|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
News
Flash! Standing over someone and pronouncing in silvery
tones words that on the surface seem to convey high praise,
but just beneath the surface - and really, really apparent
to your employee - that it's your way or the highway,
is not motivation. This type of command-and-control style
is a passing relic. Oh, you'll get your short-term objectives,
but the long-term impact will be resentment, hostility,
and de-motivation.
Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist, developed
a motivation theory specifically for the workplace. He
called it the Motivator-Hygiene Theory. It's divided into
two parts and stresses that some job factors lead to satisfaction
while others can only prevent satisfaction.
Herzberg's 1959 book, Motivation to Work, originally focused
on 200 Pittsburgh engineers and accountants. Herzberg
called the elements of work that are necessary but not
sufficient for employee motivation "hygiene" or maintenance
factors. If these are lacking or seriously flawed, then
it will be difficult for an employee to feel satisfied
on the job, no matter how cool the job itself is. Hygiene
factors include:
 |
Pay |
|
Status |
|
Security |
|
Working
Conditions |
|
Fringe
Benefits |
|
Policies
and Administrative Processes |
|
Interpersonal
Relations |
Obviously,
as a manager, you will be able to control some of these
factors, and others you will not be able to control. Where
there is dissatisfaction around elements of the workplace
that you cannot directly impact, there are nevertheless
things that you can do. The following suggestions are
ways of working through some of this dissatisfaction:
1. Acknowledge the situation: In some instances, the mere
fact that you pay attention, acknowledge the situation,
and discuss it will go a long way towards eliminating
the dissatisfaction.
2. Communicate: Explaining why certain situations have
occurred and discussing it with staff provides understanding
and often alleviates dissatisfaction.
3. Work toward a solution together: Meeting with your
direct reports and jointly charting a course are important
for minimizing dissatisfaction.
4. Take action: Sometimes taking action and getting results
are the only ways to satisfy an employee. If action is
not a realistic option, you should communicate this fact.
Herzberg believed that in a work environment, attention
to these "hygiene" factors relates to the context of a
job and will tend to eliminate job dissatisfaction if
available in proper form for the individuals. However,
though they can, in the short term, facilitate job satisfaction,
they do not by themselves act as motivators. For this,
you need the presence of motivation factors-things that
you as a manager can do to meet your employee's need to
feel that each can achieve self-esteem and confidence
on the job. These motivation factors are:
|
Achievement,
or assignments that have defined parameters and
success metrics |
|
Responsibility |
|
Meaningfulness
in the work assigned |
|
Recognition
for accomplishments |
|
Opportunities
for growth and advancement |
An important thing to consider is that what motivates
you may not be what motivates your employees. Everyone
is motivated differently, and there will be a mix of motivational
factors among your staff. Some will be motivated by meaningfulness,
while others will respond more to recognition. Your job
will be to do whatever it takes to provide opportunities
and assignments for your employees that will tap into
their personal motivational factors whenever possible.
Some helpful guidelines:
|
Be
mindful of selecting motivators, and not de-motivators. |
|
Don't
rely on just one form of recognition. Different
people are motivated by different rewards. (Different
strokes...) |
|
Don't
rely on just one form of motivation for a consistently
excellent individual performer; the recognition
will lose its value as a motivator. |
|
Be
cautious about giving added work as a form of recognition,
because some people may construe this as punishment,
not reward, or won't be able to sustain consistently
high performance because of increased responsibility.
|
|
Use
promised raises and bonuses sparingly, because you
may not be able to deliver on these. Besides, money
may not motivate some employees as much as other
rewards (e.g., time off). |
Select a form of recognition that the employee will value.
For instance, some people may be pleased to receive a
coffee mug with company logo on it; others will think
it's trivial, and therefore de-motivating. |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
