Incentives For The Unmotivated

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BY CAROL QUINN

There’s a prevailing philosophy out there that you can motivate almost anyone to do their job. It’s specifically referencing the unmotivated or under motivated. It suggests people are like puppets and we can get them do what we want. My questions is - why do we want to be the one taking responsibility for motivating someone who isn’t? Don’t we have enough to do already?  Who’s going to do our job while we’re trying to get others to do theirs? Many companies even go so far as to take ownership for being the reason why their employees are unmotivated in the first place.

When you take a magnifying glass and look closely at the effect this “philosophy” is having on businesses, you come to realize it’s wreaking havoc and even running some into the ground.

Unmotivated employees need a fire lit under them to do their job.

It’s a never-ending cycle of these so-called ‘good hires’ who are now claiming that things beyond their control, and even the company itself, is what is keeping them from doing better. All they need is a little push…right? So, you plaster them with incentives and reasons to achieve their goals, and when these motivators wear off, you start the process all over again. Have you ever noticed it’s a never-ending cycle. Do you realize that you are actually encouraging employees to be unmotivated? When “unmotivated” comes with incentives and very little repercussions, it sends the wrong message to all employees.

There is a new philosophy emerging, and as a result, a new business model. The premise that employers have control over their employees and can motivate and de-motivate them at will is coming into question. As this way of thinking falls by the wayside, so do the following business practices:

• Managers are seen as employee motivators.
• How you motivate is more important than who you hire.
• When hiring, “skill” matters more than someone’s level of self-motivation.
• To improve overall corporate performance, only post-hire issues are addressed.

As the new philosophy, or perspective, gains in popularity, the above practices more and more begin to give way . And in its place, the responsibility for ‘giving it your all’ falls squarely on the individual - no excuses. That may sound unfair at first. When you think about all the workplace obstacles and hindrances that keep employees from achieving their full potential, how can you expect them to be responsible?  It is this “obstacle-centric” rationale, a way of thinking that supports the belief that obstacles control outcomes that is being scrutinized in a new light. Highly motivated employees are the ones who more effectively crash through barriers and roadblocks to achieve more successful outcomes. Those others…the ones who proclaim their substandard results were not their fault, or the goal was unrealistic and beyond their control, are NOT true High Performers. Many “unmotivated” employees are being newly relabeled as “ineffective” at dealing with difficult challenges and it’s this ineffectiveness that is the real reason why they are unable to achieve many of their goals.

The belief that unmotivated employees are created is changing as well. As this new understanding of achievement gains momentum, leadership is realizing the importance of employee selection. This places a higher value on hiring.

• Fewer than 20% of all interviewers have had any kind of formal training on how to hire.
• Hiring based on skill level alone can reap a High Performer, an average performer or a low performer, which explains most company’s mixed hiring results.
• A company is the sum total of the employees they hire and the results they produce - making hiring #1 in importance.
• It’s easier to “get people on the bus” than it is to get them off.
• People aren’t your #1 asset - the RIGHT people are.
• Job applicants, unlike any other time in history, have learned how to ace an interview…while the interviewer’s skill has remained relatively unchanged for the past decade.

Read the Financial Times article titled: The cure for ‘have a go’ interviewers

Every interviewer has a reason for not being trained; not enough time, already been interviewing for years, no money in the budget, etc. Training interviewers is a decision that must come from the top. One of the best investments a company can make is to train everyone involved in the employee selection process on how to select the best candidate, and then hold interviewers accountable for their hiring decisions. For about $200 per interviewer,  your company can completely change the game.

Imagine a company filled with highly motivated employees…

• who have the right attitude,
• who can’t wait to get into work,
• who will run through walls for you,
• who say “they actually pay me to do this”,
• who know they control their own destiny.

If you are not familiar with the interviewing methodology motivation-based interviewing (MBI), this would be a great time to become familiar with it. MBI training doesn’t just focus on interviewing basics or on antiquated hiring techniques but rather specifically on how to distinguish the true High Performers from the multitude of interview-savvy applicants. It teaches interviewers how the “A” Players are able achieve better results while others can’t or won’t. This is information that is essential for everyone in management. My personal favorite is the online training course for MBI because of the virtual practice interviews, but there are instructor-led courses and a train-the trainer program too.

Request free one-day preview of MBI online training: Request Form (check “Preview FREE”)

Realize, we don’t do anyone any favor operating under the philosophy “I have the power to motivate and de-motivate you…but you don’t have this power over yourself”. It is this belief that supports the concept of powerlessness and victim-mentality. It promotes mediocrity. It does nothing to help people discover their real power to achieve amazing results. Hiring (and retaining) High Performers is the win-win every company should to shooting for.

To learn more about creating a maximum performance organization, including 10 Best Practices for crafting the framework for improvement going forward, read Outrageous Potential Unleashed - Leadership Edition. ($7, HAbooks, 2010)  (To Preview ) TO ORDER THE BOOK.

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