Motivation: Executing the Fundamentals Brilliantly!

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Motivation Executing the Fundamentals
Brilliantly!

• Connecticut HDI chapter meeting
• 20 September 2007
• Performance Consulting
• 508.650.0770/mia_at_performance-consulting.com

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Agenda

• Meet greet
• What is motivation? What is your role?
• When do we typically use motivational techniques?
• What do the experts say about motivation?
• Activity
• What can we learn from outside of the help desk
  arena?
• Activity
• Best practices for motivating and coaching within
  the help desk arena

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Meet greet

• Your name
• Your company
• Your role
• Something about the topic of motivation that you
  would like to take back to your help desk
• Meet greet activity

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What is motivation? What is your role?

• Motivate
• To stimulate to action provide with an incentive
  or motive impel incite.
• Your role
• Set challenging, yet realistic goals
• Provide feedback and rewards
• Remove obstacles, provide resources
• Create a friendly environment
• Other?

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When do we typically use motivational techniques?

• When morale needs a boost
• When productivity needs a boost
• When an individual needs to demonstrate
  initiative
• When teamwork needs to be developed or enhanced
• Other?

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What do the experts say? Maslows Hierarchy of
Needs
fulfilled challenges, dreams
recognition
Self-fulfillment
love / friendship
Ego / esteem
job security
Social
food water shelter
Security
Physiological
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What do the experts say?Herzberg Motivation
Theory

• Top Hygiene Factors
• 1. Company policy/administration
• 2. Supervision
• 3. Relationship with supervisor
• 4. Work conditions
• 5. Salary
• 6. Relationship with peers
• 7. Personal life

• Top Motivators
• 1. Achievement
• 2. Recognition
• 3. Work itself
• 4. Responsibility
• 5. Advancement
• 6. Salary
• 7. Growth

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What do the experts say? Nelsons Ways to Build
Commitment

• Interesting work
• Information to effectively do a job, feedback
• Involvement in decision-making
• Independence latitude, flexibility, own ideas
• Increased visibility opportunities, recognition

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Activity

• Hand-out What motivates you?

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What can we learn? Costco

• Pay top wages within industry
• Pay health insurance benefits
• Retain competent employees (reduce turnover)
• Dont overcompensate the executive team
• Philosophy a loyal, well-compensated workforce
  means a more efficient and productive one,
  generating greater profits

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What can we learn? Zingermans

• Believe in and demonstrate passion for your core
  product
• Create an environment of integrity, trust,
  respect, and learning
• Use education and training to create a culture
  that is intellectually stimulating and a language
  and thought process that is unifying
• Think like a start-up
• Encourage and support internal entrepreneurship
  and ownership
• Invest in the larger community

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Intrinsic Motivators
Managers influence internal motivators
and rewards through job design. Job design
includes

• amount of autonomy
• breadth of skills used
• interesting and challenging work

• enjoyment of tasks
• control
• professional growth

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Extrinsic Motivators
External motivators are rewards given by the
organization. To be effective in a support
environment, they must be

• desirable to the recipient
• communicated to all team members

• equitable
• attainable
• cost effective
• on-going

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Extraordinary Performance Survey Results

• What motivates you?
• recognition and appreciation
• challenging, interesting work
• growth
• money
• communication job satisfaction

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What Tech Support Staff Say They Want

• Six weeks of vacation per year
• Telecommuting arrangement, with a
  company-financed DSL line
• Relaxed corporate culture with casual dress every
  day
• Company-sponsored certification training and
  continued education
• Signing bonus equal to one-quarter your
  first-year salary
• Flexible scheduling
• Stock options Lots of them
• Bonuses tied to your department's goals
• Company car
• Free daily gourmet lunches, juice bars, and
  specialty coffees at work
• Subsidized college education for your children
• Use of the companys Caribbean beach house one
  week a year
• On-site child care
• Free parking/country club membership (tie)
• Pet privileges You can bring Fido to work

Source Tech Republic
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What Selected Tech Support StaffActually Receive
- a real world example

• Recognition of client feedback
• Wall of Fame
• Travel to other countries and USA
• Support Appreciation Day
• MP3s
• Eco-tour
• Annual Team Event - spoof prizes
• Publish Monthly Statistics

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What Selected Tech Support StaffActually Receive
- real world example 2

• Company-wide Great Place to Work
• Emphasis on work - life balance
• Quality hours versus quantity hours
• 500 to everyone in firm as holiday gift
• Local events potluck lunch with comedian hired
  to entertain, holiday gift exchange, pizza, etc.
• On-the-spot award - monetary from 50 - 300 at
  discretion of local manager (company-wide
  guidelines, anyone can recommend)

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What Selected Tech Support StaffActually Receive
- real world example 2

• Monthly 50 award based on file of all kudos
  teamwork, customer service, etc. - manager keeps
  list - raffle - one winner, can be peer to peer,
  other team may nominate
• 500-2000 bonus in paycheck for high impact,
  long term contribution (6-month), top management
  approval - 2 awarded last year
• Reward for work over and above 8-hour shift, or
  over and above management or customer expectations

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What Selected Tech Support StaffActually Receive
- real world example 3

• Following reorganization, 3-month contest
  introduced to improve individual and team
  productivity, quality, and morale
• KPIs selected for individual and team FCR,
  cases opened, on-time attendance
• Product and monetary awards
• Top award was home theater awarded to a team lead
• Celebration dinner to present awards

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SSPA Study

• Top 10 of all performers said
• 1. Work/Life Balance (flexible schedules)
• 2. Personal Reputation as Key Contributor
• 3. Intrinsic Rewards (appreciation/recognition)
• 4. Financial Incentives (long term, spot bonuses,
  goal attainment)
• 5. Training and Performance Linked
• Top Performers find great value in training
  theyre
• motivated to complete certifications for higher
  base pay

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Activity

• Hand-out Assessment tool

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Best Practices Coaching

• Coach each team member once/month (about
  ½hour/session)
• Coach for skills
• Focus on accountability for attitude
• Define the coaching session for new team members
• Have other team members identify areas for
  coaching
• Focus on specific steps the team member will take
  to improve or excel
• Coach a team member into a position that is a
  better fit

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Best Practices

• Hire the right person for the right job by
  consistently updating job/skill profiles and
  refining hiring/interviewing techniques
• Present learning/performance expectations and
  core curriculum at outset of employee
  relationship
• Engage in monthly coaching sessions with each
  team member to build knowledge/professionalism
• Utilize coaching as an ongoing method to
  emphasize business goals and learning
• Recognize success and incremental improvement
• Emphasize rewards whatever it takes

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Motivation Executing the Fundamentals
Brilliantly!

• Connecticut HDI chapter meeting
• 20 September 2007
• Performance Consulting
• 508.650.0770/mia_at_performance-consulting.com