So, having been given a northern project assignment (that has now come to an end) I am picking up where a left off a while ago on employee engagement, motivation and rewards. These thoughts are a product of some books (still finishing off Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohen), some time spent in the trenches, and from learning from people far more experienced in HR than me.
Here is what I believe to be a good guiding principles when it comes to motivating and building your people. Emphasis for this article is on point 3.
1. Pay people enough that they feel fairly compensated compared to individuals performing similar work to them in their organization, and fairly compensated when compared to individuals doing similar work in other organizations. Basically, pay your people enough that they don’t think about money. Chances are, if money is on their mind, it is because they don’t feel they are receiving enough. Money demotivates, pay well so it doesn’t.
2. Communicate (and back up with action) that increases in ability and production will be compensated according to the above philosophy through a transparent and easily understood process. Create clear expectations.
3. Provide opportunities for employees to participate in work that is meaningful, increases their knowledge and ability, and allows them to contribute to something that is bigger than themselves. This is not a simple process, it relies on effective management and the proper corporate structures to support it. Some examples are as follows:
- Strong internal training programs and a solid external development plan. Give your people time and $$ to learn new things. However, ROI on education is not as significant as exposure and experience so complement it with
- Cross training (or as I like to call it in meetings: increased interdepartmental exposure). As employees move up levels it is important for them to understand what goes on in different business units to aid in their organization knowledge and decision making in the future.
- Facilitate participation in special projects and team environments. Allow them to contribute to the organization beyond their regular day-to-day duties.
- Encourage your employees to engage with their professional community
beyond your organization. While this may sound like a poorly disguised
plug for involvement in the HRMAE (we are looking for blog contributors
zabel.tom@gmail.com …) it allows them to benefit from the shared
knowledge of their peers and can bring fresh ideas and new perspectives
into your organization. It also gives your employee a chance to share
what they have learned and, like I mentioned above, contribute to
something larger than themselves. Seriously though, HRMAE networking
event Tuesday October 11, good topic, panel discussion, details here.
One quick final word on performance management, which is a key activity to support employee engagement. Keep it simple, focus it on a specific time period, identify successes and failures that are in the direct control of the employee during that time, and develop a growth plan with measurable (and attainable) short and long term targets to help focus their efforts. Again, targets should be within the employee’s direct control and cover more than just financial performance.
Performance management is not a one-way conversation; for it to be effective it needs to be an open dialogue where the employee has feedback and control over their direction in the organization.
Please tell me if you think I am out to lunch on this…
Tom Zabel
Voice Construction