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"The secret of
creating riches for
oneself is to create them for
others."
— Sir John
Templeton |
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Dear Glenn,
I'm a fire chief . My
employees are paid by what certificate they hold (i.e.
Firefighter/Medic vs. Firefighter with no EMS training).
I do have a step raise for the 1st year. After that,
everyone with same training makes the same.
The problem is that some go the extra step and are
better providers. I tried giving awards that just caused
different problems.
Any suggestion on how to say thanks for doing more that
might entice others to step up?
Ron in Ohio
Dear Ron,
First, thanks for what you
do. I met two members of the FDNY in New York a few
months after the September 11 attacks, and have had the
utmost respect for your profession ever since. Even if
your salary were doubled, it wouldn’t be enough.
The problem you described is a common one in all sectors
of government – across the board raises and/or
compensation. I'm the world’s biggest opponent of this,
because I believe in, recommend, and practice merit
based pay systems, which are based on individual
performance.
When superstars are paid the same as mediocre
performers, there’s no incentive for mediocre performers
to improve. Even worse, this can become a de-motivator
for your top performers.
There is no easy answer to this. I do, however,
recommend two resources.
One is to attend my December 17th teleseminar on
How to Motivate Unmotivated
People. The other
is “1001 Ways to Reward Your Employees” by my colleague,
Dr. Bob Nelson.
Thanks for your question.
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My beautiful bride has cut me off
from watching a certain television show, because I can’t refrain
from yelling at the TV when it’s on.
It’s not the Tennessee Titans
losing another game.
It’s not Katie Couric reporting
the latest thing Washington has done to increase our tax burden.
It’s HGTV.
We used to love watching the shows
where young couples shop for their first home. But I can no
longer watch those bratty twenty-somethings who poo poo on every
house because it has carpet instead of hardwood flooring,
laminate countertops instead of granite, or the master bedroom
isn’t the size of a football field.
When I was a young man, a “starter
home” meant something small and modest.
But not any more.
Today, there is an ever-growing
segment of young Americans who expect to start their adult lives
with homes as nice as what their parents have.
At first, I thought it was the
young brides who have a bad case of “Princess Syndrome”. But
I’ve noticed that it’s not just women, and it’s not just married
couples. Even young bachelors have developed this entitlement
mentality.
When I got my first apartment, a
wooden cable spool made a perfectly suitable coffee table while
concrete blocks and unfinished boards made instant wall units.
But on one of these recent TV
shows, a 23-year-old in Dallas finally moved out of his mother’s
house, into a $261,000 house his mother bought him.
As nice as it was, it was
unsuitable for him because he had to have granite countertops
installed before he could move in.
His little girlfriend wasn’t there
when the renovations started, because she was vacationing in
Europe. Then when she returned, the stress of the renovations
was too much for her, so she had to leave again until they were
finished, at which time she moved in.
So why should you care?
Because these are the values many
of your younger employees bring to the workplace. They EXPECT to
start off at the top in life, as well as at work.
Sociologists who study the
generations tell us that Generation Y (born between the
approximate years of 1980 and 2000) is the first generation to
enter the workforce, not expecting to have to “pay their dues”.
They expect to be treated as
equals from Day One.
And why wouldn’t they? After all,
they probably have a house nicer than yours.
No wonder the American work ethic
is going straight down the toilet. Who would ever want to leave
home and go to the salt mines when home is a castle?
Our standard of living has gotten
so high in this country that people think they “deserve” to live
like kings and queens, even though they haven’t done anything to
earn it.
So what’s the moral of this story?
There are two.
1. Don’t expect all of your Gen Y
employees to know that they have to work their way up the
ladder. This is a foreign concept you'll have to teach many of
them.
2. Don’t watch HGTV or TLC if you
have high blood pressure.
To Your Success,
P.S. If you'd like to learn how to motivate and manage
Generation Y employees, you can pick up a copy of my audio
program on how to manage the different generations by clicking
here.
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