be worth it in the end. I knew that. 

Chibuike Ojukwu?: "What is most important to millennials - pay raise or great culture?"

I definitely think the latter is more important. More so than ever before, millennials want to feel as though they’re part of something bigger – they want to feel as though they’re working towards something great. 

These days, every single person I interview asks about company culture, what our ethos is and how sociable the team is. 

Pay incentives only last a certain amount of time. Building a great company culture, however, can last a lifetime. 

Culture automatically intensifies your ability to attract the best talent, it increases your brand reputability, and it increases employee morale.

It’s people who build businesses, not products or services. We should always be investing in our people and building businesses that reflect their desires – both financially and ideologically.