Small gestures to show people that you appreciate their efforts can go a long way
The prospect of working overtime has grown increasingly common among employees who, in the hopes of making more money or impressing their boss, work beyond the typical 9 to 5 work hours. But how do companies show that they value these efforts and reward employees for going the extra mile?
Ockert Janse van Rensburg, CFO of vehicle group Motus Corporation, says that people are often motivated by pride, greed or fear. Ultimately, everyone is looking for a little bit of extra money for putting in the additional effort but where that is not possible, he says creating a nice working environment is very important. Also, Money is not a long-term motivator. So it helps to find others ways to engage with them rather than pay them as this can result in more loyal, harder working employees.
“What we did when we moved into a new office building was to design it in such a way that, even though it was an office space, we put glass partitioning so that everyone could see each other,” he says.
And, when the company is busy during to annual reporting periods, they have a canteen where there is a set time every during which all the accounting staff and auditors can have a nice meal.
Says Van Rensburg: “I wouldn’t say it amounts to paying people to stay and work late but it seems to be working. People understand that at certain times of the year, they have to put in a little extra work and, making an evening meal available for them is a small example of what a company can do to assist in getting more out of their people when they are working overtime.”
