Team Building Question:

How do you treat team members who have reached the salary bar and cannot be promoted to the next level just yet? What do you do to keep them motivated?

The Team Doc Says

This happens in many organizations due to the workforce getting older and maintaining a large number of veteran team members in the mix.

Take the focus off money. Its a motivator, but short term. Take a look at what the team member values and see what you can do to provide motivation to accommodate those values.

One thing you can do right now is to understand how each team member perceives their fit in your organization. You can find out how your employees feel by asking them:

• What do you find most challenging about your work?
• What aspect of your work provides the most satisfaction?
• What are the biggest obstacles to completing your work?
• What resources would make your work easier?

Finding the answers to these questions can help you in nailing down just the right motivational tactic to keep each team member on the right track. Then create action plans to maintain team member involvement in the growth process.

Another option is tapping into the knowledge base of your maturing workforce. One thing you don't want to happen is to let all that knowledge walk out the door when mature team members leave. Consider implementing a "buddy" or mentoring system where mature team members have an opportunity to take a younger team member under their wing and share the intellectual capital in their head. This technique is a win /win for everyone -- the mature team member gets to share all that great information he's stored up for years, the younger team member benefits from a master and the company gets a better employee.

Denise O'Berry

With more than two decades of operational and management experience, Denise O'Berry has developed a sharp eye for how businesses get bloated with inefficiencies, cross-purposes and miscommunication -- and how they can retool for a sleeker, smoother, strategically focused organization.

An entrepreneur who quickly built her own successful consulting business, she helps other small business owners set priorities, take action to grow their business and create the balance they want between life and work. Her clients have ranged from telecommunications giants like Verizon to Mom-and-Pop retail shops with a primary focus on those having 10 or fewer employees and up to $2.5 million in annual sales.

Denise frequently speaks to professional organizations, is the author of three booklets, and several "how-to" manuals. She writes a weekly small business column, hosts an online small business owners forum and is called upon regularly by publications such as Entrepreneur, Bank Rate Small Business, Florida Trend, Inc., various newspapers, radio and television to provide expert comments on small business issues.