I fyou were in my team what would incentivise you? (apart from cold hard cash!)

[WideWebWitch]

I have a small team reporting to me atm who are very unhappy and demotivated and I need them not to be so! There is a lot of stuff medium and longer term that I can and will do to improve their lot and make their jobs and lives easier but in the meantime I have a very small (£1k ish) budget to improve their morale - does anyone have any ideas? So far I'm taking them out for a team lunch next week and I'm also thinking of:

Granting a lie in/the ability to leave early to the best performing team member of the month
A decent bottle of wine for the best customer service of the month
What else?
Any and all ideas welcome, TIA.

my boss takes me out for a coffee now and again. apart from the obvious work gossip he often asks about the many trails and tribs i have with the kids - which for a man who doesn't have any i think its quite sweet of him to listen. so i think knowing a bit of background about them and asking about their families.

make the 121's happen in an informal environment like at a coffee place - where things are more relaxed

regular nice e-mails saying job well done - or thanks for trying or even though you havent reached your performance target i have noticed how hard your working

i think you should encourage everyone to bring in fruit and chocolates - you should start - and leave them in a central place. we have them ( right near my desk ) people bring in stuff and there is always sweeties and biccies and fruit to nibble on as your walking past the computer - which inevitably leads to a "who brought these in today - oh they're nice" informal team bonding thing.

Recognise and acknowledge work that is done well. Don't just draw attention to mistakes (this is what my boss does and seems filled with glee on the rare occasion I do cock up). If you do have to haul someone over the coals, make sure they know what they've done wrong. Agree a plan to put it right and monitor it (without breathing down their neck). Give feedback.

Don't scream, shout and slam doors (I have had some terrible bosses, can yu tell?!). Or burst into tears (sure you wouldn't!).

I agree with whoever said "change". I inherited a team of people who were really stuck in their ways, had managed same projects for years. With huge resistance, I swapped some around, which made sense, so eg one person was dealing with good governance, another with the environmental projects etc etc. Previously they had all been doing a bit of everything, they (eventually!) liked the new system as it enabled them to become "experts" in one area.

I'd be motivated by the ability to leave early or take a half day occasionally. Wine or choc wouldn't do it for me, but prob not a bad idea. Does this help?

Employees regard with a cold and cynical eye all attempts by the boss to motivate them to work harder and quite rightly so IMO. Cold hard cash is the only surefire winner to get my loyalty!

But you could also try a present for everyone in the department on reaching a particular milestone. There are companies which will do a nicely wrapped box of wine or chocolates or something like that. My company recently did this, and it did have the desired effect, ie I feel appreciated.

A company I once worked for in the past tried the same thing, but the cash value of what they gave was around 50p per person (about 2 years ago). Needless to say, this did not go down well with the employees, although it did provide a morale boosting laugh.

WWW - I worked for a company which used to provide lunch every Friday. Sometimes sandwiches, or pizza, or fabulous puddings when we brought our own sandwiches. It was a really nice way of getting everyone together informally at the end of the week.

We also had an "employee of the month" award where each member of the company voted for the person they thought had made the most progress/made a real difference/made the most effort etc. The winning employee would get a cash bonus of about £200. It had the effect of encouraging everyone to think about the other people they worked with, and recognise when someone had put in an extra effort.

Oooh, just remembered, if we recommended a friend for an available position in the company and they were appointed, after that person had been in the job for 4 months (I think), we were given a cash bonus (about £250 I think).

I now work in a school where in recognition for us giving up our own time to run an after school club, we are allowed to book a day off during term time and the Headteacher will cover our class. It may not have the same impact in your industry, but for teachers and learning assistants to be able to take a day off during term time is just fabulous!!!!

I think that the fact you are here, asking the questions shows what a fab team leader you're going to be.

We did the everyone bring in something for a brainstorming sort of team meeting one lunch, and it was a real success, everyone enjoyed it, and I think it helped the team get to know one another better. We do occasional socials, but this doesn't suit those who have to get home or who have long journeys, so it's good to have a mix. I don't do late mornings/early afternoons, but do encourage flexible working, and if there is someone who has really been working hard I do encourage them to take time in lieu (we don't have overtime).

