3 Experiments to Retain Employees & Increase Productivity
I haven’t been in the workforce long enough, nor acquired the experience and expertise to say with certainty that the experiments in this post will work. That’s why this post isn’t called “3 rules…” and I’m not Peter Drucker. But guess what?
They will work. Not for every organization, every employee or every instance, but more often than not using these experiments will help you increase your retention rates and increase employee productivity.
Go ahead, try them out and let me know what you think.
Experiment #1: Enhance Value, Increase Productivity
If you suspect your team/sector/division is not working at capacity despite their insistence, try this experiment on for size:
Wait until there’s some new business in the pipeline and then tell your team that because everyone is working at capacity that you’re looking to bring in a new addition for X amount of money. Then offer the following alternative. Say this –> “That’s one option; the other is instead of bringing on someone new I can split the salary I would pay that person equally amongst you guys provided that you all can pool your resources and adequately take on the new business together.”
Most Likely Result: Your team takes option #2, and is easily capable of shifting time spent on Facebook and surfing the web to completing the new project.
The truth is that often times, particularly if they’re being paid under market value and they know it, your team may be putting in the manpower they think they’re getting paid for. While it’s probably not wise in this economy, it’s the truth. The extra money will make them feel more adequately compensated and they’ll feel re-energized to take on more responsibility. Instead of biding their time (and wasting yours), they’ll start taking more action.
Potential Downfall: Most of your team really was at capacity. The few that weren’t are completely apathetic about their job regardless, and are just biding their time until they can find something else. They won’t offer any help, and the others will burn out trying desperately to complete excess work. This scenario is dependent of you having a good grasp on your team.
Experiment #2: Outsourcing is for the Birds
Do you often outsource some tasks you don’t have confidence in your team to execute?
If so, prior to taking this route, next time ask your employees if they think they would be capable of performing the task or project you’re looking to execute. Tell them what the project entails, and see if it sparks any interest. Maybe you had no clue that Chloe was a whiz with Photoshop, or that Brad was a copywriter for an ad agency before he joined your team.
I’m not telling you to give an employee a chance on something that needs a quick turnaround and has to be stellar on the first attempt, but I do think you should think twice before paying someone a bunch of money for something an employee probably could’ve pulled off. Offer them the chance for half of what you would’ve paid the freelancer/consultant.
Most Likely Result: An employee that was scared to speak up has some past experience with the skills required to complete the project. She can manipulate her schedule around, and work just a few hours of overtime and feels confident she can deliver quality work given the chance. She leaps at the opportunity to showcase her versatility, especially with the extra monetary incentive. She stays late brushing up on a few skills and supplementing her knowledge by learning a few more.
She succeeds in delivering something nearly as solid as the freelancer for half the price. The client is happy, the employee learned new skills and has some extra spending money, and you saved money and empowered an employee to take on additional responsibility, which demonstrated your team has more value than you originally thought.
Potential Downfall: An employee attracted by the extra money takes on the task despite the fact that they really don’t have the skill to complete the project up to your standards. The result of this scenario is that you’ve wasted valuable time, but if you’ve set up periodic reviews as part of the process you can avoid wasting much time, and can cut the cord early on – seeking out the freelancer at that point. All is not lost as you’ve learned something important about that particular employee.
Experiment #3: Autonomy Rules
Let your employees work from wherever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. This doesn’t have to be all the time, or every day. Find a formula that works for you. Maybe it’s two days a week, maybe it depends on that person’s role, maybe it’s 20% of the time. Experiment.
In this video Dan Pink talks about the fact that employees are more motivated today by intrinsic factors such as autonomy, mastery, and purpose than monetary incentives. [I’d argue that monetary does matter, not because it buys more shiny things, but because it makes the employees feel more valued. Alas, that’s another discussion.]
Pink defines autonomy as the desire to direct our own lives. Are you looking for compliance? Or engagement? Each year, especially with all the new social tools being created, there are more and more jobs we can do from the comfort of our homes, from a coffee shop, from a library. I know when I have the freedom to work from wherever, I usually do more work, not less. Why?
I’m empowered. I work when I’m feeling sharp, during peak performance times. I appreciate the fact that the person in charge trusted me enough to give me the opportunity so I feel more obligated to return the favor by delivering the best work possible. What about you?
I know managers reading this right now are shaking their heads, “It’ll never work.”
Ah but it already has. At Atlassian, at Google. Did you know that half of all of Google’s new products have been birthed during Google 20% time where employees are allowed to work on whatever they want? Do some reading on organizations like Best Buy that have adopted the ROWE approach.
Science continues to prove autonomy is a key ingredient to motivating employees. In virtually every situation engagement, satisfaction, and productivity goes up, while turnover goes down.
Most Likely Result: Your employees are so grateful for the autonomy and the fact that you trusted in them, they amplify their efforts to prove to you that you made the right decision. Their productivity goes up, and they even work when they don’t have to because they don’t feel obligated and constrained by the traditional nine to five.
They still come to the office sometimes for human interaction, but they also take initiative to create their own interactions by networking with other business professionals that could help your brand. They attend important meetings, and they meet with other co-workers around the conference table to brainstorm sometimes, but they also go for a walk after lunch instead of staring at their computer screen. They come back re-invigorated, more passionate, and more inclined to perform at optimum level.
