Management and Motivation |
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HOW TO PROPERLY MANAGE MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES
In 1959 Frederick Herzberg published his findings in a book entitled “The Motivation To Work”.
In that book he summarized what he discovered from his interviews with employees about how their work pleased and displeased them.
I created a training program to help managers employ the following points put forth by Herzberg.
He discovered there are intrinsic factors that influence job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. - Intrinsic means belonging to the essential nature of a thing : occurring as a natural part of something.
SATISFACTION FACTORS DISSATISFACTION FACTORS
Achievement |
Company Policy |
Recognition and Advancement |
Supervision |
Work Itself (the job) |
Work Conditions |
Responsibility |
Salary |
Personal Growth |
Relationships (boss and peers) |
He stressed the point that satisfaction factors and dissatisfaction factors are not opposites.
They can coexist or not exist at all.
External factors such as KITA (punishment threats) might have a short-term impact, but the positive and negative intrinsic factors are more lasting.
Job enrichment is a management responsibility. A job enrichment structure is required to augment the satisfaction factors.
Clear job descriptions with clear achievement metrics = a good job enrichment structure.
This prevents micro managing tendencies. Such descriptions enable employees to take responsibility. They allow a capable employee to be aware of a growth path.
Each job should have sufficient challenge to utilize the full ability of an employee.
A hierarchy of job descriptions is key to enable employees who show increasing levels of ability to be assigned increased responsibilities.
Any employee who cannot be fully utilized will not be properly motivated.
Automating tasks or hiring employees with lesser skill levels is the only option when a job is not designed to utilize the full ability of an employee.
The goal for management is to create an environment that minimizes the dissatisfaction factors and maximizes the satisfaction factors. Two quick examples of this are these:
- Adequate salaries will minimize dissatisfaction.
- Proper recognition will maximize satisfaction.
Too often the focus is on the dissatisfaction factors. Too seldom the focus is on the satisfaction factors. Management must address both.
True motivation comes from within a person and not from KITA (Kick in the a__).
NOTE: This course (that I developed) aimed to enable the attendees to be managers who would establish goals with their personnel.
These goals had to be SMART – Specific / Measurable / Achievable / Realistic / Time bound.