Research says that employees with optimum motivation level and satisfaction level have stayed 18 months more in the organisation than those who felt disconnected. And we all know how much attrition costs a company. Somebody has asked us online, can Maslow’s Need Hierarchy be helpful to study and measure Motivation Level of Employees?

So first we need to understand the crisp of – Maslow’s Need Hierarchy and how it can be mapped to employees or working professionals. The 5 levels in the Hierarchy are explained below:

1. Physiological Needs
Physiological needs are the physical requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body cannot function properly and will ultimately fail. Ex – air, water, food, clothing, shelter etc.
Map to Employees: Understand if employees have basic facilities at office to start their job, like – table, chair, computer systems, internet, desired softwares, adequate training etc.

2. Safety Needs
Safety needs talks about – “physical safety” – due to war, natural disaster, family violence, childhood abuse, etc; and – “economic safety” – due to economic crisis and lack of work opportunities.
Map to Employees: Do employees have sense of job security, enough work opportunities to grow? Do they feel being underpaid? Understand that employees do not have risk of health/life while at work.

3. Love and Belonging
Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups, friends, families; regardless whether these groups are large or small.
Map to Employees: Are employees well accepted among their colleagues, even if they are from different background, culture, geography, race, religion etc.?

4. Esteem
All humans have a need to feel respected; this includes the need to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem presents the typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others.
Map to Employees: Are employees valued equally for the contributions made at office? Do they receive unbiased appraisal? Do their managers listen to employees and give productive / constructive feedback? This should raise motivation and feeling of self esteem.

5. Self-actualization
What a person’s full potential is and the realization of that potential. Maslow describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the most that one can be.
Map to Employees: Are employees given enough challenging opportunities which brings best out of them? Are they motivated enough to achieve more then their goals, targets? Are they given enough opportunities to participate in things not mentioned in job description – extracurricular activities, cross department projects etc.

How to carry this Research Survey in your Company?
Now that you have understood crisp about Maslow’s Need Hierarchy, follow these simple steps:
1. Prepare a Questionnaire first with 5 sections as named above
2. Put almost equal number of questions in each section
3. Questions should revolve around the concept of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy related to employees, as mentioned above.
4. Float the survey among your employees and collect the data.
5. Make the analysis from the collected data to bring employee motivation/satisfaction levels while working in the companyThinkSurvey can be your best 3rd party surveyor when it comes to conducting surveys and bringing out best analysis from them. Currently we help companies from India geography.