Tag Archives: employee motivation

Maintaining Employee Motivation

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Earlier this year, I wrote about putting some things into place to build employee motivation.  It seems appropriate now to take a look at how a manager or business owner can go about maintaining that motivation.  It would be easy to say just keep up with what you have already done but that would be a little too simplistic, although pretty much on the money.

In my last blog I outlined four steps to consider in setting up a motivational program:

  1. The goal – a clear and articulated vision of where the organization is going.
  2. The needs – finding out what your employees need to help them work toward the goal, which usually involves training, mentoring and coaching
  3. Implementation – getting a program up and running.
  4. Leader behaviour – in particular the need to continually communicate with the employee body as a whole and individually.

Having gone through these steps and achieved the result of motivated employees then the trick is now to maintain that motivation.  What can happen in an organization where a motivational program is initiated is that there seems to be an initial positive response to the program and then after a while as the program slows in momentum and there appears to be a slump or a falling off with employee enthusiasm.

What has happened is that employees become used to the initiatives in the program and start to recognise them as part of the fabric of their work, almost like wall decorations, its there, its good, but it is what they expect.  This behaviour can be attributed to what twentieth century psychologist Frederick Herzberg called hygiene factors which are essentially lower order needs that once fulfilled, no longer account for job satisfaction.

This means as leaders we need to be constantly looking at the needs that are going to provide continued job satisfaction.  In a nutshell Herzberg saw these as:

  • Achievement
  • Responsibility
  • The work itself
  • Recognition
  • Growth
  • Advancement

So having initiated a program how can we ensure that the initial levels of motivation are maintained?

To maintain motivation in the workplace this initial process can now be looked at as a cyclical, constantly in motion program as illustrated in the diagram.


Motivation cycle diag

It starts with knowing where you are going and while the long term vision may not change too often (of it will at some point) there are interim goals and targets that are being updated and need attention.  Needs can be reviewed and re-assessed in line with the new interim goals.

However, there now may well be an additional consideration at this point and that is a keen eye to the factors Herzberg highlighted.  In most cases these factors will arise in the needs analysis undertaken with your employees as a matter of course.  If not, then you as leader need to ensure they are covered in the program as it continues to be developed.  This is not always easy as some smaller organisations do not have the same opportunities for advancement and others may have difficulty mixing up the work itself as can be the case in larger organisations.  However, there are 6 factors and a critical look at how your organisation provides any one of these opportunities for employees will reveal several different areas where improvement can be made.

The cycle continues, as new needs and satisfaction factors are recognised then the motivational program can be tweaked and updated accordingly.  Constant communications from leader to team continues to be a major factor and than around we go again.

A final note!  Many organisations start out putting a program into place but then let it falter.  This will invariably lead to dissatisfaction and demotivation in the work environment.  Consistency is the key.

Value in Motivating Employees

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By Gary Jaffer

I joined Bartercard about 2 years ago and have found it a terrific addition to my business.  The Bartercard network have published a series of blogs I have written for them like this one and I will continue to republish them here as they become available.  Let me know if you find them helpful.

Most of us recognize when employees are not motivated and the drain it can have inside an organization.  Some of us may have experienced the excitement, thrill, satisfaction and enjoyment of being part of a motivated team and even better, leading a motivated team and the stream of positive effects it brings to an organisation.

If only there was a magic formula to create the level of motivation that so many leaders and managers are craving in their teams.  Trouble is, there isn’t one single thing that can be highlighted as being the key to keeping employees motivated.  The task is a multi-facetted one and the only thing for sure, is that it is a task that sits fairly and squarely in the leader/manger’s lap.

The first thing to be absolutely clear about is that money (salary and even incentives) is not the answer.  Research over many decades on the subject of employee motivation clearly indicates that money is way down the list.  Money is almost a hygiene factor, along with a reasonable work surroundings and facilities – as long as it is reasonable then motivation will come from other places.

The answers are in providing for some fundamental needs that all employees have – actually not just employees, all of us who work want a bit of this stuff.

It all hinges around value.  We all want to know that what we do is worthwhile and valued.  There’s a couple of aspects to this – we see that what we do is valuable, our peers recognise the value we bring and that our managers and leaders acknowledge this value.

When the value ducks line up, then we find that an employee recognizes their contribution to the organization, through that contribution there is experience of belonging and these both lead to the desire to experience more of this and so ambition grows and with that ambition willingness to expand themselves not just in terms of the work they currently undertake but also to broaden their horizons through learning to move into new and elevated work experiences.

So just how can we get the value ducks in a line?  I’ve always looked at it as a sequence of initiatives which are backed in by leader/manager behaviours.

What’s the goal?  If you are on the bus, you really want to know where it is going!  Leaders need to clearly articulate their vision and be able to break that out into digestible chunk’s by department, team and individuals within the organization.

What’s needed?  Now we know where we are all going, what support is needed to get us there.  Training is a great place to start – what skills do employees need to polish up, what new skills might be helpful.  One of the “value” results we mentioned earlier, is that people want to expand!  Conduct a needs analysis, talk to your employees, formally or informally and then be prepared to act on the outcome.  If people in an organization clearly see that their opinions and suggestions are taken seriously and acted upon, then their sense of belonging and contribution grows.  Training is one aspect, but support can roll over into cultural stuff like tweaking surroundings, ensuring the equipment works and providing for time out, not just something like a lunch or retreat room but celebrating birthdays or other milestones.  Setting goals and targets are an integral part of this area.  They need to be a stretch but also realistically attainable.  Incentives can play a part at this level.  Don’t forget that you may find employees that display qualities indicating high potential – nurture these, coach them or have them coached, they may well be your future leaders.

Implementation and communicate.  Having established what support is needed then a program of implementation can be developed.  Where possible involve employees in the implementation process and make sure the whole picture, or as much as possible is communicated and regularly updated and communicated again.  Communication is such an important part of the entire process, it can be done in meetings, training sessions, emails, staff gatherings and social events and simply one to one.  It is where employees get to see a bigger picture and recognize how their part fits into it.

Leader Behaviour.   It would be easy to spend a lot of time here but we would be talking more about leadership effectiveness and it might be better to save that for another blog.  The point here is that there are several things a leader or manager can do that are directly related to employee motivation:

  • Communicate, communicate, communicate!  If you missed the point, this is important.
  • Be present.  Let people see you involved, talk to people and take an interest in their work and their personal life – you don’t need all the details but be interested and be seen.
  • Don’t be a jerk.  Be honest, fair, respectful, trustworthy, encouraging, approachable, accountable and just as an experiment try fun, humour and a light touch.

As Bartercard members we have tremendous opportunity to implement employee motivation programs without it being a drain of cash flow.  From consultants and trainers through to venues for staff functions and gifts and rewards for incentive programs, we all have the opportunity to put our trade dollars to productive use in developing and maintaining an employee motivational program that delivers results across the entire organization.