This is an issue the executives and HR departments have wrestled for many years.
I truly believe that many businesses truly want to find methods of rewarding their employees but really don’t know what exactly will keep the employees happy.
Oh, for those executives that “motivate” their employees with the ‘you are lucky just to have a job’, start preparing the exit papers right now! You just told the employees that they are not important!
Money isn’t the most important
I am not going to say money does not matter. Only an idiot would say that and I am devoting the rest of my career to keep idiot statements down to a minimal.
Money just doesn’t matter as much as many executives think.
Underpay an employee and there will be massive unhappiness. The lack of money will make them feel like they are not worth much.
What amount is underpaid? I have no idea.
The goal of a business is to have the employee work a year for $1. The employee wants to get $1 million for working one hour. Somewhere in those two extremes, is a number both parties can agree on. However, neither party will be totally happy but at least they can agree.
But, if the employee is not paid similar to those inside the company and similar to those in other companies of the area, you are probably safe. Paying a little above average can help.
The Biggest Problem with Money
There is one significant problem with money.
If that is the only reason an employee is staying at your company, then the first company that comes along a offers a little extra, all you will see is their dust as they head out the door.
Some companies just don’t care and are fine to have their talent head out the door. That is mind-numbing as they lose expertise and there is a significant cost to replace them – even lower level workers!
Money is a foundational item and without a strong the foundation, the employee will be restless.
Clearly more is needed to have happy employees.
The best thing an employer can do for an employee is to make them feel valued.
Importance
This is a critical benefit of work but possibly the hardest to achieve.
Just telling an employee they are important does not cut it.
Including employees in planning meetings is a great help.
Asking their opinion about products, projects, or plans will signify that they are important.
Send them to training is a great method of making them feel valued.
Expressing Gratitude
This one is difficult for most managers and executives which confuses me why it is so painful.
On a regular basis, talk to the employee and thank them for their work mentioning something specific.
Highlight an employee’s effort in team meetings is fantastic.
Even a quick email to the employee expressing appreciation and thanks for a specific effort will make the employee feel extremely valued
Visible
Making the employee visible is a wonderful method of making them feel important.
In larger organizations, it is easy for employees to be ‘lost’ in the crowd. They get to feel like a lost entity.
This is a significant problem with employees who are introverts. They can toil away in the corner and never get any recognition.
Publishing documents or PowerPoints to a wide audience that the employee created will make them feel important.
Including them in meetings with upper management will make them feel less invisible.
If the employee is remote, make a phone call to them on a regular basis.
Challenging
Few things discourage an employee more than feeling stagnant and not learning anything new.
It is not just training but also asking the employee to join the team to solve a problem will make their work more interesting.
I do understand some jobs are very difficult to bring challenges to their work.
Autonomy
This is a significant problem for new managers. It becomes very easy to micromanage all their employees.
Few activities of managers can drive the employee to put their head through a wall than micromanagement.
Outside of the annoyance of having the manager standing over the employee all the time, it screams that the employee is not smart enough to do the work themselves.
I had a manager that was standing at my shoulder telling me how to name the spreadsheet columns. Since this a pattern, I said, in exasperation, why don’t you do the spreadsheet yourself? Not a great way to build to build relations with the manager but I was totally frustrated.
The employee will not do the work exactly how you want but giving them some autonomy will be great for relations.
Allowing the employee to work remote one or more days a week, or from a different location, will do wonders for relations with the employee.
There are many more methods of helping an employee feel better about their work and I will address it in a future post.
https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/money-is-great-but-this-is-what-employees-really-want.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter