Workability
Keeping employees motivated

Business literature is packed with advice about worker motivation. But sometimes managers are the problem, not the inspiration, writes Mitu Maheshwari

MOST companies have it all wrong. They don’t have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start on a new job. But in about 85 per cent of the companies, researchers say, employees’ morale sharply declines after their first six months—and continues to deteriorate for years afterward.

The fault lies squarely at the feet of management—both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, the management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their work—and then satisfy those goals:

Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.

Achievement: To be proud of one’s job, accomplishments, and employer.

Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

Satisfying the three goals depends both on organisational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can’t control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees’ goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organisational purpose: in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a "reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

"Benefits are about people. It’s not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the cheques are written. It’s whether the people are cared for when they’re sick, helped when they’re in trouble."

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation with bureaucratic rules and procedures. It is a statement truly from the heart, with the focus in the right place: on the ends—people—rather than the means—completing forms.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals.

Stating a mission is a powerful tool. But equally important is the manager’s ability to explain and communicate to subordinates the reason behind the mission. Can the manager of stockroom workers do better than telling her staff that their mission is to keep the room stocked? Can she communicate the importance of the job, the people who are relying on the stockroom being properly maintained, both inside and outside the company? The importance for even goods that might be considered prosaic to be where they need to be when they need to be there? That manager will go a long way toward providing a sense of purpose.

Managers should be certain that all employee contributions, both large and small, are recognized. The motto of many managers seems to be, "Why would I need to thank someone for doing something he’s paid to do?" Workers repeatedly tell us, and with great feeling, how much they appreciate a compliment. They also report how distressed they are when managers don’t take the time to thank them for a job well done yet is quick to criticise them for making mistakes.

Receiving recognition for achievements is one of the most fundamental human needs. Rather than making employees complacent, recognition reinforces their accomplishments, helping ensure there will be more of them.

A pat on the back, simply saying "good going," a dinner for two, a note about their good work to senior executives, some schedule flexibility, a paid day off, or even a flower on a desk with a thank-you note are a few of the hundreds of ways managers can show their appreciation for good work. It works wonders if this is sincere, sensitively done, and under girded by fair and competitive pay—and not considered a substitute for it.

Incorporating a command-and-control style is a surefire path to demotivation. Instead, redefine your primary role as serving as your employees’ expediter: It is your job to facilitate getting their jobs done. Your reports are, in this sense, your "customers." Your role as an expediter involves a range of activities, including serving as a linchpin to other business units and managerial levels to represent their best interests and ensure your people get what they need to succeed.

How do you know, beyond what’s obvious, what is most important to your employees for getting their jobs done? Ask them. "Lunch and schmooze" sessions with employees are particularly helpful for doing this. And if, for whatever reason, you can’t immediately address a particular need or request, be open about it and then let your workers know how you’re progressing at resolving their problems. This is a great way to build trust.

A major reason so many managers do not assist subordinates in improving their performance is, simply, that they don’t know how to do this without irritating or discouraging them. A few basic principles will improve this substantially.

First and foremost, employees whose overall performance is satisfactory should be made aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is basically pleased with what they do and is helping them do it even better.

Space limitations prevent a full treatment of the subject of giving meaningful feedback, of which recognition is a central part, but these key points should be the basis of any feedback plan:

Performance feedback is not the same as an annual appraisal. Give actual performance feedback as close in time to the occurrence as possible. Use the formal annual appraisal to summarize the year, not surprise the worker with past wrongs.

Recognize that workers want to know when they have done poorly. Don’t succumb to the fear of giving appropriate criticism; your workers need to know when they are not performing well. At the same time, don’t forget to give positive feedback. It is, after all, your goal to create a team that warrants praise.

Comments concerning desired improvements should be specific, factual, unemotional, and directed at performance rather than at employees personally. Avoid making overall evaluative remarks (such as, "That work was shoddy") or comments about employees’ personalities or motives (such as, "You’ve been careless"). Instead, provide specific, concrete details about what you feel needs to be improved and how.

Keep the feedback relevant to the employee’s role. Don’t let your comments wander to anything not directly tied to the tasks at hand.

Listen to employees for their views of problems. Employees’ experience and observations often are helpful in determining how performance issues can be best dealt with, including how you can be most helpful.

Remember the reason you’re giving feedback—you want to improve performance, not prove your superiority. So, keep it real, and focus on what is actually doable without demanding the impossible.

Follow up and reinforce. Praise improvement or engage in course correction—while praising the effort—as quickly as possible.

Don’t offer feedback about something you know nothing about. Get someone who knows the situation to look at it.

A command-and-control style is a sure-fire path to demotivation.