Rewarding and Motivating Employees

by Bob Kulpa, Adorno & Zeder, P.A. 

                One question making its way through the sessions and out-of-class discussions at the ALA Education Conference in Baltimore was “What is the best way of motivating and rewarding employees?”  After listening to the consultants and my peers and reviewing my notes, I conclude that there are several answers, none of them mutually exclusive, all with advantages and disadvantages, none of which on their own provide a ready-made solution.  Here are highlights of the discussions.

Pay and Benefits

                Pay and benefits top the list of rewards and motivators.  Some experts disagree, but most “line managers” in our industry reluctantly agree that “money talks.”  We already know that the legal industry market has forced up associate salaries.  It is also forcing increases in staff, particularly secretary, salaries.  Administrators are having a difficult time justifying salary levels based on job evaluations and performance appraisals alone.  There was talk about deferred bonuses for key staff employees, such as functional managers.  The idea of a deferred bonus is to award the bonus in one year but pay it in another year in order to insure the employee’s “loyalty.”  This seems to work best in conjunction with profit-sharing pension plans. 

Recognition

productivity, and the bottom line.  It reduces stress, absenteeism, and turnover.  Salary increases and bonuses typically happen once a year.  Recognition can take place every day.  A personal thank-you is the minimum.  If we don’t want to deal directly with the honored employee, we can send a note, E-mail, or voice mail.  Other suggestions include trophies and certificates, car washes,  and time off.  Also occasional free lunches or a party if a big case has been won.

Job Context

                What an employee comes to at the office every day is job context.  Job context includes a wide range of issues.  The daily routine, the day-to-day tasks employees carry out each day on the job are important.  So are goals and how they are set.  Employees want to be involved in the process.  They look for communication and feedback.  How does management supervise?  For example, we often pay attention to our own management style and that of our lawyers, but what about the mid-level managers we appoint?  These are the many “assistants” we hire to help us.  They may be damaging employee morale without our knowing it.  What are the working conditions?  Crowded?  Cold or hot?  Safe part of town?  Available parking or bus stop?  Is the level of technology adequate to do the job?  Are the computers too slow, or so slow that they are frustrating to use?

Retainer v. Motivation

                There is an important distinction between actions that are retainers and those that are motivators.  The primary purpose of a retainer is to keep a person on the job.  The purpose of motivation is to increase performance.  To increase performance, management needs to set goals and then to link the accomplishment of those goals with rewards of value.  Money is a reward of value for many employees.  There are as many employees who also have personal goals that have something to do with job performance and career development.  Good supervision and motivation seek out personal goals and align them with the goals of the firm.  Eliminate motivation zappers: politics, unnecessary rules, unproductive meetings, the setting of one employee against another.  Tolerate, but explain, errors.  Appreciate and recognize success.

Morale Building

                Morale building is related to motivation and recognition, but there are times when it needs a special emphasis.  Downsizing often leads to lay offs.  Lay offs are negatives for those left behind.  Will I be next?  In the aftermath of a merger or downsizing, managers must involve their employees in the next steps, whatever they may be.  Regular communication about what is going on becomes link strengtheners.  Morale problems occur because of poor or immature managers.  A common example is the manager who, when faced with one problem employee, “takes it out on everyone” instead of sitting the problem down and dealing with him or her.  Personal problems are often carried into the office, or at a minimum, affect on-the-job performance.  As a manager, how do you handle a divorce, a death in the family, or sickness?  What you do or don’t do is remembered by the individual, but is also noticed by everyone else.  Lastly, how do you discipline?   Are you, your employee, and the firm you work for better or worse after the discipline?

Job Security

                Employees reach an age and a stage when they realize that they are no longer building a career, but are in a career and need to perform at top levels.  For this group, job security is very important.  These workers frequently place less emphasis on salary, assuming it is adequate, and more on certain intangibles, particularly those that give them some assurance they will be around for a few more years.  Mature employees want opportunity for learning, growth, responsibility.  For these employees, consider continuing education, secure pension plans, a sense of greater belonging (being “in”), symbols of seniority (something as simple as an extra day off after three years or an extra week after ten).  They also want independence, autonomy, and flexibility.  It is interesting that employees who have a sense of ownership about their work not only reach higher levels of performance, but also look for constructive criticism: they want to do a good job and they want the boss to know it.  Finally, do you or your partners regularly fire employees or even threaten it?  Employees you want to keep are not comfortable in that environment.

Best Practices

                Here are examples of what our peers are doing.

_         Emergency on-site childcare, salary advances, subsidized cafeteria, and work-at-home options.

_         An ombudsman who brings complaints and suggestions to the partners without revealing the sources.

_         Spousal benefits to same-sex partners (but no dancing at the holiday party).

_         Maternity leave, emergency childcare, free life insurance, profit sharing.

_         High salaries with excellent benefits; promotion of minorities.

_         Sponsor a boy-scout troop.