An Environment That Motivates Employees

I don’t create motivation—employees bring it. I only create an environment that encourages them to use it.

-Mike Mitchell

Legendary manager Mike Mitchell incorporates TOPSRI into his team’s work. Let’s watch as he greets a new employee.

M:  Welcome to our team, Frank.

     As you saw from our hiring process, we’re very careful in choosing who joins us. We’re impressed with what we see in you, and believe you have the potential to be a star on our team.

Mike’s use of “Team” indicates Frank’s coworkers are committed to and working together toward a common purpose. By nature, belonging to a team motivates employees—working with others, sharing objectives, proving their abilities, and being appreciated for their contributions.

His use of “we” instead of “I” implies respect for team members. He indicates it’s an elite group, instilling pride in Frank for being chosen.

He conveys respect for Frank and expresses confidence in his abilities. Surely Frank would like to live up to those expectations.

And Mike lays out a challenge—for Frank to become a star. Challenges motivate employees, especially when they involve proving skills and achieving valued objectives.

F:  Thank you, Mr. Mitchell. I’ll give it my best!

M:  This morning, I’ll give you an overview of what our team does and how we go about it.

     We know we’ll be the buyers’ choice only if we make high quality, dependable products at reasonable costs. To judge how we’re doing, we measure several things: our quality check scores, customer satisfaction ratings, costs per unit, and on-time delivery percentages. We set goals for ourselves for each of these, and we take pride in reaching them.

These are the Objectives—the specific results the team strives for.

Notice that each objective is precise and measurable. “Produce high quality products” is not specific enough to be an effective objective; it’s difficult to measure and would be subject to broad interpretations. Quantifiable objectives are clear, precise, and immediate indicators of performance, creating a motivational environment and allowing the team to see and celebrate their accomplishments and focus on their shortcomings.

Objectives for other teams might include numbers of customers helped, invoices processed, response times, sales, products shipped, customer satisfaction scores, low error rates—measurements of whatever the team is trying to accomplish.

Objectives are motivational when they seem reasonable and attainable. Ideally, a team has significant influence in setting the objectives and, as a result, believes in and is committed to them.

M:  You’ll be in charge of purchasing parts and materials. You’ll need to anticipate which materials manufacturing will need for its production schedule and coordinate with our suppliers to keep appropriate quantities. Your job is important to the team because if we run out of a part, manufacturing stops until we get it.

F:  Sounds like a big responsibility.

M:  [Smiles & nods] And that’s why we were so careful in choosing you.

This is how Frank will Participate.

Team members don’t like sitting on the bench; they want to play a part, show what they can do, and be appreciated for their contributions.

Mike believes responsibility is an honor, not a burden, so he makes a point of telling Frank why his role is important to the team.

Playing a significant part inspires good team members to learn their jobs thoroughly and do them carefully. No one wants to let the team down.

M:  Each day Lisa posts our numbers and any notable accomplishments.

     At our weekly team meetings, we get printed copies of the results and we discuss our successes, shortcomings, and potential improvements. Then we set our goals for the following week.

This is the Score. Good scores are a source of satisfaction; lesser scores point out problem areas and opportunities for improvement.

Discussing scores and goals in team meetings keeps them in focus, prompts thoughts on improvement, and encourages input and suggestions.

M:  We like to celebrate our achievements.

F:  I’ve heard.

M:  At our weekly team meetings, we congratulate successful team members as well as take nominations and vote for an MVP.

     If we reach our goals for the month we have a victory celebration—a catered lunch from a restaurant we vote on. During lunch, we announce outstanding contributions and give awards—they’re just small tokens but team members take pride in how many they accumulate and display them proudly.

F:  Looking forward to winning some awards.

 Recognition of accomplishment, effort, and ability creates Respect. We like to do things we’re respected for and, when we’re respected, we work hard to do them better.

Opportunities to show respect are abundant—not just in team meetings and celebrations but in conversations, in introductions, by asking for opinions, deferring to judgments, giving credit, when assigning responsibilities, expressing interest, offering encouragement, or just by listening attentively when a team member speaks.

Respect costs only a little time and thought, yet yields extraordinary returns in attitude and effort.

F:  I’m excited to play my part on the team, Mr. Mitchell, but I’ve got a lot to learn.

M:  [Nodding] This afternoon, Sam, our director of manufacturing, will introduce you to some of our most experienced people and arrange for you to work alongside them. He’ll also give you several of the company’s training manuals; please take the certification tests as soon as you’re ready.

F:  Perfect.

M:  You’ll have lots of opportunities to expand your abilities, including training sessions, skill-sharing meetings, online modules, and company courses. There’s also a library of training and self-improvement books and videos. And if you find an outside course you’re interested in, we’ll try to arrange it.

F:  Great! I’m looking forward to all of that.

Training and education are opportunities to Improve—to enhance our abilities, increase our value, and advance our careers.

Getting an education is expensive; companies that provide it generously not only increase the effectiveness of their employees, they attract and retain more motivated people.

M:  OK, any questions?

F:  Only how soon can I get going?

A Note on Money as a Motivator

Some psychologists and researchers tell us money isn’t a good motivator. They say businesses and organizations get better results by focusing instead on intrinsic motivation—personal satisfaction and enjoyment that comes from within us, as, for example, from a sense of purpose and an appreciation of the value of the work we do.

It is indeed motivating to believe what we do has value and importance—that we serve a larger purpose and, in our own way, make this world a better place. As managers, we can and should help our people understand and appreciate the value and importance of their work.

However, it seems dangerously misguiding to say that money is not an effective or appropriate motivator.

Most people, including especially high producers, readily admit to being motivated, at least in significant part, by money. And most business people recognize this. Almost all businesses encourage and reward with money—sales commissions, production bonuses, performance-based raises, profit sharing, year-end bonuses, stock options, and more. Indeed, it’s nearly impossible to retain top talent without providing some measure of performance-based compensation.

Those uncomfortable with money as a motivator should remember that money represents our ability to take care of ourselves and our families—to provide a home, security, education, health care, etc., and to ensure we don’t become a burden to society. Hopefully we’re all motivated by that.

When monetary incentives are structured to reflect the value an employee creates for the company or organization, they are perhaps the fairest method of compensation.

Using money as an incentive and reward is in no way contrary to TOPSRI. To many people, money represents the Score—a measure of their effectiveness and the value they’ve provided.

Money also conveys Respect and recognition to family, friends, relations, and the public, who see what it buys as a sign of an effective and valued producer.

M:  In addition to your salary, you’ll get performance bonuses for maintaining appropriate inventory levels and avoiding production slowdowns.

The company also gives quarterly and annual bonuses based on how well the team meets its goals.

And, of course, raises and promotions are based on job performance.

Each of these are meant to be recognition and appreciation of the work you do. They’re an effort to share with you and your family some of the value you create for the company.

F:  My family and I appreciate that.

If we want to attract and retain good people, we have to pay them fairly—and that means in proportion to the value they create.

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