Surface Ripples

Consequences in Performance Management

When there’s no consequence for a poor work ethic, and no reward for a good work ethic, there is no motivation.  

As leaders, our job is to motivate our teams and the individuals that comprise them.  One of the more difficult aspects of this is what I call ‘management by consequences’.  Essentially, this means that people are rewarded (or not) for the ‘right’ activity with some kind of ‘consequence’.  Traditionally, these have been a simple mixture of ‘carrot and stick’. In other words, if you did well, you received a pay rise.  If you did badly, you didn’t get a rise, or worse, you were sacked.

Then came studies that looked at what motivated different people.  These concluded that different people are motivated by different things; for example, not everyone is motivated by money (if they were, we’d have no teachers, armed forces, police, nurses, or firemen).  

Organisations started campaigns of ‘calling out’ good behaviour in front of others (of course, this also had the effect of demotivating those who never got mentioned or were ‘passed over’ for someone else), giving days off, vouchers for shopping, or other treats.  All this veered towards the concept of ‘positive reinforcement’ (i.e. the ‘carrot’ more than the stick to reward ‘desired behaviour’).

It didn’t really address the issue of consequences for poor behaviour though.  In this instance, there’s still more of a ‘stick’ approach.  In the end, if an individual is a destructive force in the workplace and all else has failed (by which I mean remedial action plans, counselling, and warnings both verbal and written), then for the sake of continuing good morale, productivity of the team and customer service at large, that individual has to go.

I’ve been unfortunate enough to experience both and can say in all honesty that there’s nothing worse than being fully aware that we’re letting down our team (at times, through no fault of our own that we can see) or being part of a team of which one member acts like the proverbial millstone around everyone’s neck.  In the end, there’s a sense of palpable relief on all sides when matters are ended, and the individual concerned parts ways with the team.  

In short, effective motivation is one of the trickiest skills to learn and the goalposts are constantly shifting.  Whatever happens, there must be consequences for the ‘wrong’ behaviour, or we stand to be the losers in an increasingly competitive world.

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 13:19