Strategies for motivating your employees
All employers hope their employees are sufficiently motivated to perform their roles. We want them to put in discretionary effort where possible and be proactive in helping the business achieve its goals.
However, motivating employees is not a one size fits all model. Each employee is motivated by a different combination of factors. For example, this could include: career progression; working towards the organisation’s strategy and goals; money; feedback; flexible working; or the team and people we work with.
It’s important to recognise the different factors of employee motivation and how you can tap into this to achieve a high performing, engaged and productive workforce.
What is employee motivation?
Motivation is defined by Leadership Central as: ‘a general desire, need or want that generates energy required for someone to behave in a particular way’.
This means there is a motive behind this energy, encouraging someone to take a specific action. In relation to the workplace, this definition refers to how a motive generates energy for employees to be productive at work.
For example, if an employee is motivated by a certain factor, they are more likely to put more energy into delivering on a certain objective and will gain greater satisfaction when they achieve this goal.
On the other hand, it can also work the other way, and cause an employee more disappointment if they don’t end up achieving the objective. However, it’s likely they will be more driven to learn from this, show resilience and continue to stretch themselves to achieve further.
The benefits of employee motivation
Research from The Guardian shows that engaged and motivated employees are 50% more likely to exceed their performance objectives. It’s clear why employers strive for this type of workforce. Motivated employees tend to better manage uncertainty, are more effective problem-solvers, are more innovative and creative, and have more of an impact on an organisation’s bottom line.
Motivation is closely linked to employee engagement. Gallup, a key voice on employee engagement, suggests there are three types of employees.
- Engaged – these individuals work with passion and feel a deep commitment to their organisation. They work hard to drive the organisation forwards.
- Not engaged – these individuals are putting time rather than energy into their day to day role. You could say that these individuals have ‘checked out’.
- Actively disengaged – these individuals are not happy at work and tend to make their unhappiness known to others in the workplace. They make attempts to undermine what their engaged peers are trying to accomplish.
It’s clear that organisations should aim to achieve the highest percentage of employees in the ‘engaged’ group, as they will help us achieve our goals.
It’s also important to note that motivation and employee engagement have positive effects on the health and wellbeing of individuals, making them feel happier and more fulfilled (CIPD, 2019). In turn, happier employees are more likely sustain their motivation and desire to continue to have an impact on their organisation.
Some benefits of a motivated workforce are:
- Higher productivity
- Lower levels of absenteeism
- Lower staff turnover and higher retention rates
- A more positive employer brand, as satisfied employees will be more likely to represent it in a good light
- Greater levels of continuous improvement, as employees will be more likely to exert discretionary effort to enhance the efficiency of process or product quality
Three notable motivational theories
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A well-known theory on motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which suggests that there are five layers of human needs, the lower of which need to be satisfied before individuals can address the needs higher in the hierarchy.
From the bottom of the hierarchy, the needs are: physiological (air, water, food, shelter, clothing, sleep), safety (personal security, employment, resources), love and belonging (friendship, family, sense of connection), esteem (respect, self-esteem, recognition, freedom) and self-actualisation (desire to become the most that one can be).
Maslow suggests that self-actualisation will only be achieved once the other levels of needs are satisfied. It is important to note that everyone will move through the hierarchy of needs at different rates, as progress through the lower levels can be disrupted by life experiences, such as divorce or family issues.
When relating this theory to the workplace, it’s useful to be aware of individuals’ personal circumstances and take a holistic approach to their wellbeing. By meeting the needs of our employees where we can, we will enhance the likelihood that they will reach self-actualisation. This also shows that motivation is certainly not all about money, a frequent misconception, and involves a number of different aspects.
Some characteristics of individuals who have reached self-actualisation are that they:
- perceive reality efficiently and can tolerate uncertainty
- are able to look at life objectively
- are creative
- have strong moral standards
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
Frederick Herzberg conducted studies to understand what factors in an employee’s working environment led to satisfaction or dissatisfaction and published his findings. He concluded that there are certain factors which are considered ‘motivators’ and certain aspects which are seen as ‘hygiene factors’ which are necessary to avoid dissatisfaction but, by themselves, would not provide satisfaction.
According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors are:
- Company policy
- Supervision
- Relationship with line manager
- Working conditions
- Salary
- Relationship with peers
The motivating factors are:
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Work itself
- Responsibility
- Advancement
- Growth
When relating this theory to management, it’s suggested that employers should not only ensure the hygiene factors are met to avoid dissatisfaction, but also provide factors which enrich individuals’ jobs to help them to stay motivated.
Herzberg argues that jobs should be sufficiently challenging to enable employees to reach their potential and use their full ability, and that an employee’s level of responsibility should be increased as their level of ability increases.
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor developed this theory which suggests that there are two different viewpoints on individuals in the workplace, negative and positive.
Theory X
- Employees intrinsically do not like work and ty to escape it wherever possible.
- As employees do not want to work, they must be persuaded or warned with punishment to achieve their goals. Therefore, close supervision is required.
- Employees have little or no aspiration, and value only job security.
- Employees generally dislike responsibilities, resist change and need direction.
Theory Y
- Employees can perceive their jobs as relaxing and naturally exert effort.
- Employees can use self-direction when they are dedicated to achieving the organisational objectives.
