Keeping score with your employees

Today, we live in a society built very much around sports. We watch sports, play sports, or participate in an exercise plan that helps us feel like our heroes. In sports, we know the score is the thing. Even before the proliferation of online gambling, we would look at our phones, constantly checking for updates. “What’s the score now?” “Who is doing what?” “How is my favorite player doing today?” It can all be important—a vital part of the day for many. What are your favorite sports? Who are your teams, your favorite players? Yes, the score is the thing! We constantly seek a positive update, a better number, a favorable outcome.

Because sports and keeping score are so much a part of everyday life, shouldn’t you, as the property leader, searching for higher, greater wins, develop incentives to reward individual and team growth? Creating monthly or quarterly rewards presents the chance to incentivize the team while achieving greater results. Presenting and updating your scoreboard near the bulletin board provides an adrenaline snapshot that should encourage the team to focus on those areas you deem most important. Scoreboard snapshots help to deepen the message between coaching huddles, enabling all to know the score and then refocus their efforts. In this In My Opinion post, I provide three ideas for building change through incentives.

Reward the specific areas or categories you want to grow: After you budget X number of payroll dollars for incentives, think about the areas of weakest growth that can offer the most upside when results improve. Could it be more or better quality Monday outings, the volume or average receipt totals of sales in the shop, or maybe it’s working to keep golfers around after 18 for a sandwich and a drink or two? Keep incentives to a few and keep the story simple (achieve this, receive that). A key is to create programs that are shorter in duration and that pay off quickly. If your only incentives begin in March and pay off the following February, it will mean little and likely be cast aside by the many when they do not maintain pace with top achievers.

Show and constantly update results: Once you create a program where rewards are available, it is your responsibility to show the scores and update them often. I believe it is most valuable to present a real scoreboard, of some type, with all participants and their numbers. You may want to update it weekly, but in addition, update the results digitally after busy windows or as you see fit. The physical scoreboard is an important piece, making an important statement. A statement about what is important to the business. If you want incentives to work over time, show the scores, update the scores, and pay all winners quickly. Be certain your accountant is up to speed.

Pay off with cash (or maybe time off if your team likes that idea): Do not pay off in gift cards or merchandise. Hourly people need cash, not a restaurant gift card or clothing. Again, if you want to build programs you can rely on over time, start with a meaningful concept from the ground up, and never fail to make changes that work for the operation and team. Build programs that get your people to stretch and then pay off in rewards that work for them.

A critical thought in an incentive plan. There can be individual winners. There can be winning as a team or a bit of both. It is important to remember that the best salespeople want to be rewarded in total for their efforts and do not want to share their disproportionate success with team members who may simply mail it in. Be mindful of the programs you build and the people you build them for over time. Incentive plans can succeed. They can provide the changes you want to see. Know that you or your management team must be hands-on and manage the path and potential issues around execution. Focus on what you want to achieve. Focus on attitude. Understand the process.

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Jack Dillon writes the In My Opinion post. Jack is a long-time golf buyer and operator, and brand director. Today, he is a speaker, writer, and consultant helping clubs and their teams achieve very different results. Jack has a new presentation: Speaking of Speaking. This tutorial on communication, presentation, and better listening is being offered now. If your club or business is in Florida, ask Jack about a special offer. To learn more about Jack’s experience, go to www.youdontknowjackd.com or call Jack at 407-973-6136. Jack lives in Orlando.