In reality, employees motivate themselves. However, you can create an environment that will foster the growth of self-motivation. Motivation is what gives behavior purpose and direction. Sound hiring practices lead to scenarios where there is a possibility to motivate; by having a complete and thorough job description and hiring process you ensure that you’re not trudging up hill trying to motivate someone who doesn’t like their job. What compounds your challenge is that people are constantly in flux. Their attitudes can vary over time. How can you create a sound practice in human resources that works to motivate employees over time?
1. Delegate authority to employees. By extending this vote of confidence to those who work for you, you involve them in the process of governing and motivating themselves. Personal responsibility can be a great tool to motivate certain types of people. Traditionalists tend to be more motivated by accountability, and are motivated by clear expectations. More conceptual personality types are also geared towards taking charge and achieving competence. This can be a proving ground for potential promotions.
Make sure to be clear about expectations to achieve desired results, but only make yourself available for guidance; don’t take over the project. And remember that only poor managers take delegated jobs back.
2. Organizational goals should be clearly outlined and understood by all members. If the goals of the employee are not in line with the goals of the organization, regardless of how motivated, the productivity will not markedly increase. Having an employee manual can take the guess work out of aligning goals by giving clear ethical and performance expectations. When in doubt, refer to the manual.
3. Utilize training. When management encourages a constant learning process, employees to develop over time, and can exponentially increase innovation and utilization of technology. “Vertical loading” can also give employees more mastery over their existing skill set. An internal job enrichment program can be a simple but effective way of encouraging the creative process and continual self-development, further deepening the worker’s sense of mastery.
This also means that not every employee has to be specialized. Cross training can help maintain productivity through difficult financial periods because the company can function for short periods of time with fewer employees if they each know portions of each others jobs. Job rotation can cross-train employees to do a variety of related tasks, and helps reduce boredom and increase the level of inter-employee cohesion. It’s easier to understand how important the individual job is when viewed through a larger context.
4. Reward appropriately and consistently. Paychecks are minimal compensation. And if an employee is “making their eight” solely for their paycheck, they quickly lose sight of organizational goals. Saying “Thank You” or “Good Job” can be a quick way of offering a low-level reward, but make sure to be specific about what you are praising your member for, because the reminder of the behavior paired with praise increases the likelihood that the behavior will become more frequent. Recognition and respect for achieving organizational goals can keep company members on track.
5. Be balanced and fair. Diplomatic skills are useful in the business world. Motivated employees will generally report that they feel that their managers and workplace are balanced and fair. Equity checks are self-assessments of the level of workplace fairness, examining what you receive relative to your contribution to the company, including skill sets and education. Encourage equity checks and feedback on a regular basis to ensure that the members feel they are being given a fair shake.
Motivation is associated with the individual’s perception of the situation. Manipulating certain environmental and interpersonal factors can enable everyone to be aware of the process and maintain a positive perception of the workplace.
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