Budget Blues?:
Morale and Motivation Don't Depend on Money
How do you motivate people other than with money? A classic question. The good
news: money isn't such a great motivator anyway. Despite the lure of salary
raises and bonuses, there are other things that motivate people just as much,
sometimes more. But it takes astute observation, awareness and creativity on
the part of the manager to figure out what these are and how to use them.
Different strokes for different folks! What's rewarding to one--say,
privacy--may not be to another. A good manager figures out that one staffer's
window view is another's admission to a conference.
As a manager, one way to identify what motivates your staff is to know what
motivates you. This helps you better recognize it in others. In my management
trainings, I ask participants, "What do you like best about your job, and why?"
We pool the reasons and come up with a list that usually includes the following
motivators:
Motivators
• a sense of community; the idea of work as 'family'. This shouldn't come as a
surprise. We've all heard how lost and confused the newly retired can feel,
lacking the sense of belonging they previously had.
• positive recognition for our work: again, no surprise. In fact, a survey by
Robert Half International, a Bay Area staffing services firm, found that the
most common reason employees leave a job is lack of recognition and praise.
• opportunity to learn. This is one area managers often overlook. You reap
benefits when you support your staff by paying for training. Don't nickel and
dime when it comes to learning. If your budget doesn't allow outside classes,
help people learn through in-house cross-training.
• personal attention. I'm a great believer that a manager should spend
one-on-one time with each staffer every week, even if it's only a brief
conversation.
• sense of contribution and making a difference. You can help instill a sense
of contribution by reminding staff of the big-picture, larger purpose of the
organization.
• opportunity to use talents and express creativity.
• autonomy--being able to take charge of a project and the authority to make
decisions.
• working with people... or working alone. Which? Depends. People who are
naturally extroverted may feel isolated when assigned a solo project; for
others, it's a perk.
• fun. Ten minutes at a staff meeting devoted to acknowledging that month's
birthdays is a small investment, high reward activity.
• sense of closure. Some people are highly motivated by the completion of a
project, especially if they have something tangible they can point to and say,
"See? This is what I did."
• sense of personal control and choice. This takes many forms. Office
environment, for example, has a huge impact on day-to-day wellbeing. Consider
inviting staff to vote on sound factors (what kind of background music they
want, if any, or silence?), lighting (flickering fluorescent lights are very
distracting to some), and cubicle layout. I am often surprised when employees
tell me they are "not allowed" to reposition their desks. Why not? Recently I
visited a friend's office. Although it was only a small square, she had brought
her own lamp from home instead of using the harsh overhead lighting. With her
yoga mat rolled up against one wall, the office was warm and inviting.
During the exercise in which managers discuss their motivators, I notice
something interesting: no one brings up pay. What's the matter? Aren't we all
motivated by money? When I point out the omission, the participants say, "Oh
yeah! I forgot!" Of course we haven't permanently forgotten about it. But money
matters less than we think. It should come as a relief that salary raises and
other financial perks--areas where you may have little control--may be less of
a reward than the motivators that almost all managers have available and can
implement.