Revisiting The Importance Of Friendly Competition At Your Business

Undoubtedly, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted your business. Non-essential businesses throughout Canada have their doors shut at the moment. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t open for business. The majority of retailers have wisely taken to online routes to continue to push sales. And, for so many office workers, working from home is the new norm.

If you’re a business owner, you\’re in uncharted territory in terms of running your organization and managing your team. It wouldn’t be surprising if, part of your current battle, is contending with less-than-enthusiastic moods amongst your team members. The COVID-19 crisis has been rough on all of us. So what can you do to boost both spirits and productivity?

Implementing friendly competition can lift spirits and boost productivity.

Employees who work from home can understandably experience senses of loneliness and depression. Be sure to not make them feel so isolated by reaching out them regularly. Inject some fun into their work days by letting them know you are holding an incentivized competition. It will give each of your employees a little something extra to look forward to each day. According to Outback Team Building & Training, healthy workplace competition can be beneficial.

“It helps them grow, accept defeat, and learn humility,” says their website, “It also promotes creativity and often leads to innovation. Research from the Academy of Management suggests that the right type of competition can motivate employees, drive them to put in more effort, and achieve greater results.”

Take opportunities to recognize winners publicly.

One of the best aspects of friendly competition at your business isn’t necessarily the prizes – it’s the recognition. You’d be hard pressed to find an employee of any company who doesn’t appreciate being congratulated for a job well done. Ensure that the winners of any competition you initiate are publicly acknowledged. Send out a company-wide email, post something on social media and reach out with personal phone calls to honour each winner.

“Honouring your employees’ accomplishments (e.g., meeting quotas, closing big sales) in front of their coworkers can energize the whole team by motivating everyone to perform well and earn similar kudos,” says Hoopla.net, “Making each team member’s performance publicly through leader boards or other tools adds further fuel to the fire, as the rest of the team or even the entire company…grows more involved in everyone’s performance.”

Make it worth their while.

You’re not likely to field any complaints from employees who know their pay cheques may be a little bigger. This is especially true for workers who may have their incomes reduced due to the pandemic. Incentivize each competition by offering a little something extra in the bank accounts of your top performers.

“Create daily, weekly, or monthly contests to see who can perform the best on different metrics,” suggests Jake Dieball of StringCan, “It is important to incentivize the competition with a reward to push the competitors past their everyday effort. This can be something simple, like a gift card or a paid lunch.”

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