How I motivate my staff

Overview

Transparency and incentivising and rewarding staff helped to produce a culture of loyalty within the company. This in turn allowed staff to feel empowered enough to take on new responsibilities, improve internal processes and ultimately led to the development of their own careers professionally - all of which are foundations for the success of a business.

The challenge

Achieving the right company culture can be a very difficult thing to get right, so we had to give it some serious thought.  We've found that culture can make or break a company and it changes and evolves over time.   The right culture affects the retention of your key staff, which is important for the successful growth of a business.  Competitors may be in the position to offer higher salaries and issues of staff poaching may be a problem unless your company's culture is aligned with your staff's own values and your company's business objectives.  So we had to create a feeling of loyalty where people are encouraged and incentivised to thrive and develop within their roles.

The solution

Adopting an open two-way culture early on was important in achieving a loyal staff base.  A clear and structured career development pathway had to be put in place along with continuous and timely education to support this progression.

At Webgains we also offer various incentives, including a 90-day rotation working opportunity that allows our staff to work within any of our international offices.  We encourage staff to become experts in a particular core field of business and allow them to visit other offices to share this knowledge.  These steps not only empower our staff but help integrate our culture throughout our offices.

Our Friday afternoon meeting is most important for forging strong links with our staff.  Over a drink or two we collectively and individually talk about what we have achieved that week and our future goals.  We make sure everyone leaves the office on Friday geared up for the start of the next week.

Key lesson

Realising that instilling confidence within your staff is a management issue.  It will enable them to make the right decisions quickly and take on responsibility.

Top tip

Empower your staff by giving them the responsibility they crave.  If they fail to take on that responsibility quickly and correctly then it is unlikely that they are in the right job.