Motivating Employees: Raising the Bar on Performance
Nov. 11, 2008
Ivonne Chirino-Klevans, Ph.D., for HireDiversity
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Elite athletes push themselves to the extreme and take pride in doing so. What drives them? And, do top performers in the business world share any common characteristics with these elite athletes? These questions hinge on understanding motivation. Motivated employees mean less turnover and absenteeism, as well as increased morale. In order to design jobs, perks, and compensation systems that have a positive impact on an organization, it is important to understand what motivates employees.
Motivation (or its absence) has an effect on every aspect of an organization. For example, approximately 2.8 million workdays each year are lost to absenteeism. Studies have found that organizations in which employees report low morale and motivation set aside 5.3 percent of their budget (on average) to cover costs related to absenteeism, compared to 3.7 percent in organizations where high motivation and morale is reported. Motivated employees are more likely to achieve organizational goals and to report increased job satisfaction, and less likely to leave their jobs or miss workdays.
In a time where many companies are tightening belts and making sacrifices to increase the bottom line, how do we develop and keep a motivated and engaged workforce? It all starts with attracting the right talent—people who have an internal drive to achieve and who are capable of self-motivation.
Attracting Talent
Hiring costs are a big piece of human resource expenditures, more so when we factor in the rate of turnover. That is why human resource professionals (and those who interview candidates) benefit from learning how to identify skills and abilities that indicate self-motivation.
Identifying Self-Motivation During An Interview
In a wide range of organizations, as well as in sports, there is a strong interest in finding personality traits and behaviors that are associated with top performers. Self-motivation is the result of how an individual perceives his or her competence in certain situations; the degree of interest, enjoyment, and effort required; and the amount of importance, pressure, and autonomy one feels while performing an activity. Behavioral interviews, in which past behaviors are discussed as a means of predicting future behaviors, have proved effective in assessing self-motivation. During an interview, these three key questions can help identify self-motivated individuals:
1) How did you handle a job-related situation where you had to do something that you were not enthusiastic about?
The answer to this question will identify what kind of strategies an individual uses when facing situations where there is no external motivator. In general, people who can motivate themselves will find a rewarding alternative within a non-rewarding scenario, regardless of what the environment or the situation is offering.
2) How did you approach a job-related situation where there was some ambiguity in instructions or guidance?
Look for how the individual gathers (or does not gather) additional information. Does he or she take the initiative to seek clarification? Does he or she take an active or passive role?
3) What did you do with the feedback you received from a performance evaluation in a previous job?
People who are self-motivated look for performance feedback, identify realistic goals for improvement, and seek out resources to reach those goals. These individuals will not wait for things to be right, but will look for ways to make things right.
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It would be ideal if all organizations were able to attract employees who do not need external motivations, who simply work for the joy of working. But in real life, organizations employ people with different talents, different needs, and different perceptions of what constitutes a motivating place to work. Identifying self-motivation in potential employees is the first step to building a productive workforce.
Dr. Ivonne Chirino-Klevans joined Walden University in 2005 as a professor of organizational psychology and currently serves as Program Director for the Center for International Programs. The International Management Certificate is a post-bachelor business certificate designed to give business professionals in Latin America international business acumen and English language skills.
Her extensive experience includes years of working with Fortune 500 companies in designing training and development programs and serving as Program Director for Duke Corporate Education.
Dr. Chirino-Klevans received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Universidad Iberoamericana, and also holds an MBA from Universidad de las Americas, and a Masters in Psychology from Georgia College and State University. Earlier in her career, she also served as the psychologist for the Mexican national rowing team, and contributed to the team winning a silver medal at the 1991 Pan Am Games. She herself is a Pan American games medalist in gymnastics.
Source: HireDiversity.com (c) 2008. All rights reserved.
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