My son came home from work the other day very upset. As a server at an Italian sit-down restaurant (chain), he has moved from greeting to busing to serving in the only 13 months. He loves the work, thrive in the environment and enjoys his co-workers and the customers he meets. Although he loves the extra money that serving provides, he really enjoys creating a good time for whoever comes in for a nice evening away from home. He was upset because he was left a two cent tip.
Now most people would simply right them off as cheapskates, but he really tries hard to meet all their needs. As a matter of fact, his manager made it a point to congratulate him on great service, since the customers told her what a great job he did.
In his job the amount of tip you receive is a direct result of the quality of job you perform.
Do we have the same, instant feedback system in place for our jobs?
Imagine if you sent an email and immediately saw your “Communication Rating” go up or down. Perhaps after you release code, your boss deposits $500 into your checking account after passing all tests. Why not take it further and expect your peers to leave money on their desks at the conclusion of your training class or transfer some cash via PayPal after a superb audio conference?
We lack the instant feedback that many in the true customer-service industry have. Our jobs rely on surveys, postmortems and end of year focal reviews to course correct us. But is it enough? Is it timely enough? Can we do things different to approach a nirvana filled with bliss and peace?
Give this a try and see how it works out.
- Positive or negative behavior needs feedback, do it:
- Verbally and immediately
- Follow-up with an email or written note
- If any single person does three good or bad things
- Send that email/written note to their manager
- Use your personal tracking software (mine is Microsoft OneNote)
- Create a sub-area for worker feedback
- Create sub-pages for each person
- Make a page for yourself
- Keep a running tally; this will help you give annual performance feedback
- For yourself, if you recieve any good or bad feedback
- Take immediately action to correct
- Respond to the individual to tell them of your action
- Create a tickler to check (often) whether you are repeating it
Let me know if you already do this.
Think about it as a “tipping” system.
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