Jeopardy Team-Building

How can you combine team bonding, education, and training?

And laughs?  Lots of laughs!

Ryan McFarland, Service Desk Manager at Vertikal6 had a solution.

Every Friday he created questions to lead a Jeopardy game for his team of help desk techs.

The winner got a $25 gift card, but that was not the primary motivation.

The main draw was the friendly competition and laughter.

Here’s how he formulated the questions:  Ryan chose a different Client every week.

He researched the Client’s recent tickets to develop 30 questions, plus one bonus question based on the actual services provided.

Ryan also developed three wrong answers for each of the 30 questions.  This way instead of only a question being displayed for the contestants, the question plus four possible answers were revealed.

His people loved it even more than traditional Jeopardy because they all could compete to choose the right answer first.

Yes, it takes some work.  However, Vertikal6 has an incredibly strong culture and building each other up while having fun is an essential ingredient.

Ryan loaded the questions and answers into www.playfactile.com, which provides a similar interface to the Jeopardy game show. 

This creates 6 columns with five questions each, ascending in value as you work your way down the column. 

The game typically takes 20-30 minutes and his team of millennials loved it.

Wouldn’t you?

Consider the benefits:

1. Everyone on the team learned more about a Client so they can serve them better.

2. Laughter and friendly rivalry bonded the group.

3. The leader (Ryan) set an example that having fun is encouraged when it’s positive, productive, and respectful.

4. The cost is $25 plus about two hours of someone’s time weekly to set it up.  (Researching some Clients takes longer.)

5. When Clients that have been the focus of the game call in for help, the service they receive is more consistently excellent and personal.

Vertikal6 continues to be a rapidly growing, highly successful, advanced IT solution provider.  They have doubled in size since we worked together a few years ago. 

The company has been recognized as a Best Place to Work in Rhode Island.  

They provide superior services in their region because they get “the people” right (culture).

When we offered it, Vertikal6 sent every new manager through our Manage 2 Win Certified Leader program.  However, we are just a piece of their organizational success. 

Their leaders get the credit for their growth and culture.  It starts with Rick Norberg, the founder, who is a visionary.  Harry Curran, his right-hand man who runs operations, is a down-to-earth, humble leader. 

They hire carefully, give their leaders a lot of authority and opportunity, work diligently with their teams, and have built a culture where everyone embraces excellence.

You may not be able to match vertikal6’s growth rate or culture, but why not start with this game? 

It’s a winner.

Laughter echoes in the halls of every great organization.

Why not yours?

How strong is your hiring process? Take one of our free assessments to double-check your answer: Take Assessment

Greed Kills Performance

Ideally, everyone has a combination of compensation they receive for showing up to work (base salary and benefits), plus incentive pay in addition to that. 

We want 100% effort and zero excuses.

We suggest your company pay people fairly – and without limit - based on their performance. 

Pay your people with a purpose. 

We call this incentive pay, but it is also referred to it as “total pay,” “variable pay,” “synchronized pay,” and/or “pay for performance.” 

It has been estimated that 80 percent of companies offer some type of pay-for-performance program, which is a performance-related award that must be re-earned each year and does not increase base salary.

WARNING:  Do not be greedy.  Define a plan where your Company makes more money when your people perform better and then be grateful when they earn more… even a lot more, because that means your company is also earning significantly more. 

Always introduce a new incentive program as a pilot.  This sets the expectation that it is a test, not a guaranteed program for the foreseeable future. 

During the pilot, you guarantee their current full income if you are adjusting their base pay down and shifting those dollars into part of their incentive pay.

Here is an example of how greed corrupts incentive pay. 

The Harvard Business Review had a story about a division within a Fortune 100 company that tried an incentive pay plan. 

The managers launched a program of team goals coupled with team-based pay with three possible levels of reward. 

The managers projected that 90 percent of the teams could reach Level 1, 50 percent could reach Level 2, and only 10-15 percent reach Level 3 (the highest).

For the first six months, everyone loved the system and worked harder than ever. 

The result was the majority of teams reached Levels 2 and 3. 

The company benefited from greater productivity and probably profits. 

However, the compensation that had to be paid was greater than expected by the managers.

The managers had no intention of rewarding people for improved performance but just wanted to pay less for weak performance. 

Rather than compliment the employees that reached Levels 2 and 3, the managers adjusted the goals upward to unreachable heights. 

Too many of the objectives were affected by situations out of the control of workers, so the goals could not be achieved. 

Workers became upset and disillusioned. 

Shortly thereafter the managers killed the system. 

Apparently, their core objective was not to pay people more;  it was only to work people harder.

The foundation of any incentive pay plan is trust. 

Employees must trust management to pay as promised and give them authority that matches their responsibilities so they can achieve results.

One example of a dynasty built on incentive pay is Nucor Steel, the largest steel company in the world. 

Employee relations at Nucor are based on four simple principles:

1. Management is obligated to manage Nucor in such a way that employees will have the opportunity to earn according to their productivity.

2. Employees should feel confident that if they do their jobs properly, they will have a job tomorrow.

3. Employees have the right to be treated fairly and must believe that they will be.

4. Employees have an avenue of appeal when they believe they are not treated fairly.

The amount of incentive pay is determined by the minimum employees are paid to show up at work and how well they achieve clear, measurable financial results individually and/or as a company. 

If your base compensation is lower than average, then your incentive pay can be much higher. 

For instance, some Nucor incentive pay is 80-150% or more of an employee’s base pay.

Our Company believes everyone needs to commit to 100-zero performance:  Each of us takes 100% responsibility to make our Clients and coworkers happy, and there are no excuses.

The payout of our incentives is by the end of the month following the close of the incentive period (month, quarter, or year).  

For example, your Q1 incentive is paid by the end of April.

The key to a successful incentive pay program lies in finding a balance between fair compensation and performance-based rewards.  It's important for companies to create these programs with transparency and integrity so that employees trust the system and are motivated to perform well.

Nucor Steel's example demonstrates how transformative the results can be when management genuinely supports their employees' efforts.  On the other hand, when greed overshadows fair compensation, it leads to disillusionment and undermines the purpose of incentive pay.

By embracing a culture of 100% accountability and zero excuses, companies can cultivate a productive and positive work environment that benefits both employees and the organization as a whole.

How strong is your hiring process? Take one of our free assessments to double-check your answer: Take Assessment