When we started this journey, my husband and I had no idea what we were doing. We asked friends and family for advice and used so many different methods which did not seem to work. One method was having him run around the house without any pants on so he could see what happens. This particular case study involved lots of messy wet spots and dirty corners and after three days, not much progress had occurred. The second method was titled "pay for performance" which involved 1 M&M for situation #1 and 5 M&Ms for situation #2. In the beginning he understood how to get his reward for #1 but he had no desire to reach for the stars and achieve the 5 M&M status.
This process took place in early September and then by mid-September, he was in a new classroom at his daycare. The third method came from his teacher, Ms Marilyn, who is a genius when it comes to the 2 & 3 year old! Her trick is to keep a consistent time every day when the children know they must situation themselves coupled with a sticker (reward) and tons of praise. Once they get to a certain comfort level, no more pull ups and the constant praise and recognition of their success is used to make them confident that they can achieve this monumental step in their lives.
At home, the success continues with praise and excitement. We have mastered situation #1 but situation #2 is a work in progress. The interesting thing about situation #2 is that it occurs at the same time every night, in a certain corner in his bedroom and when he is wearing his safety net, pull-ups. We are afraid to see what would happen if he went to bed without those pull-ups. Recently, he has begun to tell us that he has a #2 situation and we run with excitement and laughter to the bathroom. After he has been successful, he immediately asks for his 5 M&Ms and 1 marshmallow (he is quite the negotiator). As we give him his reward, the most important part of the process happens when my husband and I tell him with joy how proud we are of him.
The 5 M&Ms are nice, but these comments seem to make him happy and more confident that yield more of these moments. My conversation with him last week was about how proud I was of him and he asked me many times that morning, "Mommy, are you proud of me?". Children need to feel the excitement, the pride and joy in their accomplishments in order to continue their successful path in life. The M&Ms are nice but are not critical for their success.
The point of this story which is not to talk about potty training but it is about how at the core of every employee, exists a child. We were all children at one point and we all wanted our parents or guardians to be delighted in our successes (big or small). In the workplace, this behavior has extended to our bosses. In many ways, whether we like our boss or not, we still need to know that they are proud of our accomplishments or will make us feel confident that we can overcome the challenges in front of us. Great leaders can take difficult situations, state the case and use confidence and warmth to help their teams along. They remind us when we need it, that we are doing well and how to be even better. They challenge us by giving us goals that are not comfortable and then praise us along the way with every small step we take towards achieving those goals.
Employees are not motivated by reward alone. It is always nice and interesting but throwing money at a problem does not bring the solution that one wants. There are many HR professionals and employee satisfaction strategies out there so this isn't anything new. The correlation between happy employees and happy customers is becoming a hot topic and companies are taking note of this. Customers see and hear what the representative of a brand is saying between the lines. They can feel the brand in that one moment. Educating the service professional about that one moment is critical and encouraging them along the way, regardless of how seasoned they may be is the secret to creating a happy customer.
Therefore, companies take note! Remember the child in everyone and why the holiday season is special. It is simply a time to love and appreciate one another. Take the time out to do so before your employees go home to their families. When you come back to work, find ways to continue the praise and do not wait for the formal review process.
Your employees are always thinking, "Are you proud of me?".
Happy Holidays!
Michelle
the customer experience factory
