Retention Strategy: Meaningful Motivation

Retaining and developing existing talent can be more important to an organization and less expensive than acquiring new talent.

Unfortunately, even if an organization already is focused on retention, chances are good it is following a misguided and expensive compensation approach. "Misguided" may seem like strong criticism, but while extrinsic rewards of money and benefits may cause a short-term burst of productivity, they often don't motivate. Further, they also contain the seed for demotivation long term because, once compensation is awarded, it becomes expected. So when revenues dictate that bonuses are smaller, people aren't just unmotivated, they are actually demotivated, making them less satisfied overall with their jobs and, subsequently, the organization.

This finding is at the heart of the work of Frederick Herzberg, who is known in organizational development circles as the father of modern motivation. Herzberg didn't say appropriate compensation isn't necessary. It is. In fact, Herzberg found that while the presence of certain basics such as good working conditions and an appropriate salary didn't motivate or increase job satisfaction, their absence contributed significantly to job dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's research makes it clear that monetary rewards don't motivate and don't compensate for ineffective management. Real motivation comes from work in the form of achievement, recognition, meaningful work, responsibility, advancement and growth.

Managers can't always change the work itself, but there are practical and simple steps they can take to provide a more motivating workplace and manage in a way that changes the relationships employees have with their work, their managers and their organizations.

Leverage the Power of Human Nature

Humans are natural problem solvers. We like to figure things out and determine how things should be done, especially when we're the ones doing them.

This is why when talent managers give people the opportunity to express their opinions and provide input into work processes, they enhance buy-in and ownership, effectively using human drive to an organization's advantage. People who feel ownership of their work are likely to find that work more meaningful than people who have no say in how things are done.

For example: The next time a talent leader assigns a project, make sure that leader knows that people clearly understand the desired end result and the parameters for the work and also provides the latitude for them to determine how they are going to achieve it. Recognizing this natural human drive to be a part of the solution is a critical first step to motivating people to do their best and enjoy doing it.

Manage Performance and Mentor People

Talent leaders also must recognize this human drive to problem solve in themselves, and then curb it. If a manager is focused on his group's performance, he or she will feel the need to provide answers and solve problems, making employees feel less necessary in the process.

The talent manager's most effective role is to empower and mentor. In this role, the leader will motivate people to do more, and performance will take care of itself. Plus, helping people realize they can perform job tasks with less help enables them grow personally and professionally while making the managers' job that much easier.

When a talent leader is compelled to provide answers, he or she should ask questions instead. Asking good questions is a great way to help people learn to problem solve and make good decisions. It gives people the opportunity to discover the answers for themselves, which gives their work meaning and provides the right environment for sustainable learning, adding to their personal skill set and growth, which also is great for the organization.

Focus on the Person, Not the Job

When talent managers make people feel like they care more about the work than the employees, it can promote feelings of insignificance. Conversely, an employee who feels his manager's concern for his well-being is more likely to experience the trust characteristic of high-performing teams and organizations.

Talent leaders should take time to get to know their employees. This will not only help to build trust, it will provide invaluable insight into what motivates them. Different things motivate different people. One person might be thrilled about new responsibilities as a project manager, while another might experience a greater sense of achievement when allowed to actually produce the desired end product.

In addition to being sensitive to individual role preferences, it pays to note the varying degrees of structure individuals need to be happy in those work roles. Some people need and prefer more direction and clarification than others. This is especially true in ambiguous or uncertain situations.

To assess individual need for structure, ask people to write down questions they have about their jobs. Someone with lots of questions probably needs more structure, while the person who has few questions almost certainly needs less.

Show Up When Things Are Going Well

Being the human problem solvers we are, it's natural for a manager to intervene more often when something is not working than when things are going smoothly. Unfortunately, in this type of environment, employees soon begin to fear every conversation with managers, viewing them as people who show up only when there's a problem.

Brain chemistry research shows this fear of criticism actually triggers the fight-or-flight response, bathing the brain in fear hormones that increase defensive behavior and actually inhibit learning. Talent managers that only talk to employees when something's wrong end up with defensive and withholding employees, and fewer opportunities to uncover the information they need to know about workers and their performance.

To avoid this common scenario, talent leaders should intentionally make time to recognize employees for what is working. Schedule regular meetings where people are invited to report their successes. This structured recognition date will prompt employees to look forward to seeing the talent manager, motivating them to share everything necessary about their performance, as well as how to mentor them and help them achieve even more.

Plus, in the process of learning what's working, the manager also will learn what's not working. But the interaction starts with attention on what the person is doing right, which creates an atmosphere in which people are more open to suggestion and learning can take place.

Publicly Recognize Great Performance

In addition to making time to let employees tout their own achievements in private, public recognition helps to reinforce a sense of accomplishment and accountability. When people are publicly recognized for a job well done, they experience that sense of achievement all over again, which makes them eager to get back to work and tackle the next problem even more skillfully.

