THE NEW MANAGER ROCKS THAT CONTEST

Once you have agreed on a budget and achievable results with your own Powers That Be, and have committed to holding a contest,  you can move forward with the details. What behaviors do you want to elicit? Which ones do you want to eradicate?

Rule number one is to reward the positive in any contest. Never attempt to punish the negative. See 01.17.16 blog

For example, perhaps starting time is 8 AM for everyone, and you are not achieving compliance. Rather than disciplining late arrivals, consider holding an impromptu Mini Contest. One morning you announce, at 8:30, “The following people were already seated at their stations at 7:59 this morning. Their reward is…” and now it’s up to your own ingenuity and knowledge of the rewards they value, such as:

·         They have earned an extra 15 minutes for lunch today.

·         They may choose a prize from your reward box.

·         Or maybe you simply hang a WINNER! sign at their station for the day.

Hint: You wait until 8:30 AM so that the late arrivals hear the praise. When they explain that they didn’t know, or produce an excuse for their tardiness, you respond with assurances that they will have other opportunities~~and make sure there are other opportunities for them to earn rewards and recognition.

You know your budget, your staff, and your challenges, so let your knowledge guide the process. Craft your contest rules with great precision. Give yourself loopholes in case you have inadvertently written a rule that sends you over budget, or that doesn’t produce the desired results.

Compute some variables: Is the contest challenging enough for your team to have to stretch? Are there rewards for your reps who may not be stellar, but who are steady and dependable? Are the top prizes reasonably attainable? What does it cost you if you have several top prize winners? What are your worst and best case scenarios? Before you announce the criteria, run your stats~~and then run them again.

Transparency and immediacy are key. Post updates as soon as they occur. Make statistics available at appropriate intervals, and continue to discuss their progress with them in positive terms. 

A successful contest is one that unites the group, rather than separates them. Each member of your team  surely excels at something, has some particular talent or quality that makes them valuable to the department. Celebrate them, and watch their contributions soar.

And remember: You are always the ultimate winner of any successful contest you hold!

Jeannie Newman, Chief Solutions Officer of JZN Associates, is an experienced creator of many successful and fun-filled department contests, across several different industries. She is available to  advise you on your contests, and to save you from pitfalls both obvious and hidden. Connect with her on LinkedIn or at http://jznassociates.com.

THE NEW MANAGER HOLDS A CONTEST!

Holding a contest is a great way for you to bond with your department and to inject some positive excitement into your staff. You can use the contest to learn more about their group dynamics, to build a stronger team, and to attain your required numbers. Announce your intentions to your staff at your weekly meeting.

Do not depend on your own good judgment when deciding on rewards. Why? Here are typical fails made by well-meaning managers: Handing out chocolate covered peanut candies or instant scratch lottery tickets. Oops! Is someone allergic to peanuts? On a diet? Diabetic? Observing a religious fasting period? And the lottery ticket  might be unacceptable to the winner’s moral stance.

Rely on your staff to advise you what  rewards are acceptable and desired. Phrase your questions in such a way that you do not single anyone out. You might state you were thinking of offering a specific treat, but wondered if you should, since it contains nuts, or sugar. Or you could ask whether the group thinks lottery tickets are an appropriate prize.

Typically, some of your staff will want immediate gratification, and some will enjoy a larger reward that takes longer time to achieve. Be prepared to provide both. As an example, you could offer smaller, incremental rewards for a shift or a week, and also larger rewards for the month or even the quarter.

Be especially aware of the metrics you choose, since you will get more of whatever you measure. You will  learn quickly whether the contest is successful in rewarding the intended behaviors. You will also learn quickly what inadvertent loopholes exist in your metrics. It is best to start off with a fairly short-term contest, so that you become aware of unintended consequences sooner rather than later.

Remember: You are always the ultimate winner of any successful contest you hold! 

Jeannie Newman, Chief Solutions Officer of JZN Associates, is an experienced creator of many contact center contests, across several different industries. She is available to  advise you on your contests, and to save you from pitfalls both obvious and hidden. Find her and connect with her on LinkedIn or at http://jznassociates.com.

Are You an Enlightened Leader?

Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within rather than external rewards.  Think of the Olympic athlete who knows they will never reach perfection – yet continually strives to do so.  Upon achieving the gold medal – 4 years later the athlete defends their medal and tries to outdo their personal best.  This is the ultimate description of intrinsic motivation – sacrificing to achieve what one sets out to do.

Although we may not reach the level of motivation that an Olympic athlete does – the fact is that we can engage our employees to become intrinsically motivated on the job.

First, your employees have to have a sense of purpose.  How do they identify and find the greater meaning within your organization?  Oftentimes, employees will be more productive when volunteering because they buy into the tenet of what they are doing.  

As human beings – we naturally want to make things better.  If we have autonomy and freedom – we will give in our ideas and implement them freely.  The little things about our job that bother us – we want to do something about them to make our jobs easier for both ourselves and our co-workers.  Although our reasons for doing so may differ, as long as we feel safe and trusted - we all share that inherent human trait. 

However, when employees are in an environment ruled by fear, we feel endangered and we revert to an every man for himself psychology. The following are some of the reasons I have heard employees say they don’t give in ideas:

•  ”Management doesn’t care what I have to say.  They never tell me what they think of my ideas – the last time I gave in an idea, I never heard back.”  “It is just the flavor of the month.  They are just out for number one.”  Make sure you respond to all employee ideas within a given time frame and that all ideas are welcomed and encouraged, no matter how small. 


•  “My idea is too small to make an impact and I don’t want to look foolish by bringing it up.”  It is important to remember that individuals bring up ideas because they are trying to solve something and although the solution they have come up with – may not be able to be implemented, chances are someone on the team has a solution that is able to be implemented.


•  “If I give in my ideas to improve my work, then management is going to lay me off.”  This is a very real fear folks.  The real purpose behind getting employee ideas is that your business will grow through those ideas and that instead of laying off your employees that helped your business to flourish, retrain your employees and put them into positions with more decision making authority so they can continue to use their knowledge to grow your business.


• “If I give in my idea, I will have to do all the work and it is another thing added to my to-do list and I am already swamped.”  Idea implementation should not fall solely on the idea originator but rather should be a team effort.

Creating an environment where ideas flourish is what good and enlightened leadership is all about!  So I ask again – are you an enlightened leader?

Idea Share Tip of the Month!

Employees will give in an average of 3 ideas without feedback and then will not give in another idea.  For example, your employee does something positive and nothing happens.  Your employee then tells anyone who will listen, “Nobody appreciates anything I do around here!”  This is counter intuitive to many leaders – as most leaders feel that doing nothing has no effect on performance.

Sign up for the Idea Share Tip of the Week! at Frame of Mind Consulting

Frame of Mind Consulting understands the unique DNA of your organization, which is necessary to turn any organization into one capable of leveraging the full idea potential of its employees.  Would you like to drive connectivity and ownership throughout your company?  Contact Page at (860) 559-7942 to set up your complimentary consultation during which you will receive some invaluable tips that you can apply to your business right away.