Want to triple your team’s productivity without spending a dime?
I’ve seen countless contractors throw money at the problem of employee motivation. It’s a trap I’ve fallen into myself, and I bet you have too.
Back when I was scaling American Building Contractors, we tried every cash bonus and spiff imaginable. Sure, we’d see a short-term bump in performance. But it never lasted.
Then I stumbled upon a counterintuitive approach that changed everything. It’s an approach backed by research and proven in the trenches of real-world contracting businesses.
Let’s dive in!
Employee Motivation: Ditch the Cash, Embrace Experiences
Cash incentives are a motivation dead-end. Here’s why it matters so much:
Money motivates in the moment, but its impact fades fast. Think about it – do you remember what you spent your last bonus on?
We don’t remember the money. We get the money, we have a celebration for about an hour, you might even gloat over it for a week, but then you spend it in all kinds of places and you don’t ever relate it back to the work accomplished.
Here are 3 examples that illustrate why experiences trump cash:
- The Topgolf Olympics: We took our top performers to Topgolf for a day-long tournament. Months later, they were still talking about how bad they were.
- Baseball Game: I arranged for my sales team to take batting practice with pro pitchers. Years later, they still bring up that day.
- The Mystery Road Trip: We loaded everyone on a bus with no destination revealed. The shared adventure created lasting bonds.
Each of these experiences created shared memories, inside jokes, and a sense of belonging that no amount of cash could replicate.
Those are the things that will really get people to help you achieve that shared vision that you’re looking for.
Stick with cash, and you’ll watch your team’s motivation slowly evaporate. They’ll start seeing bonuses as an expected part of their compensation, not a true motivator.
The research backs this up. In their groundbreaking work “Freakonomics,” Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner explore the hidden side of incentives. They found that people respond to incentives in ways that are both predictable and surprising.
Know Your People, Tailor Your Incentives
Successfully personalizing incentives can take engagement to a new level. Don’t skip this step.
Take the time to truly understand what drives each team member. Are they saving for their kid’s college? Dreaming of a new truck? Passionate about a hobby?
My best advice is to know your people. If I know my people, then I know how to incentivize them.
Resist the urge to make assumptions. Dig deeper:
- Schedule one-on-one conversations focused solely on understanding their goals and interests.
- Create a “motivation profile” for each team member, updating it regularly.
This investment pays off in laser-targeted incentives that actually move the needle.
If I have a guy that likes to drive race cars and drive fast I’m may apply an incentive to earning a trip to a track and doing a track test day. But that’s only because I know him.
Remember, what motivates one team member might fall flat for another. It’s not one-size-fits-all.
Avoid the “Winner Takes All” Trap
Relying on traditional contests can backfire spectacularly. Tread carefully here.
The same few top performers will win every time, crushing morale for everyone else. This has to be the number one mistake people that do any kind of incentive make.
Especially when it comes to sales teams, you tend to have the same group of people of two to five people that win every contest like that. It then becomes boring to the other 10 or 15 folks that you have selling for you.
Ask yourself these questions before launching any contest:
- Does this reward effort or just results?
- Can everyone realistically participate?
- Am I inadvertently encouraging sandbagging or other counterproductive behaviors?
- How will this impact team dynamics?
- Is there a way to recognize improvement, not just top performance?
- Can I structure this so multiple people can “win”?
Thinking through these factors prevents unintended consequences that can poison your team culture.
Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Incentives
Getting this mix right amplifies the impact of your entire incentive strategy.
Think about mixing quick wins with long-term targets. This approach keeps your “I want it now” folks in the game while also building towards bigger accomplishments.
Now, you might be wondering: How do we find that sweet spot between too much and just enough? Well, there’s a key concept here that often gets overlooked – the difference between “expected” and “unexpected” rewards.
Let’s break it down. Your “expected” rewards are the basics – things like commissions and standard bonus structures. These are the “if I do X, I get Y” kind of deals that everyone knows about.
But here’s where it gets interesting. In my experience, a well-rounded approach works wonders. Picture this: daily shout-outs for stellar customer reviews, monthly team bonuses when we hit our targets, and the big one – an annual company getaway when we smash our revenue goal.
The secret sauce? Keeping the conversation going. I made it a point to regularly remind my team how their day-to-day efforts were paving the way to that epic annual trip. It was like a constant spark, keeping everyone pumped and focused.
And let me tell you, when it comes to these long-term incentives, consistency is key. It’s all about keeping it front and center.
I’d often say something like, “Hey team, just a friendly reminder – your performance right now is either on track or off track for joining us on this awesome trip. Where do you want to be?”
This approach? It works. It keeps people motivated, engaged, and always striving for that next level.
Measure, Adjust, Repeat
When you see real shifts in how motivated and productive your team is, you’ll know your efforts are paying off.
Before you roll out new incentives, get a baseline on key metrics. Then, keep tabs on how things change. Don’t be afraid to fine-tune your approach – it’s all part of the process.
You know what’s exciting? When you figure out what really gets people going. No more throwing money at the problem with those cash bonuses that often miss the mark.
This method works because it taps into what makes us tick as humans – we all want to feel seen, to belong, and to grow. As I like to say, “There’s an incentive behind everything we do.”
Watch out for the trap of thinking one reward will work for everyone. That’s a surefire way to leave most of your team feeling left out.
Getting this right takes practice, but it’s not rocket science. The key? Get to know your people. Ask them about their dreams, their goals. What are they working towards?
Start small. Have a heart-to-heart with just one team member about what makes them tick. I bet you’ll see a difference in how engaged they are within a few weeks.
When you shift gears from cash to experiences, tailor your approach, and keep a good mix of incentives, you’re setting up a motivation strategy that does more than just boost numbers. You’re building a stronger, more tight-knit team.
So, what do you say? Are you up for giving your incentive strategy a fresh spin? Your team – and your bottom line – will be glad you did.
Jim Johnson