employee-compensation, compensationI run a successful but slow growth startup. We grew to 25 people with several m$ revenue but we operate in niche markets therefore the growth is limited even though we do a good job.
We used to work 50-60 hour weeks and now we barely hit 45. As the survival risk is lessened and multiple product lines established people are not as motivated. I get this and to a certain degree it is expected.
However this is not what I like in terms of organization characteristics. I want hard work to be part of our DNA and I do not want to loose that edge.
Now I am looking for incentive and compensation strategies other than stock options (which I don’t believe) which rewards achievement exceptionally and still helps to maintain a certain team spirit.
Are there strategies, plans based on research I can employ? Could you give me pointers ?
I think the metric of how many hours people work as a measurement of how hard people work is not a useful one.
In many jobs that I have done I have found I can do much more work in far less time than my colleagues. If we are only pushed to work more hours then that would act as a disincentive towards me working more efficiently. Why work faster when it doesn’t mean I get more spare time?
Also, as people get more efficient then they would not need to work as many hours to generate the same output and if they are generating a greater output why should they be paid the same as previous.
I have managed many teams. The teams I get the best output from are the ones that I trust. I give them autonomy and ownership. In studies, once you take away salary as an incentive to turn up to work, which is quite a big one then the two other big motivators are autonomy and ownership.
I allow mt team to feel in control of their own time, that they can come and go as they please as long as the work is getting done. It fits around their life. There are certain team meetings that they should not miss so we can all work smoothly, but we measure and track output and progress rather than hours spent.
This means that if they have finished their work, they are getting rewarded by being able to enjoy their life and spend the money they are earning by being good at their job.
When they come to me with questions about their work I first of all ask them how they would solve the problem. Let them own the work, support them in their decisions, give them ownership over their own solutions and take the hit myself if they make a mistake, so they can feel safe in taking risks.
Ownership and autonomy. Feeling in control over your own destiny and in control over your own life is what every one of my employees has valued most. This has actually resulted in them working more hours than they usually would. They own the project and take pride in it and so turn up out of hours. Not because they are asked to but because they want to and know they don’t have to.
Yes, there are certain types of people, certain personality types that find this freedom more stressful than enjoyable. I am not necessarily the manager for them, but they often require strict lists that they can check off to feel accomplishments and start and finish times for work so they can feel they are within the boundaries and succeeding to follow the rules. I think the most difficult thing is managing these two types of personality within one team, as they can often not see the benefits of each other’s model of working.
I’m aware that this may not directly answer your question because it may be a large departure from your own management style at the moment. However, asking or expecting people to work 50-60 hours is, in my view unreasonable and can be damaging to them. Giving them enough incentive to be willing to work those hours but asking them not to because you value their health and work/life balance will give you a team that appreciate you and want to work for you.
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