What behaviors do you want to see from your team? There’s probably a laundry list. Some of the items on it may include:
- Showing up on time
- Treating others with respect
- Taking personal responsibility
- Having an excellent work ethic
- Clear communication
- Bringing a positive attitude to work
- Flexibility
I’m sure your list can go on and on. It’s frustrating to have a list of behaviors or qualities you want in your employees, but they just don’t want to live out those behaviors.
There’s a secret to unlocking the best potential in your employees. Well, maybe it’s not a secret, yet it’s an action many leaders fail to take.
Reward Those Behaviors!
If you want different behaviors from your employees, you have to be willing to reward the behaviors you desire. It’s as simple as that.
Research shows there’s a measurable increase in behaviors that are rewarded. What does this mean for you?
Watch for behavior you want repeated:
That’s right, you’ve got to watch your employees and what they’re doing. When you see your employee doing something you want repeated, take note of it.
Watching for great, positive behavior is the first step. You’re making a list, checking it twice, and figuring out precisely what you want done.
Reward the behavior:
If you observe positive behaviors you want repeated, you must be willing to step in and reward the behavior. You may feel this is juvenile or childish. It’s not.
People long for positive reinforcement. They want to know others are seeing their good works, their good deeds.
How can leaders reward positive behavior? It doesn’t have to be difficult. You can reward positive behaviors by:
- Pointing out the behavior you saw and why you want to see more of it
- A certificate or plaque recognizing the behavior
- Small, monetary bonuses
- An increase in time off
- Team celebrations
- A more customized approach, dependent on the employee
The more you recognize and reward positive behaviors, the more you will get the behavior. Ensure you’re looking for good behaviors and rewarding the ones you observe.
How To Implement Rewards
You will need to find a way to implement a reward system. When you have a method to the madness, rewarding your employees becomes almost second nature.
To implement rewards for behavior, consider doing the following:
Be consistent in rewarding your team.
Find ways to make rewards proportional to the behavior.
Mold the culture to be open to rewarding positive behaviors.
Seek feedback from employees. How do they want to be rewarded?
Document and track positive behaviors. They can be a starting point for overall raises.
The more you focus on the positive behaviors of your team, the more positive behaviors you’re going to get. The same applies to negative behaviors. Make sure you’re rewarding the behaviors you want to see. Correct the behaviors you don’t want to see.
You’ll find this a challenge to begin with. However, the more you do this, the easier it will become.
How will you reward your team members when you observe positive behaviors?