Potential Downfall: They take advantage of you. They work 6 hours a day instead of 8. They do less work, and they’re easily distracted without someone micro-managing them from the office. They do a poor job of communicating their status and what they’re working on to the admin, and their collaborative efforts falter. This is a quick fix. Tell them to come back to the office, or tell them to keep their last paycheck as compensation. Who wants these people working for them anyway?
If you want mediocre employees that don’t cost anything, consistently give you just what you ask for (it’s probably mediocre too) and nothing more then you’re on the right track. Chances are they’re completely content, and obviously you’re completely content to let your company hover somewhere between insignificant and irrelevant. But who cares right? You don’t have to worry about losing them to higher bidders.
BUT, if you want the best working for you, first pay them what they deserve. Get that out of the way and then try some of these experiments to empower your employees, increase retention and productivity. These are just a jumping off point. What more ideas? Read this brilliant slide deck from Netflix on their corporate culture.
As an employee which of these would entice you to amplify your efforts? As a manager, which of these have you tried with success? With failure? What are some additional pitfalls I’ve failed to mention? What are other examples of companies employing these strategies? Please share your insights in the comments section!
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Great tips to consider here Ryan.
All of them could work, or could fail horribly, depending on the situation and the execution.
#1 Employees that are used to reserving a little “slack time” in their daily schedule probably won’t give up that time for the new tasks. They’ll probably put less effort into other tasks to make it look like they’re doing more, while still spending time “slacking” as usual.
I think this would work better if it had a rewards system where employees would have to work toward a goal. This ensure that they’re earning the extra money and responsibility, rather than getting the reward and making it look like they earned it.
Same goes for #2. This would also ensure that the employee is actually capable of these responsibilities, before you hand it over to them
#3 I’m all for. I completely agree about the autonomy theory and think that this is certainly a trend that is occurring in the corporate world. I know a lot of people that say they work better at night (myself included). I also know that it’s important to change the scenery once in a while. Especially for those employees confined to a cubicle, its essential to change things up, keep the mind fresh and bring some life into their worklife.
Good stuff.
@DavidSpinks
David Spinks´s last blog ..One Fell Swoop Mentality
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admin Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am
@David – Thanks so much for the in-depth insights and feedback on these experiments.
#1 You make a valid point about “slack time.” What kind of rewards system did you have in mind? I guess it really depends on what the employees are making, and how much the extra income would impact them if the additional monetary compensation would make a difference.
#2 How would a rewards system ensure that the employee is capable of predetermined responsibilities? Did I read that wrong? I think there’s some potential disconnect here, though you could make a case.
#3 I think in reading the post it’s clear that autonomy is the ‘experiment’ I feel most strongly about as I just kept writing and couldn’t stop.
[Reply]
David Spinks Reply:
September 15th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I probably just wasn’t clear. It was late when I commented haha.
For #2 I just meant by rewards system that you wouldn’t just hand them the responsibility. You’d give them the opportunity to prove they can do these other things that you have been outsourcing, and if they rise to the challenge and do it well, you give them that bonus and give them that responsibility from then on.
David Spinks´s last blog ..An Epic Battle For Social Media Professionals
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I think a lot of Gen-Y type people are all about option #3, so it makes me wonder if down the road the traditional workplace may shift to this type environment, or if we get to be managers and fall into the same mindset they have now.
The first two, I’d agree that would work in fewer situations than the third, but in some, they’d be very successful.
Jackie Adkins´s last blog ..Luck Favors the Prepared
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admin Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Like a great coach, teacher, etc. managers really have to be in tune with their team the way a coaches are with players, and teachers with their students. The good managers care a lot less about themselves and their own accomplishments and lot more about the overall success of the company. If they truly know their employees they can make the right plays to drive that success, whether that’s via autonomy or another strategy. And you’re right – for Gen Y, we want the freedom, often more times than the dinero.
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Ryan, these are some really interesting “experiments.” I’d say at the core of each lies the most important piece – a manager who will give employees the “freedom” necessary but still knows what is going on. I am VERY fortunate in my company to have always had managers who let me “run wild” with most parts of my job responsibilities.
The thing with all of them, however, is that even when I thought they had no idea what was going they actually knew EXACTLY what was happening. It’s a delicate skill that very few managers possess, but is essential to the success of any of these ideas. Empowering your employees but not becoming so distanced that suddenly there’s a problem “that you didn’t realize.”
This will also help with the problem in each, which is essentially that someone is not pulling their weight/taking advantage of a situation/creating sub-par product/etc. If the now attentive manager empowers the employee but is also willing to have frank discussions then each experiment will be a success!
Someone once told me that managing employees is like raising teenagers. You’ve gotta give them room to figure it out for themselves and make their own mistakes, but at the same time be available both as a resource and support.
Elisa´s last blog ..Why Every Girl Needs A Guy…Friend
[Reply]
admin Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Thank you for saying what I wanted to say in a more succinct manner. You’ve hit the nail on the head. Freedom + Knowing your employees (really knowing them) and what they’re up to = success.
I don’t know why it’s such a hard skill for managers to possess. It’s simple. When I coached I knew which kids you had to yell at to get the best out of, and which ones beat themselves up so much that all they needed was an encouraging, “We’ll get them next time.” If you know people you can create your own experiences, or sometimes, they’ll create themselves.
I love the analogy of management with respect to raising teenagers. I think that’s a pretty accurate comparison.
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Elisa Reply:
September 14th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I think that is the first time you have ever referred to one of my comments as succinct.
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