- Employees’ commitment to the organisation will increase if the job is satisfying and rewarding.
- Employees can learn to manage responsibility.
- Employees do have skills and capabilities, which should be used to an organisation’s advantage to solve problems.
This theory advises on the management approach that should be followed, depending on the assumptions that an employer holds.
In relation to management, theory X suggests that managers should ensure close supervision over employees and does not encourage innovation.
Whereas theory Y suggests that managers should create opportunities in the workplace for employees to take initiative and self-direction. This theory encourages the delegation of responsibility and authority and seeks to match employees’ ambitions with those of the organisation.
How to build a motivated workforce
The CIPD (2019) suggests that there are various aspects of working life which can lead to employee motivation, including:
- Personality (confidence and resilience)
- Job design (job demands and resources)
- Leadership
- Management
- Organisational culture
- Management practices (such as training interventions and wellbeing initiatives)
- Autonomy and self-determination (being empowered to shape one’s own job)
The latter is often considered one of the biggest influencers on motivation, as it can help to make an individual’s role more enjoyable and meaningful.
The Macleod Review was a government sponsored review of drivers for employee engagement and motivation in the UK and was conducted in 2009. This concluded that there are four overarching factors to engage employees.
1. Leadership
Leaders who provide a strong narrative around where the company has come from and where it’s going.
2. Line Managers
Managers who are effective as engaging, motivating, developing and supporting their teams.
3. Employee Voice
Include employees in decision-making throughout the organisation, enabling them to challenge, feedback and get involved in its development.
4. Organisational Integrity
An organisation in which values are embedded into the culture and genuinely reflect employees’ working lives. This also reflects the level of trust and fairness in the organisation.
It is important to note that, in general, research has found that people are naturally motivated to perform in their roles however this can be affected when they feel overwhelmed with work, unsupported or frustrated.
Successful strategies in enhancing the motivation and engagement of the workforce should be multi-faceted and holistic, in order to address each factor which might motivate employees.
Such strategies may involve effective people management, leadership, wellbeing initiatives and learning and development practices, in order to support employees with their progression, as well as to understand their contribution to the organisation’s purpose and culture.
The Role of Managers
It’s crucial that managers and senior leaders commit to enhancing the motivation and engagement of employees, as they play an important role in its success.
It’s the role of management to lead by example and ensure they’re tailoring their strategies to each member of their team, depending upon their unique motivations. It’s suggested that managers can make this assessment through regular one to one meetings with individuals to discuss their current workload, their achievement against their objectives and to provide any support to the employee, if required.
It’s also important for managers to demonstrate fairness and respect towards their team and avoid favouritism. Managers should create a fair system of incentives, rewards and benefits, encouraging their team to work hard.
It could be useful for employers to provide their managers with tailored training on how they can enhance the motivation of their team-members, including the key motivational factors to keep in mind.
Measuring employee motivation
Employee motivation is notoriously difficult to measure due to its subjective and intangible nature. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible.
We can make efforts to measure employee motivation and engagement as this is key to the success of our organisations, and is crucial in proving the requirement for engagement initiatives to senior management.
Measuring employee motivation and engagement will also enable us to assess how it changes over time and to identify what factors may be affecting engagement levels, which can inform future decisions.
Common methods used to measure and assess employee motivation and engagement are set out below.
1. Employee Surveys
Conducting employee engagement surveys is now common practice amongst employers, especially medium to large organisations. These are useful at producing quantitative and qualitative data around employees’ perspectives on working conditions, benefits, remuneration, opportunities for career progression, their job role and management and leadership.
We can use the data obtained from employee engagement surveys to improve working practices. Using a third party to conduct engagement surveys helps to provide employees with more reassurance that their views will remain anonymous, and that the data will be analysed by an impartial team.
It’s crucial that employers share the results of the survey with employees afterwards and make clear efforts to achieve improvements based on this feedback. Relaying any quick wins as well as more long term initiatives to staff reassures them that the data is being used for positive change.
2. Customer Satisfaction Surveys
For organisations with roles which are largely customer-focused, surveying customers to understand how satisfied they are with the service is a useful way of understanding how engaged your employees are.
A highly motivated employee will generally serve the customer in a way that will lead to their greater satisfaction.
3. Implement Performance Measures
Performance management, one-to-one, or appraisal processes are useful in helping you to think about setting and reviewing targets regularly.
Assessing how an employee is performing against their goals and targets, and conducting regular meetings to discuss this, provides an indicator in relation to the employee’s level of motivation and engagement. It also reflects the amount of effort that individuals are willing to exert.
Improving employee motivation in your organisation
To sum up, there are a range of methods and theories which can be applied when improving employee motivation. The key is that motivation is individual for each employee. There is no one solution.
While reward may work for some employees, it can have the opposite effect for others. In other cases, investing in your employees and their development will help them to become invested in your company. As employers and managers, we first need to assess what factors matter to our employees, in order to understand how to motivate our teams.
If you’d like assistance with improving employee motivation in your organisation, please contact us today.
Final thoughts – the puzzle of motivation
We hope you found this guide useful. To leave with you some final thoughts, in this TED talk, Career Analyst Dan Pink explores the idea that what we think we know about motivating people is fundamentally flawed.
