How the little things make a big impact on staff morale

When it comes to creating a positive culture, even something that may seem elementary can go a long way toward motivation and camaraderie.

Renee Hanson, CFP, CDFA, who oversees the seven staff members who support her and her practice’s two other senior partners, keeps a set of stickers that say things like “super job,” “high-five” and “team player,” to place on a badge holder on each staff member’s desk. At the end of the month, whoever has acquired the most stickers for doing something exceptionally well earns a gift card matched to their interests (Starbucks, movie theaters, etc.).

“If they’re transferring a call to me and I already have an email from them with everything I need for the call, that would be an example of a time they would receive a sticker,” the five-year MDRT member from Phoenix, Arizona said.

Daniel O’Connell, MBA, a 10-year MDRT member from Addison, Texas, believes in this type of praise as well. Managing four administrative staff members as the practice’s sole advisor, he gives employees handwritten thank-you notes for standout work, and even writes them to staff members’ spouses after busy times, thanking them for their support. He also gives staff an allowance to donate to a charity of their choice, provides a stipend for a mall shopping spree and, after an intense period of work at the end of the year, signs everyone up for a monthly spa treatment.

“You can offer someone a lot of money and they can be miserable, and sometimes they can make much less money and feel that someone has their back,” O’Connell said. “Appreciation means more on a day-to-day basis. If people work with someone who cares about them as a person, they’ll be willing to go the extra mile to be a great team member.”

Read more about non-monetary ways to compensate employees in the upcoming issue of Round the Table.

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist