Which of the following do you think have the most powerful, intrinsic motivational value for employees?

· A raise of 3% at the end of the year.

· Participation in a recognition and rewards program, in which individuals can earn points toward merchandise.

· A gift certificate for outstanding work a team did on a special project.

· A promotion.

· Detailed information about how their contributions are having an impact on the business.

You might argue that all of these are motivating, and I agree. But I would argue that the really powerful, intrinsic motivator is the last one.

A raise is great but many organizations pay out an annual raise, and frankly, most employees are in the dark about how the percentage is calculated. In addition, most people know that their percentage isn’t much different than everyone else’s increase. A nice raise feels good for about a month and then gets forgotten.

A promotion is what some people work hard for, but it’s not everyone’s goal. In fact, with the layoffs of the last few years, some people aren’t as eager to move up. They feel safer in the lower ranks after seeing how easily management ranks can be cut. Promotions come with more pay but they also come with added responsibilities, which can be a mixed blessing, to say the least.

Recognition programs have, thankfully, died a natural death in most organizations. They are mechanical attempts to get people to do the right things, but the administration of these programs is a burden and never perceived as “fair” by those who are supposed to be motivated by them.

Gift certificates and spot bonuses are great for people and teams who go above and beyond for short bursts toward specific goals. But they, too, lose their effect if they are given out too often.

The idea for this column came out of a conversation I had with a client today. During a recent session, we discussed the impact of praising people —in detail—about what they were doing right. His team has been working long hours, under intense pressure to design new products and improve existing products. It’s been a tough couple of years in his industry, but this leader was starting to see some positive momentum.

He said, “I was sitting through one of our update meetings, where the head of the division showed the usual slide of our results and how we were doing against the competition. There was one slide that was packed with data and he said he was happy to see ‘growth.’

I thought of our conversation the other day, and decided to study that slide and take it apart. During my subsequent staff meeting, I showed my team how much market share we had gained. I pointed out, in simple language, how the new products my team had designed were advancing us in the marketplace. We had worked hard to reduce the manufacturing cost of a few of our older products, and I showed how that was having a big impact on our margins.

Everyone was riveted to the information, and you could see they were really absorbing what I was telling them and feeling satisfaction and pride. I had a number of people come up to me and thank me for sharing that information.

Believe me, if the business experiences a downturn, senior management pours over every detail to figure out how to stop the bleeding. But when things are working, I’m realizing that we miss a huge opportunity to tell people how what they are doing is making a difference. I think that meeting was very motivating.”

He is so right. He plans on sharing this kind of detail more regularly. Most people want to feel a part of something; they want to make a meaningful contribution. A paycheck is nice but doesn’t feed the soul. And real motivation comes from connecting the heart, mind and soul.

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Joan Lloyd is a Milwaukee-based executive coach, organizational & leadership development strategist. She has a proven track record spanning more than 20 years, and is known for her ability to help leaders and their teams achieve measurable, lasting improvements. Email your question to Joan at info@joanlloyd.com and visit www.JoanLloyd.com to search an archive of more than 1400 of Joan’s articles. Contact Joan Lloyd & Associates (414) 354-9500. ©Joan Lloyd & Associates, Inc.

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Would you like to bridge the commitment gap with your employees? We provide management consulting, executive coaching and customized, skills-based training for managers and supervisors, that changes behavior, creates a healthy culture and builds a customer-focused team. Call us today at (800) 348-1944.

Coaching can be as difficult to deliver as negative feedback. Well-delivered praise is specific and thanks the person for what he or she did. If appropriate, it also ties their action to the goal. Joan Lloyd’s How to Coach & Give Feedback learning system will teach you the “art” of delivering effective coaching and feedback that gets results! Now available on CD!

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