• biscuits at team meetings

- encouraging people to work on something with someone they don't usually work with - saying 'thank you, you did a great job on x today' at least once a day - being very specific about what level of achievement you expect (but - not on a micro-managing basis, more a weekly or monthly one) - being a role model about eating lunch away from your desk (I compromise by eating mine a someone else's desk!) - asking them... team training away from the office - more comfy chairs, more privacy if open plan offices, better blinds on the windows so no reflection on computer screens - pot pouri in the toilets - a group tidy up/filing blitz day - defending your team to those in authority and praising them publically - not making friends or being too open about your personal circumstances (I realise this sounds daft, but once you become friendly with a few people, you demotivate the others)

Tell them how it is. Praise them. B***k them when needed, set clear objectives.
Personally I would spend the cash on a team building day, but perhaps leave some for a quarterly award or something.
Praise, attention, clear guidelines - v few people are truly motivated by money IMO

Thank you for all these great ideas. Nooka, I don't want people to work harder, not at all, I want to improve their morale and make them happier and better equipped to do their jobs! And I don't want them to leave/look for other jobs either. This morale boosting stuff is in addition to changing things about their workload plus changing other big stuff too boring to mention which will make a big difference to the team work/their treatment by people outside the dept. We're having a meeting on Monday with danish pastries and proper coffee (this doesn't usually happen in dept meetings!) and my 2 supervisors and I are going to leave the room for 5 minutes while the team write their gripes/ideas for improvement/things they'd like to see on a flipchart. They will be able to do this anonymously. They will be warned in advance, they will only have 5 mins to get it all onto a flip chart though. I think we'll take it from there. (btw, I'm not a 'team leader' - what a horrible expression! gosh that sounds chippy doesn't it, it's not meant to be though)

Some great ideas here, thank you so much all of you. I'll let you know which were particularly well received.

FWIW- i feel i am a team player - but hate the after work social thing cos all that gets talked about is work, or end up sitting . team lunches are nice, cos its expected to talk about work but nice to do a little socialising as well. always think a voucher is nice way of rewarding someone rather than a bottle of wine - its discreet and can be spent on exactly what they want -(eg. tesco- they can buy the booze they want or even just to help out with the shopping, buy book or cd ).

I like the lie in. lunches never did it for me, i found most didnt want to fraternise with work colleagues in their own time. I found spending time with them and giving GROSS appreciation seemed to do it. I would ask them to assist you in some of your tasks where possible as this makes them feel valued and important. I read somewhere that a poll had been done on the workforce as to what was important to them. Money or incentives were not priority. Appreciation of a good job done and recognition that they were valued by next in command. Good old fashioned verbal encouragement and time with them.

Hi www - didn't mean to imply I was a slave driver! I just find that some of my team will work themselves so hard that I really have to send them home occasionally - or tell them that the afternoon they want to take as leave should be in lieu.

Sounds like you are a very caring manager, and I'm sure they will appreciate the coffee and danishes. I find small things can make a big difference (so long as your team doesn't think they are a cynical piece of bribery!)

Gawd nooka, no chance of that, there's tumbleweed in our office at 8.59am and 5.00pm and 1 second. I didn't mean to sound snippy, sorry

That's OK - I didn't think you were snippy - just didn't want you to think badly of me! Very caring sharing sort of boss me (I hope!!!) The main problem I have is with telling them when they are not pulling their weight. I hate doing that so much that it always comes out badly - either they don't notice, because I'm too nice, or they get upset because I'm too abrupt. Luckily they are a great bunch!

Hi I must admit I find lunches a bit of a chore because everyone is very polite and does not really talk about anything except niceties. Evenings are worse because of having to make the arrangements but people are normally more relaxed with a drink or two so generally more fun. I always feel most motivated when I know what I am working for, i.e. that I am involved and therefore communication works best so telling the team have well they have done and praising always works well as does ice creams. Praising and more communication are probably just as effective as spending money on people. Also working on projects, i.e. giving everybody something to concentrate on means everyone feels part of the team and therefore more inspired.

Well I really hate my management so the things they could do to motivate me (and the team I work with) are-

Notice when we go above and beyond, reward for not taking sick days, listen and respect that we know what we are doing, give us a say in what happens.