When a manager sees good problem solving and decision making, he or she should acknowledge the success privately and in front of others. Timing is important, so don't wait for the annual awards banquet. Making public recognition spontaneous and frequent will motivate everyone, create an environment that supports and encourages ongoing learning, achievement and accountability for all. This motivational culture is good for the employee, the manager and the organization.

But when attempting to recognize and motivate employees to do better work, talent managers should ask: Will my actions contribute to the person's sense of achievement or recognition? Do they fit their individual preferences? Will my actions enable him or her to grow and be prepared to take on more responsibility? Do they make the work more meaningful?

If the answers to any of these questions is no, talent leaders should recognize that while they may make the person feel rewarded for a job well done, they probably won't achieve the long-term motivation they're looking for.


[About the Author: Chris Musselwhile, Ed.D., is president and CEO of Discovery Learning Inc. and author of Dangerous Opportunity: Making Change Work.]

Change Management- Leadership support

Leadership Is Key in Change Management

Successful change management requires a large commitment from executives and senior managers, whether the change is occurring in a department or in a complete organization. One recent survey respondent said, “a change effort cannot be optional for senior staff. They must lead or get out of the way. The new system will ultimately have to stand on its own feet, but every new system needs support and nurture.”

Senior leaders can do the following for successful change management.

• Establish a clear vision for the change management process. Paint a picture of where the organization will end up and the anticipated outcomes. Make certain the picture is one of reality and not what people “wish” would occur.


• Appoint an executive champion who “owns” the change management process and makes certain other senior managers, as well as other appropriate people in the organization, are involved.


• Pay attention to the changes occurring. Ask how things are going. Focus on progress and barriers for change management. One of the worst possible scenarios is to have the leaders ignore the process.


• Sponsor portions of the change or the change management process, as an involved participant, to increase active involvement and interaction with other organization members.


• If personal or managerial actions or behaviors require change for the changes to take hold in the organization, “model” the new behaviors and actions. (Walk the talk.)


• Establish a structure which will support the change. This may take the form of a Steering Committee, Leadership Group, or Guiding Coalition.


• Change the measurement, reward, and recognition systems to measure and reward the accomplishment of new expectations.


• Solicit and act upon feedback from other members of the organization.


• Recognize the human element in the change. People have different needs and different ways of reacting to change. They need time to deal with and adjust to change.


• Senior leaders must participate in the training that other organization members attend, but, even more importantly, they must exhibit their “learning” from the sessions, readings, interactions, tapes, books or research.


• Be honest and worthy of trust. Treat people with the same respect you expect from them.

Reference: Susan Heathfield is a Human Resources expert. She is a management and organization development consultant who specializes in human resources issues and in management development to create forward thinking workplaces. Susan is also a professional facilitator, speaker, trainer, and writer.

The Three R's of Motivation

The greatest untapped resource to its full potential in any organisation is its work force. It has been estimated that an average employee at any given time works at less than 50% of his capacity. If this were true a good manager can increase productivity by:

• Helping the organisation make a profit.
• Motivating the sales team to achieve its full potential.

Conventional wisdom dictates that money and benefits are all that are necessary to attract and maintain a world-class sales organisation. The truth is that beyond a certain point, money and benefits are important only in keeping employees satisfied. Then what 's it that motivates people?

The Three R's

Recognition: Managers reinforce employees' desire to continue doing the right things by focusing on and rewarding positive behaviours, appreciating and being attentive to the good things employees do. This builds a positive self-image, leading to a positive attitude.

Unfortunately, most autocratic leaders tend to criticise, condemn and complain, never forgetting a negative performance ignoring good performances. Lee Iaccoca said many years ago, "When I reprimand, it is always orally and in private; when I praise someone, it is always in writing as well as in public."

Rewards: Napoleon observed, "Men will die for ribbons." Telling employees you appreciate them is a good beginning, but etching it in stone is even better. A personal thank-you card that recognises in detail a special accomplishment gives the recipient a form of praise that endures. It can be shown to colleagues, friends and family. A certificate or plaque is a permanent reminder!

Reinforcement: Singling out an associate every month for praise is probably the most popular form of individual recognition, as with a salesperson - or employee-of-the-month programmes.

Any form of reward can be effective - some for short periods, others for much longer. Regardless of how managers recognise achievement, they must consciously reinforce the behaviours associated with peak performance.

Best Motivator of All

Motivation is more than a well-thought-out reward programme. To really stimulate a team, a climate of self-motivation that promotes growth and personal development should be created.

The best way to motivate employees is to build their self-confidence. That's why provide employees the skills needed to excel in their profession.

Continuous training and education are necessary to keep a company thriving. The highest compliment an organisation can pay its employees and the greatest message it can send to the entire staff is, "We believe in your potential; our future and yours are long-term. Therefore, we are investing in your personal development, which ensures our company's growth and yours."

Ref: TheManageMentor

Inspiring Employees Through Recognition

As McDonald's Founder Ray Kroc knew, there is no better way to inspire a team than with recognition. From the chairman of the board to the receptionist, we all have a deep-down craving for it. Build your company's culture on the foundation of rewarding and recognizing hard workers, and you'll create a fertile work environment where resiliency, high standards, high retention, loyalty, innovation, positive risk taking and high morale are present.

