As we often remind start-up founders, employees are an integral part of your identity. How you motivate and develop them defines the company you want to become. Take care of them, they will take care of your company. At Skeelz, we have the opportunity to observe from the inside and support the best practices of start-ups.
A 'good' incentive system is one that provides a positive employee experience. The challenge is to take into account the needs of your talent, while aligning them with the constraints of a company.
Where to start?
To reward your employees well, you need to understand their motivations.
Human motivations are made up of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.
Extrinsic motivations are driven by our desire to achieve a result, a reward or to avoid unfavourable results. Intrinsic motivations are driven by our internal needs and motivations, regardless of the reward.
Make an effort to find out what motivates your employees:
- Why did they decide to join you?
- What makes them happy and committed on a daily basis?
- What frustrates them?
- What drives them to achieve great things?
The way you ask these questions will vary, but ultimately understanding your team's motivations and looking at recurring themes will help you adapt your position.
What is your current 'offer'?
Identify your advantages on the following topics:
- Mutual and complementary health insurance,
- Location and quality of the working environment,
- Flexible working,
- Wellness programmes,
- The hardware, software and technology used,
- Training and personal development budgets.
As you read this, be honest.
Is what you are offering today attractive?
Will this help external candidates to join you?
Do your current employees really appreciate these benefits?
Have you asked what people really want from these benefits?
Did you involve them in the choice?
"What about your mission?
While compensation and benefits are a key lever for engaging your employees, there must also be a powerful reason for them to stay motivated and perform.
Your vision, mission, culture and behaviours are much stronger reasons for them to join a startup. This is a demand that we have seen at Skeelz increase dramatically since the Covid crisis. You need to be clear about the company's mission. About what you want to become more than anything else. To offer your employees something they believe in. Your mission must be authentic and based on reality, not on your wish list.
Then ask yourself these questions:
- Do people understand our mission and vision?
- Which of our values do we constantly live by? How are they reflected in our daily lives? In the way we recruit, communicate and work?
- Have we created all the necessary conditions for employees to grow within our company? Are we a great place to learn?
- Are we clear in our expectations of the teams?
Of course, you will not be able to please everyone. What you can guarantee, however, is your methodology and transparency in order to satisfy as many people as possible.
Some useful considerations to remember:
- Is our remuneration model fair and just in rewarding our employees' contributions?
- Are these rewards easy to understand and accessible?
- Are we communicating our offer in a consistent way from the recruitment process to the integration of our employees?
Be transparent about the type of business you want to create and how you want to reward the hard work of your employees.
Accept and encourage feedback, be challenged by it and be open to adjusting your pay & benefits policy.
By listening to your teams, you can also create a high level of trust that will allow your employees to flourish.
Organisations with a high level of trust achieve 50% higher productivity than those without, so you can't afford not to!
Who wouldn't want that?
Olivier Croce
Skeelz is the HR Collective that helps 100+ start-ups and small businesses become impactful. Our Consultants, Coaches and Trainers help build large-scale, sustainable, high-performing and responsible organizations. To do this, we are committed to bringing out the best in everyone individually and collectively. If you need advice or dedicated support to recruit, hire or develop your teams, we are here to help ☞ hello@skeelz.com
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