EntreLeadership - Why Your Best People Quit (It’s Not the Money)

Starting point is 00:00:05 When it comes to getting the most out of your team, there's a right and a wrong way to do it. Most business owners just throw a Friday afternoon pizza party and think everybody's happy. But that sucks. That doesn't motivate anybody. It turns out, people actually like a little recognition for doing a good job.

Starting point is 00:00:26 A team outing or a happy hour doesn't count, and neither does their paycheck. The truth is, without any recognition, your top performers learn XVI. excellence doesn't matter. And they'll leave to find a company where it does. So today, we're going to talk about what actually makes your team feel appreciated and motivated to bring their A game every day.

Starting point is 00:00:49 And the whole reason we're talking about this comes from a newsletter that I saw from Laila Hermosey. Laila and her husband Alex are really successful entrepreneurs. They're super smart, but she told a story that perfectly sums up why this is such a big deal. What she said. Back in 2014 one Friday, my manager Mike stood up in front of the whole sales team and said, Layla stayed two hours after her sessions ended, walking the floor, and got two more sales. That's how you become a top producer.

Starting point is 00:01:21 I still remember exactly where I was standing when he said that and what the room looked like, not because it was a big deal, but because nobody had ever recognized me like that in front of a group of people. I was insanely embarrassed and flattered at the same time. Eight months before that, at my first sales job, I worked for a manager named Dave. Dave only talked to you when you missed your numbers. I was one of the top producing trainers,

Starting point is 00:01:47 but got so scared of getting yelled at that I stopped trying anything new to close deals. I didn't feel like dealing with Dave's BS. The funny thing is that nothing changed about me between those two jobs. The only thing that changed was, having a boss who told me what I did right. I got to be honest with you,

Starting point is 00:02:08 this is kind of convicting for me because this is not something that I'm always great at. Her manager Mike really celebrated when she did something right. And I'm happy for people, and I will even tell them, hey, good job. But I don't make a big enough deal out of it. And the truth is, I don't do that for myself. I kind of just have a win and will say,

Starting point is 00:02:31 okay, what's next? But that brings to light the difference between being driven and being obsessed. It's okay to be driven. It's okay to go hard. It's okay to go to the next thing. But not to the point where you're not celebrating people's wins when that happens. They need that. And you need to do it because they will repeat what you recognize. And we're going to talk about that. So I want you to ask yourself, when was the last time you recognize someone on your team, for any reason, for any positive reason. Even if a win feels little to you, it's not little to your team. I heard somebody say this once, and it stuck with me.

Starting point is 00:03:11 They said, the last applause people usually get is at their high school graduation. That sucks. That's not okay. But the point of recognition isn't just to make people feel good. The point is to bring out the best in your team. And what gets rewarded? gets repeated. Let me say that again. What gets rewarded gets repeated.

Starting point is 00:03:35 You want your entire sales team to close opportunities like your top performer? Recognize the top performer. You want your team to get their paperwork done on time? Recognize the one that gets it done early. You see how this works? You reward the behavior

Starting point is 00:03:51 that you want to see more of. And that doesn't mean throwing around raises like candy. Yes, of course, you should give people more money for doing a good job. But that's not the most important thing. What people really want is to be valued. That means recognition has to be a part of your company culture. And that all starts with you. You're the leader. You have to be the one driving this, or it'll never trickle down to the rest of your team. And this doesn't have to be a big production. It just requires a little

Starting point is 00:04:23 bit of thought and intentionality. I'm going to give you three key principles to follow, when it comes to recognition. First off, I want you to think about how many times you've said something like, hey, you did great today, or thanks for all your hard work. Yeah, that sounds nice, but it doesn't really mean much. At best, they feel good or notice for a second, but that goes away. It fades. At worst, it sounds like lip service that you don't even really mean, which is why the first

Starting point is 00:04:54 thing you need to do is make the recognition specific. point out exactly what they did right. They know what it took to get that closed sale or that project across the finish line, but they want to know that you noticed. And being specific does that. Hey, you did a great job overcoming that customer's objections. Hey, I love how you took some extra time with that client. You see how those are different from just being vague?

Starting point is 00:05:23 It's clear. It's specific. And you better believe they'll do whatever you just praise them for again. Let's say you've got a guy on your construction crew who always shows up early to the site. He always double-checks the tools and equipment before and at the end of the day. He jumps in to help other people on the crew, and he does it all with a great attitude, never griping, never complaining. That is a rock star.

