Are you tired of starting new initiatives only to see them fall by the wayside? Perhaps it is because you are asking for one thing but rewarding another when compensation time rolls around.
Leadership expert Pat Asp says that the reality is you get exactly what you pay for. Want diversity, loyal employees, happy clients, a harassment- and jerk- free work place? (By the way, many of these "soft" concepts correlate to long-term economic success and sustainability for your organization). Then according to Asp, you must reward behaviors that achieve just that:
If you put in on their W-2s, their hearts and minds will follow.
Asp should know. She led business units of over 1000 employees and $300 million in revenues and served as Senior Vice President Strategic Management and Performance at The ServiceMaster Company. Asp points to other proven methods for sustaining the workplace culture you value and making the message stick:
- Monitor and measure results and performance.
- In meetings and communications where you share metrics, the metrics you use to measure the initiative must be kept in proportionate importance to other business metrics. The agenda spot where you put the metrics for diversity, employee turnover, client satisfaction, or anything else you say you value, sends a bold message about how you really feel.
- When senior leaders (even the CEO and Board) don't walk the walk, you must address the gapsEVEN IF THEY ARE PERFORMING WELL ON THE OTHER METRICS (for example, generating profits).