What is the employer's responsibility in creating or maintaining the motivation of its employees? You have more power than you might think. A motivated employee is a responsible and committed employee. Achieving goals is a mission that is close to his heart. He feels involved in the results and gives himself the means to achieve them. According to a 2011-2012 Gallup study around the world, only 13% of employees achieve a high level of commitment within their company. And according to another study, 70% of employees consider that the job they have is not related to their talents.
What boosts motivation?
Wages, bonuses and vacations, while advantageous, have a definite influence. On the other hand, these means are limited in scope: when the employee becomes used to enjoying these benefits, they become “assets”. The employee certainly does not want to lose them, but they will no longer be enough to give him motivation and a sense of well-being.
Challenging tasks and engaging goals are long-term values. Motivation should come from the work itself, not from an external reward. The employee will want to surpass themselves if they are offered realistic, captivating goals that are in line with their personal interests.
Studies show that motivation is based on three main needs:
- Competence. The employee feels stimulated to perform at work if he understands that he can, through his responsibilities, develop new skills or deepen knowledge that he considers interesting and useful. Employees need to evolve throughout their career.
- Autonomy. The employee feels the need to make their own decisions in what they do. He likes to have some flexibility in how he does his work and feels that he can influence through his vision. The way the work is presented is essential: giving the employee the opportunity to take ownership of what they have to do has a huge influence on the feeling of motivation.
- Affiliation. The workplace often represents a second family in terms of the number of hours spent there. The relationship with the employee must go beyond the simple transaction of “I work and in exchange, I am paid”. Work is stimulating if it offers the employee the opportunity to develop a sense of belonging: to be part of a real community, where bonds of attachment between individuals are forged. A good cast
A good cast
It is essential to ensure that the work offered corresponds to that of the employee's interests to guarantee the high level of motivation. First of all, it is up to the employer to know how to identify employees with good engagement potential. Along the way, a career review can provide very valuable clues for this purpose.
We're talking about motivation!
Boosting an individual's motivation is an achievable goal: however, it requires the adoption of an approach based on attention and exchange. Both the employer and the employee must know how to identify their needs and be transparent. Regular interviews will allow you to know the evolution of an employee's sources of motivation. Real listening, without the temptation to influence responses according to current needs, will reveal many possible areas for improvement!
