MOTIVATION
Employers urged to focus on job-related goals
Understanding the things that create an individual's motivations is no easy matter. Luckily, most employers don't need to worry too much about the "why" side of motivation. Instead, they can focus on identifying people's specific goals, says a report by Employee Benefits magazine.
This 16-page supplement, which accompanies the October edition of Employee Benefits magazine, brings together three pieces of research:
a fascinating interview with Professor Don Harper, visiting fellow at the London School of Economics
a brief guide to the main motivation theories
insights into how to build a recognition and reward strategy that fits with company objectives and individual goals.
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For the first piece of work, Professor Harper, who has spent more than 25 years studying employee motivation, recounts his work in the area. Harper reckons that if you really want to motivate your staff, then finding the right reward, and offering it for the right behaviour does not have to be complicated. But it's crucial that you identify your employees' goals.
Harper explains: "For the average employer they don't have to worry about the 'why' side of motivation. They just start with the goals and concern themselves with the issue of 'how' they can exploit those goals to redirect employees' motivation towards the company's objectives."
Want to know more?
Title: "Motivation", Employee Benefits supplement, October 2001.
Availability: Contact Employee Benefits subscriptions department in London, tel: 020 7970 4000 or email employee-benefits@centaur.co.uk.
To read the supplement online visit the magazine’s web site at www.employeebenefits.co.uk. Register first (it's free) then click on the "Knowledge bank". Select the "Motivation & incentives" category. The three articles in this supplement are dated October 2001.