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How do I motivate people to want to do OT?

Ns1

Ns1

No Lifer
So I have a team of ~10 people - I need them to do OT, but I don't want to REQUIRE them to do OT if I don't have to. Meaning, I would like to figure out how to motivate them so that they want to do OT to meet deadlines.

Any particular strategies/ideas that you guys have for motivation? We keep feeding them, but I'm sure that's going to be less effective as time goes on.

Personally, the thought of blank check OT is enough to motivate me, but I'm sure that's not effective for everyone.
 
I think the best way is to be honest, and listen to what they say. Let them know the requirements that the project has and ask for input for how to get it done. Those that are serious about their jobs and the success of the company will probably come to the same conclusion you have: that overtime may be necessary.

Then let them know you'll fight for approval of as much OT as it takes for as long as it takes, and when it's all done you'll buy the first round. Don't let them know that the OT has already been approved, and that your expense account is taking care of the drinks ;-)
 
I assume this is people who get Paid for OT? Just set up a sign up sheet, ask for volunteers, Say something like "Hey, we are in crunch time, we need people to put in some extra work if they are available, Sweet overtime pay"

If you are expecting labor law exempt people from working OT, its because they have better stuff to do.
 
Express the need for their help. Many people genuinely like to help. Going about it the nice way and asking for volunteers first means alot.

If you ask for volunteers first and then have to make it mandatory because you didn't get enough volunteers it still means alot that you at least tried the volunteer route first. In my mind anyway.
 
Cash is King. Pay enough and overtime won't be an issue.

The other option is to hire more people.

No matter what you do, it's gonna cost you.
 
smitbret said:
Cash is King. Pay enough and overtime won't be an issue.

The other option is to hire more people.

No matter what you do, it's gonna cost you.
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In terms of financial incentives, I am in no position to offer anything beyond 1.5x of their regular pay. This is solid white collar labor, so 1.5x their hourly should be a healthy amount for these guys at this stage in their careers.
 
"You're working overtime, or you'll be working at McDonalds". That should be sufficient motivation.
 
yeah.... i'm gonna need you to come in on saturday, m'kay? so if you could just, be here at 9:00, that would be greaaaat.
 
Hold a meeting asking for volunteers. Mutter something about the fact that if people are not interested in time and a half they must be making too much already and could likely be replaced by lower-priced employees who would appreciate the extra coin. They should get the message.
 
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Ns1 said:
So I have a team of ~10 people - I need them to do OT, but I don't want to REQUIRE them to do OT if I don't have to. Meaning, I would like to figure out how to motivate them so that they want to do OT to meet deadlines.
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The second to last company I worked for solved that problem. They broke down all the engineer's salaries into hourly rates based on a 40-hour week, then paid overtime at 1.5x for anything over 50 hours. We never had a problem with people working OT.
 
Markbnj said:
The second to last company I worked for solved that problem. They broke down all the engineer's salaries into hourly rates based on a 40-hour week, then paid overtime at 1.5x for anything over 50 hours. We never had a problem with people working OT.
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If I got 1.5x of my salary for working OT, I would be volunteering to work 80 hours a week LOL.
 
They either want it or they don't. I don't see how you can really motivate them if they just want to go home and don't want the extra money.

brianmanahan said:
yeah.... i'm gonna need you to come in on saturday, m'kay? so if you could just, be here at 9:00, that would be greaaaat.
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Fucking Lumberg!
 
KIAman said:
If I got 1.5x of my salary for working OT, I would be volunteering to work 80 hours a week LOL.
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Gets extremely old. Have been working 50 to 60+ hours a week for years. I'm so sick of it I wouldn't care if it was 2x my pay I wouldn't want to do it.
 
tell them to get a new job cause your company clearly can't manage time properly. that would motivate them to gtfo and go to a well ran company.

or hire 90% of ATOT because they feel it's a badge of honor to work more than 40 hours a week.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Gets extremely old. Have been working 50 to 60+ hours a week for years. I'm so sick of it I wouldn't care if it was 2x my pay I wouldn't want to do it.
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FWIW, I already work free overtime because of salary but at least I get to bitch about it to my boss.

Getting 1.5x my salary is significant enough that even an additional 10 hours a week will allow me to buy a BMW 335i every year with cash.
 
honestly OT would be enough for me. i would have no problems working 50-60 hours per week if i got paid to do it.

back when i worked 70-80 hours without OT pay, i wanted to jump off a bridge.
 
KIAman said:
If I got 1.5x of my salary for working OT, I would be volunteering to work 80 hours a week LOL.
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I think he means time and a half not 1.5 x your salary. However, our company did this at the beginning of the year and it has been a nice pay bump..I guess. We were already working enormous amounts of OT anyway, so getting paid for it w/o losing salary is nice, but something tells me it has more to do with some new laws going into effect than the niceness of their heart.
 
purbeast0 said:
tell them to get a new job cause your company clearly can't manage time properly. that would motivate them to gtfo and go to a well ran company.

or hire 90% of ATOT because they feel it's a badge of honor to work more than 40 hours a week.
Click to expand...

If I got paid for every hour past 40 it wouldn't be a big deal. Sometimes it's nice to have the cash.

But I take it in the ass every minute after 40 hours since I'm salaried...so yeah...screw that.
 
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