Coonradt's basic premise is this: People – all of us – will often pay to work harder than they will work when they are being paid. The tech you can't seem to get to show up for work at 8 a.m. will be up and out the door before dawn on Saturday to go fishing or hunting. The estimator who seems to waste at least an hour or two a day at the shop will be the hardest-working guy on the court or ball field on the weekend.
Successful managers, according to Coonradt, are those who can draw that same level of enthusiasm and effort from employees on the job.
The key to making that happen is feedback. Let people know how they are doing.
Feedback is much more common in recreational activities than it is at work. Everyone on the ball field or basketball court knows exactly how they are doing.
Coonradt recommends creating "scorecard" systems that provide employees with that same sort of motivating feedback they want, scorecards that reflect, reward and reinforce the behavior you want.
While a body tech who is paid flat rate may know exactly how many hours he's turned that week, are there other numbers he should know to help him – and the shop – win? How about touch time or the number of vehicles delivered on time and without a come-back? Does he know how much he's using in terms of materials relative to other techs?
Does each of your estimators know his or her "batting average," in terms of jobs sold versus estimates written? Do they know how their customer satisfaction numbers compare with others and with their past performance?
As you work to implement scorecards in your business, here are some things Coonradt says to keep in mind:
Scorecards must be objective. A touchdown in football is always worth six points, whether it was an easy one or a hard one.
Scorecards must allow an employee to compare his current personal performance with his past personal performance – and with an accepted standard. In golf, for instance, Coonradt said, a player bases his success not just on other players but also on how he shot today compared with how he usually plays. Allowing employees to base their success on their own performance rather than just comparing them with other employees maximizes the number of "winners."
Scorecards must be dynamic. You can't just show an employee how he did at the end of the month. If he or she knows where they stand mid-month, they can still change in order to "win."
Coonradt suggests thinking about the difference in enthusiasm in the fans at a hockey game versus a figure skating competition. In figure skating, no one knows the score until a minute or two after the performance, so applause is usually just polite until those scores are announced. But in hockey, everyone – players and fans – knows the score at all times and can change their behavior to help change the outcome of the game.
"If you want to increase the enthusiasm level, increase the frequency of feedback," Coonradt said. "Get into a situation where everyone can see how their behavior today affects the outcome."
Scorecards must have employee involvement and buy-in. If employees understand your goals, they can help choose what will be measured and how to help you achieve those goals. If employees are also involved in determining how success will be rewarded, you can be sure you're offering the right incentive.
Coonradt's message is effective and memorable because it's so simple: Make work more like a game, because games were made to be won, and all of us want to win.
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