A Gallup poll revealed 65 percent of Americans haven't received recognition in the past year. A United States Department of Labor study found the No. 1 reason why people leave organizations is they don't feel appreciated. As American psychologist Abraham Maslow stated in his theory of motivation, people thrive on recognition as a form of self-value when they feel their contributions make a difference. Consider the rewards that are most important to your organization. Jot down the kind of effort needed to bring those values from the abstract to the concrete. Build those efforts into job descriptions so employees become accountable for the action steps. Recognize those who achieve the best results, whether by praising them in public or giving a keepsake at the company celebration, complete with a speech about the employee's commitment to excellence and the results it brought to the organization as a whole. Others will see what excellence is all about.Let's look at some time-tested ways leaders can inspire employees to do their best:

1. Make recognition a policy, not a perk. Take time to develop a system of rewards for everyone at your company. Include pinnacle rewards for high lifetime achievers, such as McDonald's coveted President's Award, as well as more ordinary incentives, such as bonuses. Educate the entire staff about the program, post it for all to see, and promote it frequently.

2. Little things mean a lot. A handshake is the least expensive way talent managers can recognize top performers - and perhaps the most effective. Look them in the eye and say thanks. Be specific about what the employee did that you appreciated so much, and why.

3. Recognize them with fanfare. When bestowing an honor on a high-achieving employee, make it a celebration. That could mean inviting family members to be at an awards dinner, or stopping the workday early to hold a company-wide ceremony.

4. Remember the spouse. For marathon efforts - such as large-scale projects or regional sales turnarounds - remember to recognize the employee's significant other. After all, without the support of the employee's partner, he or she wouldn't have delivered such terrific results.

5. Respect your frontline. Remember the little guys: the cashiers, customer-service people and maintenance staff. They are the face of your operation and will boost your brand better than anyone else if you make them feel appreciated.

6. Boost team spirit. Recognizing teams or departments also is important. It binds employees together in pride. A plaque, a magnum of champagne and a Friday afternoon off are all ways you can tell a group of employees: "You did this together, and you excelled."

7. Make rewards meaningful. Don't give front-row stadium seats to an employee who could care less about baseball. Find out employees' favorite restaurants, for example, or whether they like theatre or music, and give them a night out they will really enjoy.

8. Recognition from the top means the most. A personal phone call or thank-you note from the CEO often has more impact on an employee than anything else.

9. Don't forget suppliers and clients. When you create a culture steeped in recognition, your gratitude and appreciate should spread past your company walls. Don't forget to thank loyal vendors and clients for their excellent contributions with a letter, a paperweight or even a charitable gift in their name.

by Paul Facella

Essential skills for a people manager

The role of a manager is to ensure that the team is cohesive and each member feels proud to belong to the team. The manager is the team's link to the larger organisation. He has to set the right target, create enthusiasm among people, develop a positive attitude and motivate them to do their best. He should look further ahead so that the goals are selected wisely. A good people manager ensures that the problems are tackled well in time. He possesses the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication the manager supports individual and team achievements by creating guidelines for accomplishing tasks and for the career advancement of team members. He also has an excellent ability to delegate tasks and keep his cool under pressure.

Effective managers are great motivators. Each employee requires a different kind of motivation. Non-monetary rewards form an important part of a comprehensive employee recognition program. Non-monetary means can be used for either individual or team rewards. One could seek out and share stories of exceptionally motivated explorers, athletes, musicians, artists, volunteers, inventors and entrepreneurs. Find out what activities and pursuits have created maximum motivation in the past for employees. Listen to your team members carefully. Watch your words during team discussions. This will make a lot of difference. Share all the details you have related to the projects with the team members. This will result in deeper involvement of the team. Give them timely, accurate and regular feedback. Encourage the team to face risks. Be prepared with the mitigation strategies upfront. Setting deadlines and goals helps keep employees focused, busy and motivates them to concentrate on their work. Talk to each employee about the company's goals, and work with them to set individual goals directly linked to your business's mission. Make sure employees understand their professional growth path in the company.

Communicate! Open communication is the number one priority for most employees. If you want your employees to work hard and be committed to your business, you have to keep them in the loop. Open communication helps foster loyalty and gives employees a sense of pride. It helps them understand how their work contributes to the company's success. Trust is an essential element in the relationship of a manager and his team. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions - how much you check and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allow people to participate.

To be an effective manager you must know yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, and those of the people around you. You must know your objectives and have a plan of how to achieve them. You must build a team of people that share your commitment to achieve those objectives, and you must help each team member to achieve his best in order to attain a common goal. Rewards and recognition should be based on meritocracy. Feedback from the other team members should be acceptable but the judgment should be made with an independent mind. An effective manager is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. He is the one who provides equal opportunity to everyone and ensures that people feel connected.

Ref:Times Ascent