The Motivational Link
Motivation is a key link to ongoing employee development and performance. What motivational techniques do you believe work best when developing your employees along their career paths?
Talking to employee's about company career opportunities and where I have been to where am at today gives my team insight on what is real and what is not real. I find that assigning employees with new tasks that will challenge and build on their current strengths is a great way of moving an employee forward and not backwards.
Hi Larry, thanks for your comments. New and challenging tasks, combined with more responsibility, guidance and identification of resources, are at the cornerstone of employee coaching and empowerment.
Jay Hollowell
ML129 Facilitator
I don't believe that there is a standard answer. Each employee is motivated in different ways. Some need constant challenge, some may need consistent praise, while others may be motivated by potential repositioning within the organization. There are a multitude of methods to provide motivation and there are numerous career paths. I focus on the individual and their goals when determining how to help them develop.
You motivation approach needs to be personlized to each team member you are working with. As much as you can you have to know what makes that person tick. Support and respect are always your base key factors.You will need to have a clear understanding if that person responds better to a direct challenge or just a little nudge. You need to as personal and caring as possible while still maitaining that fine seperation line of protcol between supervisor sand employee.
I agree that creating development plans should be a collaborative approach and customized to what the report sees as attainable.
I think company culture and past successes are the biggest "real" motivators. Providing a path to promotion but no examples has been a dampener for our company. The good ole boy system is a real headwind to overcome.
ask the empployee what there interests are and leverage them towards the work enviorment.
Each direct report is a different being that has different goals and motivations for achieving their goals on their own timelines. I try to recognize their differences and provide assignments towards achieving their goals that may stretch their abilities and comfort zones just a little. The main motivator is to please themselves.
Thanks Michael!
Taking employees a little out of their comfort zones to experience something new can actually be a motivator, as you suggest, provided, of course, it is done in a supportive environment.
Jay Hollowell
ML129
Keeping my employees involved in their development process by getting them to agree on where their interests lie and tracking their progress has worked well here. Keeping them interested and motivated by frequent updates is a critical part of the process.
Hi Rich,
Thanks for your comments and particularly referencing the importance of providing frequent updates on projects and initiatives. That in itself is a motivational element because it continuously brings employees in the process as a valued participant and therefore reinforces buy-in.
Jay Hollowell
ML129
I am an educational supervisor for a medical assisting program. While speaking to my staff independently and praising them for tasks completed and discussing the things they could have or should have done differently works for motivation. The biggest motivators for my instructors seems to be when they are working with students that are more of a challenge, those that need more help in developing their skills.
Michelle Smith, RMA
Motivational Techniques vary depending upon the individual. The majority of employees need realistic and obtainable motivational techniques. Communication is a key component on developing your employees. Recognizing strengths in your employees and focusing on those while utilizing those specific skills to improve your over all operations.
Help employees identify their own potential and develop meaningful goals as it relates to company goals, then provide continuous reinforcement to keep employees motivated. Recognizing the contributions each employee makes fosters employee satisfaction as well as help them s employees remain focused on outcomes.
I think motovating employees starts with understanding what drives them. Everyone has a different reason for doing what they do, when you tap into their drive, you can gain understanding to an effective approach. Approaching someone with a challenge in an area of interest will be productive for you and the employee. If there is drive, there is interest. If you can grow that drive on a regular basis, everyone wins. Positive reinforcement and genuine thanks for a job well done, will continue to build confidence and apprectiation. Every conversation should include areas of success and a focus on one developmental item. It is often to easy to steer the conversation around what went wrong, thus, clouding the focus area. Maintain the positive around successes and stay focused on one area until improved, then move onto the next.
I believe that what drives each individual is different. The things that motivate me are not the same as the things that motivate the younger generation that I work with. Getting to know your employees and what makes them tick is key to motivating them. One may be motivated by a day off or money. Another may be motivated by seeing a student who constantly stuggles and has attendance issues finally get on the right track and succeed. The only way to know what motivates your employees is to ask, and most importantly, listen. Let them have the floor and take notes on what they say. This information can be useful if you ever find yourself having a discussion with an employee about a performance issue. We all need to reminded at times why we do what we do and why we started doing the job we had in the first place.
I also think that sometimes what motives employees the most is just knowing that someone in the company cares about them. Ask about their family, what they did over the holiday, etc. We all have a job to do and businesses to run, but it is also important to make sure we connect with our employees on a personal level. I belive we get more out of people when we are able to do that.
Unfortunately, I still find that my staff motivates well when they receive good raises. I suppose the staff has not yet gone above basic needs. What can I do from here?
Hi Richard ,sorry for the delayed response. Raises can be a good short-term motivator, but a long-term dissatisfier. I might try to ask the staff directly to tell you some things in the workplace that would be good motivators for them.
Jay Hollowell
Helping the employee identify a path that fits into their own view of a successful career is critical. It is virtually impossible to motivate a person to follow a path they have not helped to define. Recognizing accomplishments both large and small helps the employee to measure progress and to celebrate success. Candid feedback when appropriate also helps an employee to stay on plan.
