The Key To Motivating Employees

When it comes to motivating employees, I’ve talked to many business owners over the years who are frustrated and perplexed whenever this topic comes up. The first thing business owners need to realize is that people do things for their reasons, not yours. This means that you cannot motivate people per se. What you need to do is to understand exactly what motivates each of your employees, then appeal to each person’s motivating factors.

For example, suppose someone is motivated by the opportunity to have extra days off. From the owner or manager’s perspective, the question then becomes what kind of performance justifies that type of reward. Furthermore, in both small and medium-sized businesses it’s not easy to operate shorthanded, especially when more than one person in any department are absent. It’s not like there’s 90 other employees who could fill in in a pinch. Consequently, because cross training employees in other job functions is both necessary and desirable, you might want to use that as a performance criterion. In other words, if the employee who desires extra days off knows that this can only happen if he/she does a good job of cross training others, then evaluate the effectiveness of the cross training by designating times when a cross trainee must work in this other person’s position—preferably when you and the cross trainer are there to monitor performance. The better the cross trainee does during these performance tests, the easier it will be to reward the cross trainer with extra days off. Of course to make this effective, everyone in your operation needs to be cross-trained.

What about money as a motivator? Studies again and again have shown that money is not one of the top motivators people list when asked. What tops most lists is full appreciation and recognition of the work being done, opportunities for promotion, being supportive and empathetic with employees’ personal problems, then job security, and finally money. What this tells us is that people want to feel their personal work and efforts are important to the success of the company, and they want to be recognized for their good work. The manner of recognition, such as awards, dinner at a good restaurant, or two tickets to a baseball game, depends of course on each individual’s motivating factors, which you need to know.

One caveat must be added with regard to money. People lacking money are sure to be dissatisfied. Conversely, people who make livable wages may or may not be satisfied. It depends upon the other factors listed above, not to mention additional variables such as interesting work, promotion and growth in the company, and good working conditions.

The bottom line is to follow one simple commandment: Know your people! The better you understand them, the easier it will be to motivate them. Remember, no one size fits all.