Staying Positive and Motivated in a Mundane, Repetitive Job

There are many roles in the sales organization that can become highly specialized and therefore highly repetitive. If you couple this with the perception that millennials need a promotion every three-six months and it’s no wonder turnover is so high in front-line roles.

Cheerleading and sales gongs only work for so long before your leaders burnout and enthusiasm starts to wane. We know that healthy competition can be helpful, but cash seems to be less of a motivator than ever before, so what can you do if you don’t have infinite promotions? FYI, from this SHRM report promotions are one of the leading factors that effect retention so if you have opportunities, use them.

1. Goal setting

One of the hallmarks we instill in a sales organization at the frontline and middle management levels is the concept of formalized personal and professional goals with every employee.

This is a time where we don’t talk about numbers or pipeline but instead get to know the person and what motivates she or he to do what they do. The focus is 100% on their goals both inside and outside of work, not quota related unless it’s a part of a professional development goal, where the leader does very little talking and instead coaches the professional how to think about goal setting and then apply that to many other aspects of their life.

If your people are growing, your people will stay loyal. Money isn’t as big of a motivator as it seems.

2. Training

Outside of promotions, training is one of the highest influencers of retention. This ties into the above as you better understand what motivates people it is your job to invest in people to get them the skills they need to be successful in their role today and set them up for successtomorrow. This allows them to learn new skills to grow as a professional even if they don’t use those skills daily.

Giving your people access to professional growth opportunities keeps them motivated even if you don’t have unlimited promotions. Grovo is the perfect example of a company that has built training for the 21st century learner, and has a wide variety of topics that can apply to many different professional skill sets that people may want to learn. It’s the best learning tool available with a massive content library that uses micro learning and video to ensure your people don’t get board and have fun in the process.

3. Team activities

This cannot be just happy hours. We love to go out as a team to blow off steam, but you also need genuine time to bond and get to know one another.

We had an offsite not too long ago that may have involved a little bit of alcohol, but the focus was on how to grow our business and what our future growth meant for everyone there. It was a wake up call for some that they weren’t ready for the type of growth we were experiencing. For others, it was an energizing experience made them excited for the next chapter and brought us closer together. It was great for the company as we were able to see who stepped up and really cared. You were able to see sides of people that you normally didn’t.

Team activities and events can allow you to get to know your people and team members in a way that is different than just grabbing lunch. It creates a type of commodore that is tough to form just in the 9-5.

Motivation comes from within and the people that truly standout and step up in life are the people that own their own career progress. The above are ways that you can help to enable that process as a leader and expose your top people to amazing opportunities that keep them happy and productive.

It’s amazing what happens when you focus on yourself first and the effect that has on those around you and your work as a whole. Get better everyday and help make those around you better as well.