All jokes aside, hate her or love her, you are aware of who Paris Hilton is. You are aware of who she is because she keeps the media on the edge of their seat with her parents money, good looks, and non-stop antics. The media feeds into her never ending show and the public continues to watch. This creates positive re-enforcement for her behavior, so she continues to engage in more shocking activities. How does this synopsis of Paris Hilton translate into worker productivity? Read on and find out. Paris Hilton can fly around the world, attend any party, and buy any car, ect. She can do this because she is backed by a handsome budget. As an upper level manager, you also have a budget. It may not be as robust as Ms. Hilton's, but stop wasting it on staples! If you want your workers to do more work give them an incentive. Instead of buying staples, (Yeah, I know. You need staples. But follow me.) buy some Yankees tickets, or an American Express gift card, or a gas card, or anything else someone would covet. These are items that a successful manager would use to increase productivity. Set up a contest. Keep a leader board for a given task. People are going to be anxious to win the prize. If you insert competition into any given scenario it's going to keep your workers interest and motivation. A contest will also give them something to chat about. If you want something to stay fresh, make people talk about it. The most successful manager in the world, Sam Walton, used to give every Wal-Mart employee a $100 bonus if theft was kept below a certain percentage each month (Sam Walton - founder and Wal-Mart and formerly the richest man in the world: estimated wealth 20 billion USD). How's that for productivity? It's just like the playoff bonuses athletes receive if the team makes it to certain stages of the playoffs. If you establish rewards for your employees, you will reap the benefits with higher productivity levels. You can accomplish the same thing with smaller rewards such as gift cards or tickets to concerts or sporting events. People just want to be appreciated and compensated for their efforts. Paris Hilton draws attention with her looks, but she keeps attention with her stunts. Giving away a gas card once is not enough to motivate an entire workforce, much as doing one act of craziness is not enough to make "Paris Hilton". Weave in rewards as part of your business strategy. Too many times, the people who do all the grunt work are forgotten. During the day, sit down and talk with your employees, don't just bark at them when they do something wrong. Do not do your best to get to know your workforce, GET TO KNOW YOUR WORKFORCE. If people find that you care they will put in that extra effort on your behalf. Pat Riley visits with all his players families during the on and off season. They have BBQ's and other family outings. Along with being a great coach, those outings paid off in NBA championships throughout the 80's along with an NBA championship in 2006 with the Miami Heat. The point of the paper is not to show how great Paris Hilton is. It isn't about bribing your workers either. It's not about Pat Riley or Sam Walton. This paper is about using tactics to get closer with the people who are making you or your company's paycheck. These people aren't expendable. They are all you have. So start treating them that way. They'll return the favor. |
