How to Motivate Different People in Your Workplace
Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an
employer, but learning how to inspire each individual is the key to a
successful organization. This article will provide you 18 ways to
motivate different people in your workplace. Whether you're an
executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be
beneficial to you.
If your workforce resembles that of most
organizations, many different kinds of people are toiling under one
roof. In one area, you have a person striving for better pay and
benefits working next to someone for whom the pay is secondary to the
job duties. Nearby, an employee struggles to balance work and home life.
And yet another worker on the same team is looking for a new position
because he thrives on change and is seeing the same old tasks every day.
Unless
you know your workers' differences, the music they make together may
sound more like a cacophony than a symphony. Research conducted in 2004
found six different segments in the American workplace. All workplaces,
especially large ones, will likely employ some of each type of worker.
The list includes:
Fair and Square Traditionalists, who want their work to provide stability and a secure future. Motivate them by:
- Asking for and giving them feedback
- Talking to them frankly
- Discussing the mission and their role in making it happen
Accomplished Contributors, who prize teamwork. Motivate them by:
- Nudging them toward team leadership roles
- Giving them specific measurements of their success and growth
- Asking them what they want to do next
Stalled Survivors, who see work as work, not life. Motivate them by:
- Focusing on work-life balance and what to do when one is out of kilter
- Putting them on teams that provide support, empathy and role models
- Helping them plan for their career future
Demanding Disconnects, your least satisfied workers. Motivate them by:
- Giving them non-routine tasks
- Discovering their strengths to use on the job
- Paying attention to their ideas
Maverick Morphers are enthusiastic and like trying new things. Motivate them by:
- Providing a congenial work environment
- Letting them know what's going on
- Discussing their progress
Self-Empowered Innovators like work for the sake of work. Motivate them by:
- Giving them responsibilities that allow for learning and growth
- Ridding their path of obstacles
- Allowing them to stretch the company's vision
Another
easy way to motivate your workforce is to find out what drives each
individual employee. The answer is simple: assessments. Employee
assessments will provide you with insight that could lead to higher
productivity and job satisfaction throughout your organization. The
information collected from assessments provides company leaders with
perspective on the current reality in their organization's workplace and
highlights areas of concern affecting the total workplace experience.
Many
companies use employee assessments to help them find ways to motivate
employees and make them want to live up to their full potential. This
provides better results as each employee's reason for working is unique.
Addressing each individual's needs in the organization will create a
highly motivated workforce that strives for the best as a whole.
Leading
the organizations of today and tomorrow requires knowledge that
yesterday's leaders did not need. Think of managing today as trying to
put together a jigsaw puzzle with millions of tiny pieces. You cannot
force the pieces together; you must examine each one to see where each
fits in the picture. Your goal is not to finish the puzzle, because it
is ever-changing; your goal is to keep putting the pieces where they
fit.
employer, but learning how to inspire each individual is the key to a
successful organization. This article will provide you 18 ways to
motivate different people in your workplace. Whether you're an
executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be
beneficial to you.
If your workforce resembles that of most
organizations, many different kinds of people are toiling under one
roof. In one area, you have a person striving for better pay and
benefits working next to someone for whom the pay is secondary to the
job duties. Nearby, an employee struggles to balance work and home life.
And yet another worker on the same team is looking for a new position
because he thrives on change and is seeing the same old tasks every day.
Unless
you know your workers' differences, the music they make together may
sound more like a cacophony than a symphony. Research conducted in 2004
found six different segments in the American workplace. All workplaces,
especially large ones, will likely employ some of each type of worker.
The list includes:
Fair and Square Traditionalists, who want their work to provide stability and a secure future. Motivate them by:
- Asking for and giving them feedback
- Talking to them frankly
- Discussing the mission and their role in making it happen
Accomplished Contributors, who prize teamwork. Motivate them by:
- Nudging them toward team leadership roles
- Giving them specific measurements of their success and growth
- Asking them what they want to do next
Stalled Survivors, who see work as work, not life. Motivate them by:
- Focusing on work-life balance and what to do when one is out of kilter
- Putting them on teams that provide support, empathy and role models
- Helping them plan for their career future
Demanding Disconnects, your least satisfied workers. Motivate them by:
- Giving them non-routine tasks
- Discovering their strengths to use on the job
- Paying attention to their ideas
Maverick Morphers are enthusiastic and like trying new things. Motivate them by:
- Providing a congenial work environment
- Letting them know what's going on
- Discussing their progress
Self-Empowered Innovators like work for the sake of work. Motivate them by:
- Giving them responsibilities that allow for learning and growth
- Ridding their path of obstacles
- Allowing them to stretch the company's vision
Another
easy way to motivate your workforce is to find out what drives each
individual employee. The answer is simple: assessments. Employee
assessments will provide you with insight that could lead to higher
productivity and job satisfaction throughout your organization. The
information collected from assessments provides company leaders with
perspective on the current reality in their organization's workplace and
highlights areas of concern affecting the total workplace experience.
Many
companies use employee assessments to help them find ways to motivate
employees and make them want to live up to their full potential. This
provides better results as each employee's reason for working is unique.
Addressing each individual's needs in the organization will create a
highly motivated workforce that strives for the best as a whole.
Leading
the organizations of today and tomorrow requires knowledge that
yesterday's leaders did not need. Think of managing today as trying to
put together a jigsaw puzzle with millions of tiny pieces. You cannot
force the pieces together; you must examine each one to see where each
fits in the picture. Your goal is not to finish the puzzle, because it
is ever-changing; your goal is to keep putting the pieces where they
fit.
