Living in the upstate of South Carolina, you either root for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks or the Clemson Tigers. There is no middle ground. Unfortunately, I’m a Buckeye fan and our history with Clemson (anyone remember Woody Hayes and the 1978 Gator Bowl?) makes that even more difficult.
Recently Tommy Bowden, the coach for the Clemson Tigers quit or was asked to leave, depending on your source. He received a contract update last year, and as part of that contract he gets paid $3.5 million dollars over the next 6 years – and doesn’t have to work.
Big Money = Big Rewards = Big Effort
Now, this isn’t about the high cost of top coaches, or a rant about golden parachutes (sports-related or business) it’s about the fact that collegiate and pro sports are big money games. We all know that whenever big money is on the line, performance is demanded – or you’re out. But what is rarely talked about is the behind-the-scenes work that goes into a top-ranked sports team. Yeah, the results they demand are big and the money they pay is big. But the effort that the teams put into getting to the results is also big.
We’ve seen the movies and heard the stories about the practices in 100 degree heat, the players who leave the field dehydrated after giving 120%. We know that they have one-on-one attention for the different parts of the game – specific Coaches for receivers, for the defensive backs, for the offensive line. Each element of the team gets very specific and focused attention. This effort is there because we’re talking big money.
Where is the business effort?
Many companies put big money on the line with their incentive programs. Big payouts for top performers – expensive trips to reward the elite performers – bonuses for the top brass. But rarely, and I mean RARELY, do I see the same effort going into the preparation of the team tasked with hitting the big goal. Not the effort that the sports world seems to invest.
Too often, companies put a program in place, with the associated budget, in order to motivate the troops to hit their goals. But most of the time, the program is announced, the awards delineated and the “auto-pilot” button is pushed.
Everyone sits back and assumes because the reward is big the folks will do the job. Where’s the one-on-one coaching? Where is the daily practice on areas that need it? Who is watching from the tower and yelling instructions to the team below? In most cases, business is talking big money too. Lack of performance – whether that be your sales organization or your call center, can lead to either big wins or big losses. But we don’t want to put in the effort.
I spend my time talking to clients about the design of the incentive and reward system that helps align their audience to the goals for the organization – but I also ask what effort they will be putting into coaching, training and leadership.
It’s Not Just The Prize
The greatest incentive program in the world won’t get you to the results you want, unless you’re willing to put in the time with your audience to make sure they have the skills and the information needed to help achieve the goal.
The National Championship is a big prize – the Super Bowl is a big prize. Just offering them as an incentive isn’t enough to drive performance for those that compete at that level – and it shouldn’t be for you either!
Paul – Great analogy with the sports teams. Definitely some food for thought next time I design an incentive program.
- Chris
i think using college sports in your analogy is particularly interesting – because collegiate athletes don’t earn a paycheck yet are motivated by other rewards yet performing at this extremely high caliber (or so you hope!). sure, there’s the possibility of the long term payout if they go pro, but all collegiate athletes know those chances are not extremely high. it’s some good food for thought as chris said because if they aren’t even being paid to perform at that level, what is motivating them? how are they being motivated? and surely some of that could easily transfer to a workplace setting where people are getting paid and rewarded for their efforts… thanks for the post.
Jessica,
I was more referring to the pay for coaches but your point is well made on the student athletes…
One of the things to consider is the issue of commitment – when they do put in the time and effort in practice it commits them to the prize… to achieving the goal. Like they say… nothing worth winning (earning) is every easy.