Starting point is 00:05:48 This is someone you want 20 of on your team. But if he never gets any recognition, do you think he'll be a rock star forever? Well, yeah, probably. just for somebody else. Your silence teaches top performers that excellence does not matter. You clearly don't care, so why should I? You need to catch people doing stuff right

Starting point is 00:06:10 and personally thank them for that. And here's something that you'll thank yourself for, getting your health care right. That's why I want to tell you about Christian Healthcare Ministries Groups Program. It's a faith-based alternative to traditional health insurance where members help pay each other

Starting point is 00:06:27 medical bills. It's a great option, not only for individuals, but also for small businesses to care for their people in a way that's effective and affordable. Whether you're a church, a nonprofit, a school, or family business. Many organizations report saving 30 to 50% compared to traditional health insurance. Of course the goal isn't just cutting costs, though. It's being a wise steward of the resources that you've been given. CHM has over 700 participating groups, and they offer flexibility for companies of different sizes. So if you're responsible for your organization's health care benefits, contact CHM. One of their representatives will walk you through your options and help determine whether the groups program is a good fit for your specific

Starting point is 00:07:15 situation. So go to chministries.org slash entree or call 1-800, join CHM. Okay, the next principle is going to feel a little awkward for you and probably the person that you're recognizing. But it makes a huge difference. Recognizing someone in private is one thing, but if you really want to see some great behaviors repeated on your whole team, make your recognition public. Do it in front of the whole team because two things are going to happen. First, the person that you're recognizing will never forget that. They might be embarrassed or a little uncomfortable at first, but they won't forget it. Instead of just giving them an add-a-boy at their desk, you set it in front of everyone. So you must really mean it, which means you better freaking

Starting point is 00:08:06 mean it. Don't do it if it's not true. That sends the wrong message. And the second thing, it sends a message to the rest of your team about what good looks like. What's rewarded in public will get repeated by all. Here at Ramsey, we have a lot of fun with this. Here's something we do. when we're recognizing a team member in public, we'll give them something called a $100 handshake. Yeah, that's a handshake where we give them $100. It's not meant to be a secret. Everyone there knows what's happening.

Starting point is 00:08:38 It's part of the culture. We don't do it every time, usually when someone has really gone above and beyond. But the money's not the point. The point is that your team will start bringing their A-game because they've learned that hard work gets rewarded. Whether it's with words of appreciation or with $100 bills. So look for opportunities to brag on people in front of them. Even better, do it around their family and friends.

Starting point is 00:09:05 Doing weekly shoutouts with your team, decorating their desk for their birthday, celebrating them in front of the entire company when they hit five, 10, or 20 years of working there. This is all stuff we do here at Ramsey. And as you can see, it isn't a big lift. It takes almost no effort, but it will mean the world to your team,

Starting point is 00:09:25 which brings us to the last principle of recognition. And the other two don't actually even count much if you don't get this one right. Let me ask you, have you ever gotten a belated birthday text or even a belated birthday gift? It doesn't quite mean as much, does it? It's the same thing with recognition.

Starting point is 00:09:44 It's not just a thought that counts. The timing matters a lot too, which is why the last principle here is to make recognition timely. If you wait a month to wish somebody a happy birthday, you know what they're going to feel like, an afterthought. You didn't really care. You didn't take the time to care.

Starting point is 00:10:05 So if you wait weeks, even days to recognize someone, that's how it's going to feel to them too. Most employees never hear about the good job they did until their annual review. Think about that. You work your butt off for a year to get 10 minutes of appreciation and a 3% cost of living raise? And even that's usually followed with.

Starting point is 00:10:28 But here are your three improvement areas. That's like waiting for your funeral to hear people say nice things about you. At some point, you should give someone their flowers while they're still alive. Not to mention, if the goal of recognition is to change behavior, you've missed the whole window. Praise from weeks ago changes nothing. It's too late. They may not even remember what they did or why. it mattered. They can't connect the dots. So giving recognition as soon as possible, the same day,

Starting point is 00:10:57 or the next day, if you can, the faster you do it, the shorter the feedback loop. The more likely they'll repeat the behavior that you want to see. So those are the three principles. Make it specific, make it public, and make it timely. Just try this out. This week, every day, I want you to intentionally pick someone on your team to praise. This requires commitment, on your part. This requires you to slow down and pay attention to what your team's doing instead of just running to the next thing. But when you get intentional about this, just watch what happens. They'll start shouting each other out. The morale and the team will go through the roof. Pretty soon, you've got a culture where everyone wants to bring their A game because that's the

Starting point is 00:11:43 air they're breathing every day. And if you want to help build that kind of culture in your business, That's what our Entree leadership coaches do every single day. I'll put a link in the description where you can schedule a free 30-minute phone call. If you want to get the best out of your team, recognition isn't optional. You can't push, force, lecture, or shame your team into performing. That's never going to work. That's why we are super intentional about passing the positives all around all the time. And one of the coolest ways we get to do that is by sharing the company's profits with our team.

Starting point is 00:12:18 which you can check out by watching this next video. And if you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to like, share, and subscribe for more real world leadership content.

EntreLeadership - Why Your Best People Quit (It’s Not the Money)

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