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Motivation Matchmakers Ensure an Effective Workforce

Channel employees’ inherent drives by putting them in the right roles

By Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D

Motivational speakers, incentive plans and contests miss the mark because they don’t deal with workers’ internal motivations. Of course people want promotions and the highest commissions possible. Of course they don’t want to be fired. However, dangling carrots doesn’t ensure an effective and consistently productive workforce. Tapping into, understanding and focusing each individual’s inner motivations is the surest way for companies to accomplish their goals.

Matching Motivations With Jobs
An inner motivation to excel at work distinguishes the 20 percent of those who succeed in virtually every profession from everyone else. Different positions are suited to employees with different motivations, however. To pair employees’ inherent inner motivations with the right positions, it’s critical to know what characteristics the best managers, salespeople and customer service representatives typically display.

For example, the most effective managers like to make decisions and take risks. They respond to problems with ideas and action, even at the risk of failure. Maybe they take a chance on a new client who needs help getting off the ground. Or perhaps a new product launch breaks all the former rules. Maybe a personnel change that seems unlikely—moving a new production assistant into a sales role—proves incredibly successful in the long run. Strong managers know that sticking with the “tried-and-true” simply because it has always worked often sabotages the company’s future.

Effective managers also are consistent and fair, command respect from others, and are good communicators. As one manager at a large, international manufacturing company shared, “Being consistent takes work, but it’s worth it when the end result is a strong department. Whether I’m working with an employee who’s fresh out of college or one who’s been here longer than I have, my group knows I don’t play favorites and everyone will be evaluated on his of her performance and ability to meet goals.”

He went on to explain that regularly scheduled staff meetings are a priority for him. “Some members of my staff are on site and some work remotely, either on a regular basis or as needed. Whether they call in for a phone conference or meet in person, they all know we meet for an hour at the same time each week. This is where I fill in everyone on the state of the business. We discuss where we’re headed, what we’re working on, what projects are coming our way, and what our priorities should be. I also hold an extended monthly staff meeting where my direct reports invite their direct reports, so we’re sure that everyone is on the same page.”

And when it comes to performance reviews, he pointed out, “Everyone plays an active role in tying his or her responsibilities to our departmental and corporate objectives. Each person commits to two or three goals he or she needs to accomplish over the next quarter or six months that ties into what we’re trying to accomplish for the business as a whole. They know what is expected of them so there are no surprises at our quarterly performance reviews.”

Strong managers gather information and analyze it in reference to the company’s present and future needs. They delegate projects to employees based on their strengths, and they encourage professional growth through ongoing training and mentoring.

The most effective salespeople, on the other hand, possess very different qualities. While the best managers gain satisfaction from helping others succeed, salespeople want to be on their own, meeting prospects and clients, negotiating and closing deals. They understand what other people think and feel, and are motivated to persuade others to their point of view. For instance, if a prospect is very quality-conscious yet has a limited budget for a project, a strong salesperson will address both issues with the solution he or she offers. It may be different from what the prospect initially had in mind, but a good salesperson makes the prospect feel understood and gives a convincing case that the offer is necessary. Although a good salesperson will help the prospect with his or her needs, it is ultimately the satisfaction of hearing that “yes” that drives them.

In those inevitable cases where a strong sales pitch still elicits a “Thanks, but no thanks” response, the most successful salespeople bounce back from rejection and seize the next opportunity. Rather than taking “no” as a personal rejection, they learn from the experience, and use it as fuel for the next endeavor.
As for customer service representatives, the most successful are motivated to please others, driven to come through for them. They’re organized, detail-oriented and able to relate well with others. Unlike successful salespeople, however, they are not overly motivated to persuade others.

In addition to the qualities suited to each job role, other factors come into play. Some people are motivated by security, others want control, some are driven by accomplishment, others seek involvement, some want to belong and others want to develop. Acting upon an understanding of what motivates people, whether they be new hires or existing employees, requires more than a “one-size fits all” approach. But how they respond to or ignore these motivations sets the tone for the entire organization.

Inner motivations are hard to uncover, because often the individuals themselves are unaware of them. For instance, while every successful salesperson is motivated by an internal need to persuade others, few would say, “I want to sell, because I feel 10 feet tall when someone says ‘yes’ to me.” Yet that is precisely what occurs in a successful sales process.

It is these inner motivations, many of which we are not aware, that impel us to action. If an individual does not possess the proper motivations required to perform successfully in a specific job, all the training and incentives in the world will not make that individual highly productive.

Identifying Motivations
Knowing the motivations that increase the odds of success in a given job is the first step. The next step is discovering employees or potential hires with these motivations. There are three approaches to uncovering these forces:

1. Behavioral Based Interviewing
   Perhaps the most difficult, this type of interviewing relies upon the expertise of the interviewer to elicit feedback from the applicant. Using specific and probing questions to get to these motivational forces, the most effective practitioners of this process have received extensive training and have had years of experience to refine their skills. A few questions they ask could include:
   • What makes a manager or supervisor difficult for you to work with? And what makes him or her easy to work with?
   • Given the choice between working on a project independently and collaborating with a group, which would you choose?
   • Tell me about a challenge you faced, what resolutions you considered and how you arrived at your final decision.
   • Give me an example where you provided input to another person and improved their work performance.
   • Tell me about a project that was difficult, but in which you achieved a high level of thoroughness and accuracy. How did you do it and what were some of the challenges you faced?
   The answers to questions like these reveal whether an individual is more motivated by being part of a team or working independently; prefers receiving direction or making independent decisions; and whether they like or dislike managing their own time and handling detail work.
2. Personal Observation
   When an individual is already a member of the team, astute observers can simply pay attention to what motivation factors have the greatest impact on the individual. One employee may actually do her best work when tight deadlines loom overhead because she thrives on pressure. Another might always display a surge in output following compliments and a show of appreciation because he thrives on recognition. And someone else may be much more productive when able to work independently as opposed to working in a group or with a manager who is very hands-on. The clues to what makes each individual tick are there, but it takes effort to decipher and use them.
3. Personality Assessment
   A valid and legal personality test will routinely uncover this very important information so that it can be used to focus the new hire or existing employee appropriately. People are complex, and while there will often be telltale signs of what motivates them, it can be hard to discern. A valid assessment helps delve beneath the surface and provide the basis for understanding how to help each individual play to his or her strengths and develop potential.

Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D is president and CEO of Caliper Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based human resources assessment and consulting firm. DMIA members receive special rates for Caliper personnel assessments. For more information, visit www.caliperonline.com.