Positive and negative reinforcement ideas

[videoguru]

What kinds of Rewards and punishment/repercussions have you guys experienced with younger paid hourly AV assistants?

We have three hourly "Media Assistants" they do the carrying, loading/unloading, setups as well as we train them to run sound, propresenter, lights, etc... and are in charge over the volunteer staff in their respective ministries. (Assistant in charge of High School coordinates and trains volunteers in that ministry.) We like this model because it gives us something we can hold accountable control their schedule and require to be in meetings and put in extra time to make it great because we pay them.

The Problem: I have two guys on my staff that are extremely unorganized. I give them lists, they forget to do things, tell another member to do it and that person forgets. They rush through and things are a mess, they don't clean up after themselves. It feels like every meeting we are reviewing mistakes, trying to setup goals to do better, but there is no improvement. We really do not fire people here, people typically resign, so I don't want to fire them, but I do want them to be better. I am having trouble coming up with ways to reward them for doing well, and give them a negative incentive for doing badly. Our other media assistants and previous media assistants have done well in that we tell them we are disappointed and they strive to do better, but so does not seem to be the case now.

The Solution: I need ideas from the community. I come from a military background where such lessons are taught in pushups, running, or having to redo the task over and over again. I have considered making them work unpaid and teardown and reset the setup(s) they are not doing correctly multiple times, but they would waste a ton of my time which i do not have much to give, so I do not know if that route is the most efficient. Ideas?

[[Director] Joseph B]

I did threaten to shoot one of the worship team (but told him I was planing on using a paintball gun - not what I usually carry).
It's difficult to "discipline" volunteers - but realistically I'd suggest a "reduction" of duties. When you become competent in the small things then you can move up to the bigger things.
If they are paid - let them know that you will need to reduce their paid hours if they can't complete the assignment properly in a timely manner.
The main "problem" with Christians is that we (collective we, not necessarily me personally) are too forgiving. We accept substandard work and materials in the name of Jesus so as not to offend people. Sometimes people just need to be offended.

[[Admin] osborn4]

If they can't do the job, then you may need to rethink the not firing policy. Are you making the best use of God's resources by paying them to do an inadequate job?

It sounds like you are letting them know that thier efforts are not up to what is needed.

[prochlea]

I think you need to set up a quarterly review process for your employees. Make up a form with all the different categories of the job and grade them on it. One of my employers had a grading system for reviews as follows -

A+ - Employee excels at category
A - Employee does a good job
B - Employee does a satisfactory job, but needs to improve
F - Employee must improve immediately


As the employee was there longer, they had to continue to improve... An "A" would not stay an "A" if you didn't continue to grow.

If you start this process, they will know that you are unhappy, and if it comes down to firing them, then you will have documented evidence of their lack of commitment to the job.

I also think you should re-visit your firing policy. Just because it's a church, doesn't mean you should coddle someone bad work ethic.

[dmot]

I know it is not much help as far as incentives but another thing to keep in mind is that you are not doing them any favors by allowing them to get by with substandard work. Not only that but it can also negatively influence others that are their same age who are seeing what is going on. This is one of those cases where we church people like to write about values in theory but fail to hold those values in practice. I think almost every church that has a value statement has something about excellence. If your church does have such a statement you might want to make that a point of emphasis with your staff and evaluate their work accordingly.

[videoguru]

I appreciate all of your ideas. I believe I am going to start with a performance review route first, similar to the grading system mentioned by Prochlea, but also implementing a lot of what you all have mentioned about how this is unacceptable as an offering of our talents to God and helping them understand the grace of not firing them as well. I would make a great dad/grandpa because I like giving speeches to people Anywho, thanks as always for helping me get a rounded perspective on things. I don't like getting stuck in MY way of thinking and not considering how others do things as well.

videoguru

[Paris MkVI]

Everything here is offered in a spirit of encouragement and reflects what I have found to be best practices for us.

Have these individuals been personally trained and mentored?

We use a four-step process we simply call "quadranting".

1 - I do, you watch. Once you understand. . .
2 - You do, I assist. Once you show competency. . .
3 - You do, I watch. Once you demonstrate consistency. . .
4 - You are released to serve.

When we follow this pattern with excellence, our post-training issues drop to almost zero.

If performance were to fail repeatedly after that, I take it personally - not in a emotional way, mind you. But I understand it is my responsibility (or my team leader's) to train with excellence. A repeated failure is also owned by me in some way until proven otherwise.

I (or my team leader) start asking questions. These here are generic; actual questions would be more specific. And this is handled privately, of course.

1 - Do you believe this level or performance is acceptable?
1a - If yes - you were not trained in this manner. Why is this now acceptable?

This may reveal critical information you were previously not aware of. Perhaps a situation has developed where responsibility and authority have been separated from each other.

1b - If no - what do you need to correct the issue? Can I provide something?

If the request is reasonable, I provide with the spoken understanding that I expect this to correct the issue. If the request is absurd or unreasonable, then I am learning about a maturity/dysfunction/stronghold issue and I can address that separately and appropriately.

Whether they need specific assistance or not, we set measurable goals. Goals are meaningless unless they can be measured. I give them my expectations, and I in fact use the word "expect" as many times as needed.

An example of a measurable goal would be - This previously-occurring issue will not happen again within the next three-month period. At that time we will sit down again and evaluate how things are going.

I close by finding something to praise them for, even if it is only participating in this process and we pray in agreement.

If there is no significant improvement or change after that, and I will not consider releasing them from serving in that capacity - then a year from now I'll be working twice as hard and be half as effective.

Ephesians 4:11-12 calls me to leadership and says I must not be doing, but equipping. But that takes two - the teacher and a student who will do what it takes. If they continue to fail repeatedly, it is time to consider whether this is the right niche for them to serve in the Body of Christ.

[D.R.HADDOCK]

I get the impression that one of the reasons for paying someone
is so you can expect a better level of service from them !
And this is fair enough.
But some people just dont have the right attitude or ability
to do the job you want to the level you want.
You simply have to let them go !
If they wont or cant do the job properly.
I think you are too soft on them.
You can still get rid of them in a sensitive way.
But if you dont, you let the rest of the team down too!
You need to step up to the plate a bit.
Its part of being a leader.
Sometimes you have to do whats not always combfortable.
Or the bigger picture will never fall in !
No amount of rewards positve or negitive will help
if they just havent got what it takes.