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2000 B W Simon
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Show Me the Money! Cuba Gooding Jr. demanded in his Oscar winning performance in the movie Jerry McGuire. Quickly that line became the battle cry of workers all across the country. Show me the money, they asked of their employers. Show me the money, and I’ll improve my performance. Money, after all, is the greatest reward, and the greatest motivator – or is it? Cuba Gooding Jr. played the part of Rod Tidwell, a football player desiring and demanding the multi-million dollar contract the other star players were receiving. Each year I watch these multi-million dollar athletes compete, and wonder; If money is such a great motivator, why do so many of today’s players seem LESS motivated to perform on the playing field than many of the “Under-Paid” athletes of the days of my childhood?
This past fall I had the opportunity to speak with two employees from different companies, just after they received their "Annual Employee Review" from their employer. These employees received vastly different reviews, however, both were equally outraged at their bosses.
The first employee told me she could not believe the review she had received. Her boss had nothing good to say about her. She worked hard all year to get the work out on time, but that wasn't enough. She worked to improve her skills, but he wanted her to do better. She tried to improve the store by doing more and more for the store, but he wasn't satisfied. Nothing she had done seemed to please him and she was heart broke.
I expressed my empathy for her situation and said, "to top it all off, you were probably expecting a raise with all that hard work weren't you."
"Oh, I got a raise," she said. "Quite a large one and an increase in my Christmas Bonus."
"Well then, doesn't that show you how much he appreciates your hard work," I responded.
"If he appreciates me so much, he should have told me," she exclaimed. "If he doesn't value all my hard work, I'll show him. I'm not going to knock myself out around here anymore."
The second employee gave me quite a different story. She told me how her boss had expressed his gratitude for her work. He told her how valuable she was to the store. The awards she won and the accomplishments she achieved had brought new customers to the store, and how lucky he was to have her work for him.
"That's great," I said, "I bet you're going to try even harder next year aren't you?"
"You got to be kidding," she shot back. "I didn't receive a raise! If he doesn't pay me some of that extra money I made for him, I'll show him. I'm not going to try nearly as hard next year."
What is an employer to do? Both of these employers had valued employees. Both showed their appreciation, one through a pay increase and one though sincere praise. However, both employees were upset and vowed to quit working so hard.
To find an answer I
turned to numerous management books and found Frederick Herzberg. He is considered the father of job
enrichment and one of the major management philosophers of the twentieth
century. Through his studies of
management thoughts, he divided work issues into two categories: Dissatisfiers
and Motivators. Dissatisfiers are
the primary cause of dissatisfaction and de-motivation on the job. Motivators are the primary cause for
satisfaction and motivation on the job.
Dissatisfiers include:
Salaries
Interpersonal relationships
Work
conditions
Company Policy
Supervision
Security
Motivators include:
Achievement
Recognition
Interesting
Work
Challenging Work
Responsibility
Growth
Dissatisfiers will not
motivate workers. Although you can
achieve satisfaction in these areas, satisfaction does not increase
motivation. However, when any of
these areas fall below the level that an employee feels is acceptable,
dissatisfaction will occur.
For example, if poor
working conditions exist workers may become dissatisfied and unmotivated to
work. By improving conditions moral
will improve and workers will no longer be dissatisfied. However, a level of satisfaction is all
you can achieve with working conditions.
You cannot continually improve conditions beyond this level to create an
environment to motivate workers to excel.
These levels of
satisfaction are subject to change over time. They are dependent on the laws of
diminishing return. For example, a
salary level that is acceptable today may not be satisfactory in five years from
now.
Motivators are the
primary cause for worker motivation.
They are the stimulus for job enrichment. They provide opportunities for challenge
and growth, and develop the desire to excel and achieve.
According to Herzberg, achievement is the single strongest motivator. Achievements motivate a person to go on and try to accomplish a little bit more. This achievement can be accomplishing something for the first time or doing something better than ever done before.
The second strongest motivator is recognition. This occurs when a person achieves something and someone else recognizes that accomplishment in some way.
The job situations of the two employees I spoke about is a classic example of the Herzberg Theory of Dissatisfiers / Motivators. The boss of the first lady made the mistake many managers make. Thinking they can motivate their employees solely through the area of dissatisfiers, namely money. This, at best, creates contented workers not motivated ones. By itself, this will create satisfied workers producing adequate, mediocre work. In the particular situation given above, the employee was paid a salary that in her estimation was more than adequate. Offering her more money did not (and could not) motivate her to higher levels of performance.
The second boss realized that offering sincere praise for accomplishments provides a strong stimulus for motivation. However, the employee’s perception of lack of pay dissatisfied her to the point that nothing could motivate her until the salary level was increased.
A compensation method that has gained popularity in recent years is to place bench jewelers on commissions in order to help motivate jewelers to improve productivity. This can be an effective method of compensation provided it is not seen as the only method use to stimulate motivation.
Over the past couple of years I have observed a trend developing. That is during the first year or two bench jewelers placed on commissions work harder and their pay level increases. Then, after this initial period the pay begins to level off.
Herzberg's Theory explains this phenomenon. Bench jewelers are typically under-paid. Given the opportunity to increase their pay, they work harder to raise their pay. However, once they have achieved a satisfactory pay level their desire stops, until they become dissatisfied with the new pay level. With constant reminders from the industry (and from many of their bosses) that they are now paid above average; dissatisfaction with this new pay level is highly un-likely.
So, what's an employer to do when they have a valued employee? First and foremost, make certain they are not un-motivated from lack of pay. If they feel they are under-paid for their efforts nothing else you say or do can motivate them. Next, provide an enticement that will motivate them and keep them motivated by offering more opportunities for achievement, and then give recognition when that achievement occurs.
Show Them The Money AND THE PRAISE!
Bradney W. Simon is JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler and JA Certified Management Professional. He has over 24 years experience the retail jewelry industry. Bradney is committed to help Retail Jewelry Stores become more Efficient and Profitable. Visit him at http://www.bwsimon.com/