Caring for your most precious assets

It is especially true in the professional services business that emphasis be placed on the care and feeding of your "golden geese" - your people. They are your only true assets and need to be valued and treated accordingly. For your organization to experience consistent and meaningful growth, it is critical that your managers "get people"; that they really understand the need for sincere interpersonal communications and recognition. Disingenuous pats on the back won't cut it. As I mentioned in a previous posting, consultants are not widgets. You are not managing an inventory of parts and machines. The soft stuff counts.


This touches on the topic of incentives. It is a universal truth that incentives drive behavior. Conversely, the application and administration of an ineffective incentives program will most certainly be demotivating. Clearly, bonuses and other monetary forms of recognition can be quite effective if well-designed and applied properly, but management needs to consider other creative forms of gratitude that will allow those employees that exceed expectations to feel that they have contributed in an impactful and positive way. Whatever form the incentives take, the employees have to believe that their objectives are achievable, and they need to be able to empirically measure their progress against those objectives. I would recommend taking a look at www.compensationarchitect.com for a great perspective on the power of incentives and some dos and don'ts on how best to use them to drive desirable behavior in your organization.