Stop Dangling That Carrot: Other Ways to Motivate Credit Union Employees

In last week’s blog post, we took a look at employee engagement, and how management’s approach to engagement can effect job performance. In a perfect world, all of your credit union’s employees would be firing on all cylinders, all the time. But how realistic is that? Some people will be consistent top-performers, while others show up just for the paycheck. The trick is to take the paycheck people, and inspire them; inspire them on their own terms. This isn’t done by setting an all or nothing standard of excellence, but by individual goal-setting and creating a method of achievement.

Here are some key elements of goal-setting, and creating a means of success in any situation:

• Motivation – The work that a person performs is a direct reflection of who they are as an individual – this is the psychological component of achievement. Motivation can be the hardest, or the easiest part, but is certainly the most foundational. Communicating a person’s role, why it is important and how it contributes to the larger picture can instill a sense of ownership over a process or procedure. If the situation allows, consider getting your credit union’s employees involved in the decision-making process or, at the very least, allow them to voice their input.


• SMART Goals – This was first developed by George Duran in the early ‘80s, and focuses on setting the right goals. According to the acronym, goals should be Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related. While the motivation component focuses primarily on the employee, this component is more driven by management. It’s important to allow the employee to contribute to the definition of achievement, but credit union management has to make certain that the end product leads to a healthy bottom line.


• Consistency – Anything worth doing, is worth doing right; and consistently! Upkeep is the duty of all parties involved and encompasses nearly all facets at your credit union. Motivation is a spark that needs to be maintained and fanned until it becomes a fire, and then fanned some more. Situations and projects need to be reassessed and readdressed to make sure that they are consistently on track. None of these things matter if they are introduced and executed only once. Engagement is an ongoing and dynamic process that needs to be sustained in order for it to translate into performance.


• Leading – It’s not always about where you are, but where you are going. Trajectory and momentum are crucial to the process, especially when goals are near completion. We should always keep an eye on the obstacles ahead so that when our goals are met, we’re ready to meet the next challenge.

It all boils down to the classic negative versus positive reinforcement argument. Negative reinforcement leads to avoidance – employees will typically do as much as necessary to avoid reproach, and stop right there. When your credit union’s employees are driven by achievement, they are much more likely to go above and beyond. While simple recognition of good work can certainly help, the effects are often fleeting. For lasting performance and production, a true driving force, we need to engage and tap into something more constant. A structured means of achievement can be just that.

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Employee Engagement – How Do You Measure Up?

Okay, I have three numbers for you – or percentages I should say – 30, 13 and 70. According to a recent study conducted by Gallup, 30 percent of U.S. employees are actively engaged in their job. Mull that over for a moment. That means seven out of ten folks around you will probably do enough to earn their paycheck, and nothing more. Sure, they’ll get the job done, but are by no means driven to go above and beyond in their work.

Sounds pretty bad, right? Well that’s actually quite better than employee engagement worldwide, which sits at a dismal 13 percent. Thirty is starting to sound good … Don’t fret though, there’s still one more number: 70. Management is shown to account for 70 percent of variance in employee engagement.

The tone set by leadership is shown to systematically carry throughout the company and directly influences engagement. If you can manage to get the right person in the role, that 30 percent engagement can be driven considerably higher. Management is the key.

Focus and approach

I’ve witnessed the effect that management has on engagement firsthand. In a former life (or so it feels), I was a sales manager for a big box electronics retailer. The biggest driver of profitability, by and large, was television sales. The TV by itself has a high profit margin, but when you add accessories, cables, surge protectors, Blu-ray players and audio, profits can soar. These stores live and die by the success of their TV department.

As you can probably guess, sales managers place a great deal of focus and investment on their salespeople – developing their talents, honing their skills and teaching them how to educate and connect with customers. While the underlying focus is often the same from manager to manager, approach can vary wildly.

