STAFF RECOGNITION & MOTIVATION: GET IT RIGHT OR LOSE THEM

This week, Uganda’s social and traditional media has been awash with news of an amazing policeman-Abdallah Tusiime, whose work directing traffic while braving a downpour touched the hearts of Ugandans. A video shot by a road user(who was most probably in the comfort of their car as Abdallah was outside being hit by the downpour) was posted on social media showing Abdallah literally drenched in the rain, and with one post, the gods seem to have smiled at him. It turns out he has always had a wish of going back to school to pursue a Bachelors’ degree in law, but given the meagre earnings by police officers, he hadn’t got the chance. Now with his work going viral, his dream is closer to fruition as he has got a sponsor for his dream degree course. Another sponsor has also promised to pay the school fees for his daughter till she finishes university. The parliament of Uganda also recognised his services in today’s sitting, with both the speaker of parliament and the leader of the opposition in parliament agreeing that the humble officer deserves to be recognised and appreciated. The Uganda Police Force has also promised to reward him for his amazing work.

My challenge with all this recognition and reward is it is coming off an external factor! What if that passenger hadn’t taken initiative to take the video of the police officer in action and post it? What is the Uganda Police Force’s system on staff recognition and reward? Why did it have to take a private citizen to recognise the services of a lone officer clearly doing his work exceptionally well? The leader of opposition in parliament said he has seen that officer doing his thing for 4years and he is clearly exceptional. 4 years of doing exceptional work and you are recognised by a social media post! What systems are in place by the Uganda Police Force to recognise their exceptional performers, without the need for a social media post by a private citizen gone viral?

This article isnt about the Uganda Police Force. It is about you-the employer, the supervisor. All the questions above apply to you as well. Is it possible that your clients, your competitors, your colleagues in the business are all seeing that exceptional member of your team member, but you are blind to the fact? Do you have systems for identifying and rewarding exceptional performers? Do you have systems for identifying what motivates your team members? Did the Uganda Police Force know that all along, this amazing officer was praying to do a bachelors’ degree in law, or they knew it at the press conference when he was being recognised? What motivates your team, that you would be sure if you did it, you would touch the heart and soul of that staff member? (Abdallah was shown sobbing when he was told he had got a sponsor for his bachelors degree and a scholarship for his daughter. That’s my definition of touching the heart and soul of a staff member). Is it possible you have a system of recognition of performers, but you have got the reward system wrong? You are giving a return air ticket and a week’s treat to Dubai to a staff member that just needed clearing the medical bill for their ailing mother in hospital?

Is it possible that your competitors are seeing the great work your team member is doing and are actually pitching for him or her to leave you and join them? And then when they leave, you start accusing them of ‘poaching’ your staff, yet it is you that didn’t do anything to keep them? The 80-20 pareto principle says that 80% of your work is done by 20% of your staff. Who are your 20%? What systems are there to ensure they are retained and never leave-at best not for avoidable circumstances? You are sticking to salary bands, and job grades, as if everyone in the job grade has the same productivity? You only give your best performers a salary increment or even promotion when another employer gets to you for reference checks! Where were you all along-did you realise the person was performing when you got the request for reference checks, in which case you promoted them so that you don’t lose them-not because you appreciate the work they have been doing for some 4years? So your strategy to salary increment and promotion is when you are pushed to the wall! And then there are those (especially the For Profit sector) that do salary increment based on someone’s negotiating power. This leaves a very productive employee who doesn’t have the guts to negotiate with authority, but is the centre of the team, departmental and organisational performance, stay with a low salary, just because they don’t have the guts to get to you for a negotiation. Why don’t you have systems for rewarding performance, not negotiating power? Have you thought through the impact of a high performer knowing that a person who doesn’t do half of what they do for the business is actually earning double what they earn? Do you then get surprised when they send in that nice email that thanks you for being a great boss, and ends with ‘Iam sorry, I have to move on’?

The point iam making here is that organisations should have systems for recognising and rewarding exceptional performers, over and above what job grades and salary bands are giving. It is in your strategic interest that you don’t lose your 20%, otherwise, you potentially could lose 80% of your productivity and business. Make sure the Abdallahs of your organisation know that you know that they are working in the rain when the rest take shelter when the downpour starts. Make them know that you appreciate their efforts at an individual level to move the organisation and business forward. Very importantly, reward them with gifts that make sense to them-those that touch their hearts, not end of year parties, when they have 3 months’ arrears on their house rent! You will be surprised by how devoted they will become, and by implication, how much business you will make. You don’t know the impact of an employee who can die for you knowing that you know they can die for you! Ask Abdallah tonight as he thinks through how the gods have smiled at him, and tomorrow when he gets back to Mawanda Road to guide traffic.