John Caddell recently wrote an article for the Marketing and Strategy Innovation Blog, entitled, “To motivate front-line employees: don’t just thank them, use their insights.” In it he posits that many companies are still relying on motivation methods that are top-down (i.e. a congratulatory call from the CEO) or prone to hyperbole (“Great job!” or “we can do it!”). Cadell suggests that companies take a different approach: instead of top-down methods, demonstrate that you truly value employees by using their insights:
“I am focused on one particular group of employees–those who interact directly with customers…. These groups occupy a unique position in the company. They hear the unvarnished truth from customers. Their stories, rather than being ignored, should be nurtured and collected. Everyone else in the company should read them and absorb the lessons (especially the leadership). They should be primary inputs to strategy, marketing and product development. The best stories and best storytellers should be acknowledged and promoted.”
This, he says, is leadership: acknowledging that front-line employees have valuable insights, harnessing those insights and sharing them with the company. I’ll take it one step further: this is not just an exercise in motivation. This is truly an exercise in increasing the collective genius of your company.
The information from the field represents some of the most valuable information you can provide to your company. We call this Tribal Knowledge, and it’s what we hear about every day at SAVO: that Tribal Knowledge is the most sought-after information in our customer organizations. And the best part: it’s free – it already exists in the minds of your front-line employees. By harnessing first-hand insights from the field and sharing them across the company, you are making all employees smarter, more attuned to your customers, and better equipped to help your company succeed. It’s the way to truly raise the level of collective genius in your company. It’s motivating. And yes, it’s leadership.
