how to keep your staff motivated
Events like the Covid-19 pandemic have tested the relationships we have with our teams like never before.
It’s left us asking many hard questions.
-
Can we afford to bring our staff back to an empty dealership?
-
Will our staff even return when we need them?
-
Is our dealership still viable in a distanced world?
Though it can’t address the financial viability of prospects entering the dealership, our company culture has long since been the glue that binds our teams together. Some company cultures are more evident than others, just enter a dealership and see how connected the people are.
brand exercise is free.
Check out our captain insight!
WALK HAND-IN-HAND
Walking hand-in-hand with our culture, especially as we bring our teams back from furlough, is our ability to keep them motivated.
But like every culture, every member of our teams doesn’t come to work for the same reasons. That means it isn’t always just about the paycheque. Even if we could afford it, we can’t just throw more money at the situation and expect everyone to fall in line.
From Brandon Smith’s, Sales Manager at Steel Chevrolet, perspective, the issue comes down to how we focus. Throughout the pandemic, he has continued to focus on the success and results that his team has enjoyed. It doesn’t matter about the timing either. Whether those successes came before the pandemic or after, every small win is worth highlighting.
BUILD TRUST
Will Harris of lead management company Rapid RTC takes a different tactic. Rather than looking at what his teams have done for him, his perspective goes in the other direction.
He’s focused on building trust with his people through a few straightforward steps; communicate in an open, honest, and transparent fashion and then give them the tools to be successful. His theory hinges on the prospect that if you let them know you care and that you’re there if they need it, then they will be driven to succeed.
Both those sentiments aren’t far from what Sean Kelley, an industry leader in motivation, says will keep your people working at peak performance.
INDIVIDUALITY
Kelley, a development coach, has developed a system that entwines with your company’s culture to motivate your people individually. In his words, his focus is to help dealers understand what makes each person tick, not just the sales staff, but every member of your team.
People aren’t motivated by what you want them to be motivated by. Everyone wants something different. It could be anything; time with family, money for other things, financial stability, or a promotion. Our goal as leaders is to show our people that they get more of what they want when they achieve our goals.
Kelly’s system is predicated on ten motivators, though three primary ones always come out on top; to feel valued, to be fulfilled, and to obtain mastery. You’ll notice that his theory isn’t built on the concept of just throwing more money at a problem. The onus is upon us as leaders to determine what our people want.
There are ways to achieve many of these motivators that have nothing to do with spending money. We can offer recognition to those looking to feel valued, show a deeper meaning of how our work impacts others for those looking to be fulfilled and challenging those looking for mastery with new skills and abilities.
The more of these motivators we address, the more engaged our staff will become.
So, do you know what your staff needs? We have likely spent long hours developing a fair and just system for remuneration. Still, like any system, it may fail to achieve our desired results if we don’t periodically do an audit. We may discover a simple thank you or day off goes as far for some employees as a pay raise.
check out these other blogs!