Workplace Motivation That Works
By Erin Douglass
Motivation. It's a buzzword of our retention and productivity crazed times. Yet companies frequently falter when attempting to prod employees to work harder and smarter. They roll out empowerment initiatives, promise incentives and give Way to Go speeches with great fanfare. More often than not, employees sit on the sidelines, rolling their eyes and feeling invisible.
It's painfully obvious: Employees are motivated to give work their all when they feel valued, respected and heard rather than taken for granted, belittled and ignored. But HR and company leaders may need to change tactics to get these motivating good feelings to take root and grow.
Lest you suspect deep in your heart that motivation is nothing but cheap flattery or airy sayings that go in one worker ear and out the other, reconsider. Motivation is, simply, something that encourages others to act in a particular way. Put in HR's terms, motivation is anything that gets workers' butts in gear and minds inspired. For some companies, this means dangled carrots—mugs, caps, gift certificates—awarded when goals are met. For others, motivation is less tangible: encouragement, extra time off, a boost up the company ladder.
Beyond the Mug
Talk to the experts and a short but powerful list of motivating strategies emerges. Interestingly enough, coffee mugs and lavish holiday parties are rarely mentioned.
Give them ownership. When employees receive proddings to shape and control one or some of their projects, they tend to give the work their all. Workers who are in control of the reins feel more invested in the tasks at hand. As Tom Terez, a consultant, speaker and author of the book 22 Keys to Creating a Meaningful Workplace puts it, motivation happens "when people get their hands on the clay of how work is done, form it themselves and get to spend some of that budget."
Projects with multiple cooks or too much micromanagement, on the other hand, can leave workers feeling unattached, less responsible—even blasé about the final results.
Advise managers to step carefully when handing over project ownership to employees who need a boost. Some workers may resent the sudden responsibility or cringe at their new roles in the limelight. But others, particularly those who suffer from boredom or beneath piles of thankless tasks, will relish their new roles and be jumpstarted to get good results.
Remove barriers. Make sure that employees don't face a blizzard of bureaucracy every time they have a proposal or opinion. Systems laden with forms and protocol almost guarantee that employees will think twice before contributing, suggesting and creating anew. Says Terez: "Don't make trying to do some good at your company like walking through quicksand." Even strong people, he cautions, will tire of the sand and struggle in time.
Make it easy. Consider establishing a cyber suggestion box on the company intranet. Convince managers that paths to their doors and ears be as clear as possible. Urge them, too, to welcome feedback at all times—during staff meetings, in the halls, over lunch. And alert company leadership to the importance of acknowledging and taking seriously employees' ideas, whether or not they can be put into action. Workers, after all, will be watching hawklike for signs of disingenuousness.
Train them well. Sending employees off to training can boost morale, particularly for those who feel stuck behind their computers or in a rut. Business consultant Roxanne Emmerich, the author of Thank God It's Monday: How to Build a Motivating Workplace, says training can be extremely motivating for workers, particularly if it creates a shift in thinking, rather than simply presents a bunch of new tools. Trainees who feel an emotional connection to what's presented—who learn why instead of solely what—return to work on fire and ready to go.
Create a clear vision. The importance of a concrete, concise vision for your company can't be underestimated. Stresses Emmerich: "Workers need a clear picture of the end result of extraordinary behavior." Otherwise, she warns, people see their work as nothing but a job description.
Unlike goals, such as sales figures which are usually numeric and change frequently, companies' visions are statements of purpose that may last for years. Emmerich points to department store giant Nordstrom as having a particularly powerful vision—namely, that customers return to the retailer asking for sales associates by name. Such a clearly stated vision motivates employees to dig in and take charge of their jobs in a way that an antiseptic slogan such as Acquire 25 New Customers a Month does not.