What your employees really care about

What your employees really care about

A hefty bonus affixed to the last paycheck of the year may do wonders for employee productivity, but to really motivate your workforce, you may need to think a little harder about what your staff truly values. Doing so will help ensure that their interests are aligned with company goals, says Jay Lorsch, professor of human relations at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Mass., and faculty chairman of the college's Executive Education Corporate Governance Series of classes (http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/).

"Individuals come into these jobs with certain motivational sets, and what you've really got to figure out is how to take advantage of those motivational qualities, and align [the motivations] to what you want [employees] to do for the firm," Lorsch says. To accomplish this, he says you need to start with a clear understanding of your workers. That could mean starting off with a personality assessment, but it also could simply mean having the kind of understanding that comes from regular interaction with employees.

Face time with workers can be kept casual, but it might help to keep a mental checklist of questions you'd like answered about them. "I think it's got to do with really listening to them in the broadest sense," Lorsch says. "Who are they? Why are they working there?" For example, he points out that beyond a fatter paycheck, a flexible schedule can be a motivator to a worker trying to balance home and work life. For others, the right motivation may be the opportunity to learn, he says. So, giving them assignments that keep them stimulated would be essential, and a tuition reimbursement program might even be worthwhile.

Once you know what really moves your workers to push themselves, they can more easily be motivated to meet company goals such as maintaining your corporate culture. Rewards can be established for those who exhibit the behavior, or work practices, the company has communicated as its ideal. "What people feel rewarded for will reinforce the culture," Lorsch says.

If you can't get employees to get to work on time, for example, try taking away all the reserved parking spots and make it first come, first served. Or, if being a "team player" is important to your company, make it one of the criteria formally evaluated each year in your workers' performance reviews. "If you're going to talk to people about the culture and teach the culture, you can't just talk it, you've got to live it."

Sourfce: INSIDE TRAINING – Training Magazine