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by Bob Urichuck
Employee motivation is not always the easiest of tasks, but it does pay off for you, your customers and the employee.
Recognition is ranked the number one motivating factor when it comes to employee motivation in the workplace. If you want to maintain motivated employees, and encourage others to do better, recognizing them publicly may save yourself the time and money of having to find and re-train new staff.
You may find it hard to believe, but recognition is the most powerful employee motivator of all. Research has shown that there is a stronger need in society today for recognition than there is for sex and money. Now, that says something about employee motivation.
Let’s think about it.
We could provide employee motivation through a bonus in the form of money at the end of a period. Sure they’ll be happy and thankful. They may even perform better, but what are their expectations at the end of the next period? Right; more money. External employee motivation is temporary – it is never lasting.
Money is an external employee motivator and it is never lasting. It’s an incentive that once acquired, leads to expectations for more, bigger or better. But if you have a bad period will they care? They’ll want a bonus at least equal to what they got last year, but preferably more, not less.
A survey of thousands of workers around the world compared rankings by supervisors and employees on employee motivating factors.
Note that the top three employee motivating factors marked by the employees are the last three felt to be important for them by their supervisors.
Do you think it would be any different in your business?
So it is fair to say that money, over and above wages, is not a main motivating factor, but full appreciation of work done is. This is recognition: the number one employee motivating factor in building and maintaining a motivated employee.
Why is it so important?
When someone gives you a compliment or recognizes you for doing something, how do you feel? Imagine, for a moment, being complimented by all your family, friends, staff and customers all day, every day.
What would it do to your self-esteem your self confidence and your self respect? Without it going to your head, how do you think you would perform? Would you be outstanding or what? Is this not the basis of employee motivation?
Employee motivation through recognition is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement of actions gets those actions repeated. Recognition and praise reinforces our beliefs about ourselves and helps make us think we are better than we thought we were. That is what employee motivation is all about.
Employee motivation is positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcements is what builds our self-esteem. Our self-esteem is the way we see and feel about ourselves either internally, through our own beliefs, or externally through what we accept as the beliefs of others.
If we feel good about ourselves and we believe others feel good about us, we perform better than we would when we see the opposite side of the coin. Employee motivation starts from within.
People perform in a manner that is consistent with how they see themselves conceptually. So, the key is to help people build their self-esteem. That is the foundation of employee motivation.
About the author