Basically what we all want is a management that realises that we are people who put an awful lot in and don't get much out. If I felt that the huge amount of effort that we put in was noticed/rewarded (even small things like a tin of chocolates in the staff room) would make me work harder. However all we get is crap so nobody goes above and beyond and moral is low.

(sorry personal vent there!)

just for it to be noted the extra time and things you go out of your way to do, and for it to be appreciated would have been enough for me.

no rewards, or bonus necessary.

Appologies if I'm repeating something already said (have'nt finish reading the thread)

-Remember that being a boss is like being the trainer of a futbol team: If your team do well the players are to thank for, if it doesn't, it's you fault. (In other words never blame individual workers for any of the mistakes, but give them all the credit when they do well).

-Be sure that all your team knows all the time what is expected of them, I have noticed that teams loosely coordinated tend to get low moral.

-Be genuinely interested in them, and don't forget that a happy team works more and harder than a harassed one.

-Never ever reprimand an employee in front of the rest of the team.

-Time out of work is a great bonus, even a couple of hours, specially when they have gone home very late a day before just to keep a deadline. I never let the people I coordinated lay still when there was not work to do, they were allowed to leave early, had a long break, or to take time off if they had a problem, exam or whatever. But when something needed to be done, I expected them to stay until the work was finished even if that meant to see the sunrise, curiously... every body was happy to do it, it was like a team triumph when the task was finally finished Gosh, how much do I miss those days!

HTH

I know it's nowhere near Christmas - but my dh's favourite motivational perk is getting one afternoon off to do his xmas shopping (even though last year he spent it in A&E with ds).

He doesn't even seem to realise that he has to work harder for 2 weeks to cover the other people's afternoon off!

Personally I am a morning person and a lie in is meaningless to me because of ds. But maybe the choice would allow morning or afternoon people to be treated.

Thanks all. I'm going to ask them this morning so I'll let you know what they say!

havnt read the whole thread so apols if it's been suggested. The biggest impact I had once was to send a bunch of flowers to the top performer/s partners at their workplace with a note thanking them for their support at home & praising how valuable they are within the team (esp good if they regularly work overtime). Both of the ladies rang up to thank me, thought the company was great etc and the long term result was fantastic with the extra support from home.

This is all great stuff. I am the HR Manager in a small partly funded charity, and the staff are really hacked off at the moment! I shall suggest some of these to our Director and see what happens.

I think a mix of rewards for both personal and team targets is a possible idea.

Regular communications from the top are also well appreciated, so that people know what is going on in the organisation- as well as the 1:1's with the line manager.

People, quite rightly want to feel included.

Pizza days seem to work in DH office, everyone gets together round the table even if only for 5 mins, instead of hiding like squirrels with their pack lunches. As others have mentioned things like bringing ice cream on hot days make you a bit more human but a air conditioning unit may be appreciated more long term.

I think giving people a chance to be in control of their own job and having a say in office matters, stress is often present where people have no control.

Housekeeper for the weekend - what bliss - home comforts and someone to make meals, tidy etc.

Send emails to your boss telling them about how well your team is doing and what they have achieved. Copy them all into it.

I just found this old thread and thought I'd update it.

Of the original team about 4 left when I arrived. Fair enough, they could see there were going to be changes and didn't think they'd like them. When I asked the team what they wanted and what would improve their morale the main answer was 'no changes' so I had to tell them that wasn't going to happen. I was honest since I was brought in to change things. Since then we've had:

A team night out with hotels and cabs paid for
A team lunch
An award from my boss for an exceptional team achievement - it was vouchers and we used it to buy a team treat cupboard (we voted on what to get)
A star of the week, the whole team vote for the team member they think has been the star of the week, the prize is an hour off so the winner can either come in late, leave early or have a 2 hour lunch. Temps can still charge for this hour
A record kept of every time we're thanked and passed to my boss
Clear targets and updates on progress
Weekly meeting with a rotating chair and secretary
voicemail
I buy a round of coffees once a week (about a tenner each time)
The team are invited to join me and my 2 direct reports for lunch whenever we go. Some even took us up on it a couple of weeks ago, which I don't think would have happened at the beginning

Altogether it's a happier team I'd say. They even bought me Champagne and flowers when I left work last week (temporarily, I've got a week off to get married) so I think I'm getting there. Anyway, just posting this in case someone else finds it useful and to update those who contributed because I said I would and then didn't!