Think You Know What Your Employees Want?

Her name was Cindy, but around the office, she was better known as “Solitaire Cindy.” Whenever I walked by her desk, the Solitaire screen on her PC was running—and it wasn’t a screensaver. Frankly, it bugged me; why should Solitaire Cindy game her day away while I busted my hump in my job, along with our fellow employees? I asked her manager how she felt about that. She sighed, “For what we pay Cindy, she does a decent job, so she’s earned the right to futz around.”

I even talked with Cindy myself, hoping to encourage her. “Cindy, with your skills and smarts, you could make a real impact here. Why waste your talent and office hours playing computer Solitaire?”

Cindy shrugged as she flipped a card with a click of her mouse. “They don’t pay me enough to make the extra effort worth my while.”

It was like a Mexican standoff: Cindy wasn’t motivated, but then, the management neither confronted her nor gave her any motivation. Like so many managers, they took the path of least resistance. People would prefer to put up with mediocrity than make waves with employees. But you have choices on how to address this behavior. For instance, would you disconnect Cindy’s Solitaire software to force her to step up to the plate, or would you confront her, running the risk of annoying her and losing her (and finding her replacement)? Would you put up with Cindy’s overall mediocre performance because of the things she does do well, risking a ripple effect on the other employees who work hard while Cindy follows her own path of least resistance? Or would you initiate a meaningful dialogue with her to find out why she’d rather play computer Solitaire than be a proactive worker?

Some of my clients think installing programs to monitor and restrict employees’ Internet access is the answer—but that only treats the symptom, not the disease. Employees want to be treated with respect like the capable pros they are, not like naughty kids. They have every right to want to be treated respectfully, considering that nowadays, employers have unprecedented access to their workers. Employees answer e-mail from home, call in while on vacation—they’re virtually tethered to the office 24/7! Productivity has skyrocketed over the past few decades, thanks to both technology and employees’ hard work. Bosses must remember that they reap what they sow, and nothing wilts a worker’s blossoming feeling of success faster than employers who poison the workplace atmosphere with suspicion and disdain. That’s no way to motivate employees to go above and beyond.

Most employees don’t deliberately set out to do a bad job. If a manager notices someone isn’t doing well, she should address the issue ASAP, not ignore it until it snowballs into a major problem. You risk losing your best workers if you don’t discover ways for them to feel successful and accomplished in their positions. If an employee feels like a failure, he’s on the fast track to the doldrums (and maybe a new job elsewhere), but when employees feel successful, they’re galvanized to achieve even greater successes. Talk with your employees, and really listen to what success means to them. Armed with that information, you can implement meaningful reward systems, programs, and promotions that’ll make your employees happy—and happy employees are productive employees.

FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO THEM

These questions draw out information from your staffers about their definition of success:

• “What do you feel is going well for you at our company?”
• “What have you accomplished so far that you’re really proud of?”
• “What else would make you feel more successful at work? In life? (Besides a bigger paycheck, I mean!)”
• “Imagine that five years have passed. What would you have to accomplish in order to feel successful at that point in your career?”
• “What do you enjoy most about this job? What would you like to do more of in your position?”
• “What two things would you most like to achieve in the next six months?”
• “In this job, are you able to do what you’re really good at doing? In order to make your job more interesting, what would you like to do more of? Less of?”
• “How do you define success?”

When managers engage their employees with good questions, they inspire them to do their best. Motivated employees have the drive to succeed, and the will to do the hard work necessary to achieve their goals. Since motivating employees is a big part of their job, you’d think that managers would spend plenty of time working on uncovering what really motivates their people. But you’d be wrong, I’m afraid.

I can’t even begin to count the number of times clients have called to ask for my help in motivating their employees. Usually they don’t realize lack of motivation is the problem; they just think their workers are “lazy.” Over and over, clients tell me their business would improve if only Joe or Jenny Worker would “step up to the plate” or “put in that extra effort.” But all they have to do is ask their employees what motivates them, and how they want to be motivated!

If you want your employees to feel successful and triumphant in their jobs, you’ve got to make them feel valued. It’s fine to ease into a conversation with low-key, canned questions like “How was your weekend?” Just make sure those questions lead into deeper, more thought-provoking questions, like the previous examples.

Some misguided managers feel it’s not their job to inspire excellence from their employees—they should magically motivate themselves. Others think all employees respond to the same type of reward system. But employers need to respect employees’ differences; they’re individuals with motivations as different as their work styles. Managers need to respond to those differences if they want their employees to perform above and beyond expectations. Understand your employees like you understand your customers. In both cases, it’s important to find out what they want from their relationships and what it is they value. The only way to understand what people value is to engage them—by asking them!