Inaction in action

I recall one manager in particular and his method of “talent development.” Employees would regularly approach him after a sale, proud of their accomplishment, and looking for a little approval and encouragement. His response was typically a back-handed compliment: “Nice, I see that you sold an HDMI cable, you should have sold the surge protector too,” or, “Great, they purchased home theater surround-sound with the TV, why didn’t you sell professional installation?” No praise went without criticism; no good deed went unpunished.

In his mind, he was placing the bar higher and higher – helping his salespeople strive to be the best and reach a standard of excellence. It worked in a few cases. More often than not however, employees disengaged, confident that they could never do enough to satisfy. They could never reach their goals, because they were always reestablished right before they were met.

It’s all relative

I always did my best to encourage performance through individual achievement rather than a single standard of excellence. The biggest difference between these two methods is the approach towards goal setting. The first method establishes a measure for greatness, and produces an all or nothing mentality. In the words of Jedi Master Yoda, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” Maybe this works in the Marine Corps boot camp, professional sports and the Jedi Academy, but it’s not a prudent approach for an every-day Middle America workforce.

The other method takes a little longer, but is much more productive. We have to first take stock of an employee’s skill set and potential, and then work with them to establish a “next level.” Something that they can own; something on their terms. If we view performance as falling somewhere on a continuum, focus moves to direction and momentum. Not just good or bad, but getting better or getting worse. As long as we can keep consistently ticking along upwards, slow and steady will often win the race.

In part two of this post, we’ll look at some tangible methods of engaging employees. In the meantime, if your credit union would benefit from more streamlined and simplified performance management, click here to learn more about Performance Pro!

HR Neutrality – Does One Size Fit All at Your Credit Union?

by Charisse Rockett, PHR

As credit union HR professionals, we are always trying to make sure everyone is treated the same – that no one feels slighted or left out; that everyone is treated equally. In certain instances that's a really good idea, especially if it keeps you out of legal trouble, (e.g. male/female, old/young, black/white). But, are our HR practices becoming a one-size-fits-all?

Let’s take a step back. Examining our motive for treating all of our credit union employees the same should give us some insight as to whether this is a constructive practice. Ask yourself these questions and answer honestly:

• Am I afraid of a claim of discrimination or retaliation?
• Am I trying to avoid conflict by applying policies the same way to all employees?
• Am I ignoring an underlying employee performance issue that needs to be addressed?
• Is treating all employees the same taking the easy way out? 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be practicing HR neutrality. Obviously, some policies must be applied the same way to all of your credit union's employees, like no smoking in the office. But, must our top performers be treated the same as our mediocre or low performers? No, but we must treat them fairly.  In fact, our treating employees fairly sometimes mean we treat them differently. How?  A high performing employee doesn’t want to be treated the same as one they view as a slacker. They want to be treated differently, because they deserve it. There is nothing illegal about treating a high performer better than you treat your employee that is not meeting your expectations.  

So, the next time you encounter a situation that previously had the one-size-fits-all HR neutrality applied to, examine your motive for doing so, use empathy by putting yourself in your credit union's employee’s shoes, and always keep the human in Human Resources. Oh yes, and you must deal head-on with the perceived slacker; they may just need clearer expectations, but you won’t know if you don’t ask!

Source:  Sackett, Tim.  “HR Neutrality:  Everybody Seems to Hate It – Except, of Course, HR.”  Available here.

Setting Expectations for Success at Your Credit Union

by Charisse Rockett, PHR

Have you ever tried to put a 500-piece puzzle together using only 386 pieces? That is what it can feel like to an employee who has not be given straightforward expectations to accomplish their goals. An important part of performance management is to set clear expectations for employees so there is no question as to how their work should get done.

When your credit union's employees feel their goals and your expectations are undefined or ambiguous, they become frustrated, productivity declines, and you risk losing them. To keep them committed to you as their manager and to the credit union, you can't leave anything to chance. By including employees in the goal-setting process and then developing action plans with timelines, your expectations are clear and you are setting them up to succeed; the rest is up to them.

Learn more about HR Performance Solutions Performance Pro and manage your employees performance with ease. Start your 30 day FREE trial today!