Twice recently people have said to me that “obviously, the only way to get people to be more productive, to work harder, is to pay them more”!
While I’m not enthusiastic about paying people less than the going rate, I know that a salary rise only gives a short-term incentive. It takes about six weeks for the pay rise to become the new normal pay.
This applies to pay rises that leave people with the same life. This doesn’t apply to life-changing salaries and bonuses that drive Bankers to excesses or brought Eastern Europeans to the UK to work for the minimum wage which allowed them to change their life back home.
You have to wonder what effect throwing money at people has on their character. I will refrain from listing my usual culprits as I’m sure you have your own.
People don’t change their long-term behaviour for a modest sum. Try it on your children and you’ll see what happens.
Have you ever heard a politician offer any other solution than throw money at them? That is easy for them to say, it is not their money – it is ours!
How do you make people more productive if the lazy way of throwing money at them doesn’t work?
Why don’t you ask them? You might be surprised.
Failing that, ask me.