It’s a business no-brainer that happy employees generate happy customers. But how do you develop happy employees who deliver the best possible customer service? To reach this level, employees must move beyond simple compliance with workplace rules and become truly committed to the jobs they do. Moving people to commitment requires positive reinforcement in the leadership system. Employee engagement has been identified as a key driver of company profitability and human performance. Sadly, only 15 percent of employees say they are actively engaged at work. So, how do you shift your workplace culture from “I have to do it or I’ll be in trouble” to “I want to do it because I believe in it?” How do you induce this type of engagement through your management system? If you are a leader, your success in business will depend on your ability to deliver positive reinforcement, something rarely used by today’s managers and leaders. Let’s be clear: We’re not talking about steak dinners and handing out gift cards. In fact, those types of “one size fits all” reinforcements actually erode commitment and encourage noncompliance. In short, they breed mediocrity. Rewarding everyone the same regardless of the level of contribution introduces a system that says personal effort doesn’t matter. True positive reinforcement needs to be individualized and delivered immediately after an employee does something right. That way, the employee will be more likely to repeat those behaviors in the future. If an employee demonstrates stellar customer service or goes above and beyond to make a guest or client happy, the employee should be recognized for that. Yes, he is doing his job and that’s what he is paid to do, but studies show that a paycheck is not as big a motivator as feeling like you are making a difference at work. Bosses who think they don’t need to tell their employees they are doing a good job are not fully engaging them. When it comes to engagement, every company has just three kinds of workers: Noncompliant, Compliant and Committed. Here’s what each looks like:
- Noncompliant—I will not follow your rules because I am convinced the only way to get high production is to take risks and shortcuts.
- Compliant—I will follow your rules as long as someone (a manager, a supervisor or a peer observer) is standing there watching me.But when that person leaves, I’ll take more risks and shortcuts.
- Committed—I will follow the rules when nobody is watching. This is who I am.
The ultimate level of employee engagement is commitment. Yet not many employees are truly committed to their jobs. Why? Because the management method most bosses use is the classic “Leave Alone/Zap.” Simply put, it means that we leave employees alone and say nothing when they do something right (giving no positive feedback), but we are quick to “Zap” (punish and negatively reinforce them) when they make a mistake. The problem with Leave Alone/Zap management is that it doesn’t get you to the highest level of performance, engagement and commitment. It only gets you a temporary change in behavior which lasts as long as it takes you and your big stick to leave the room. Without positive reinforcement, you are getting less performance from your team than you could, and your workplace culture will suffer. But if you use positive reinforcement to cultivate engaged, committed employees, all aspects of their work—including customer service—will improve.
