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Motivation – can you really motivate others to complete tasks?
Some say you can, others say you can’t – what’s going on? You may have told your staff member to “hurry up”, “just get on with it”, or “stop mucking around” etc but these comments may only introduce resentment and frustration for the staff member and for you as a supervisor. Let’s look at some theory to begin: Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, or motivation theory says that there are two factors that companies can adjust to influence motivation in the workplace.
1. Motivators, or
2. Hygiene factors
If we are going to motivate people then we first need to ensure that the hygiene factors are addressed; these include the following: job security, a good salary, good work conditions, holidays, status – these are considered maintenance factors, they must be in place for people to be satisfied with the role.
Next, we need to look at the motivators: e.g. challenging work, advancement opportunities, responsibility, work that is matched to skills, recognition, and opportunities for achievement.
As a manager or leader can you have an impact on the hygiene factors? Could you make your place of work more appealing? Could you provide more benefits? As I write this, the news agencies are covering a story of a major New Zealand company
that will allow its workers to leave work at 2pm on a Friday, until the end of February. What do you think this act of generosity might mean for the employees?
What can you do about the motivators? You need to think about the employee’s skill sets; what would be challenging and what the next steps on the career ladder might be for each person.
How would you do that? Have a chat, find out what they want to do and what is important; this can all be done in a development planning session. Which is good to do in January – being the beginning of a new year, but isn’t just a one time thing. It should be reviewed and discussed regularly.
Thinking about development planning and goal setting? Let me know and I can design and deliver a course tailored to your organisation’s process. Carol@onedaytraining.co.nz
Herzberg, F.; Mausner, B.; Snyderman, B.B. (1959). The Motivation to Work
(2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley.
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