Thursday, July 17, 1997

A better way to motivate employees

By PAUL TULENKO / Scripps Howard News Service

Using typical business school techniques of motivating employees often leads to rapid turnover, poor morale, sloppy work and dissatisfaction on the part of both the employee and the employer.

This is because the business school techniques take a perfectly wonderful, easy to understand and workable employee motivation structure and distorts it with textbook mumbo jumbo.

There's a better way:

-- Basic concept: Every single person coming into your organization can be slotted into one of five areas, with no exceptions. Either they have: 1) a need for the basics of life such as food and shelter, 2) a need for security and safety for themselves and their family, 3) a need for belonging to a group, 4) a desire for achievement recognition or 5) a desire to help others. That's it. If you could somehow accurately place new hires into one of these areas, you could design a custom program that would maximize their contributions to your firm.

I suggest you conduct in-depth interviews with newly hired employees to determine just where they stand on the chart, what level he or she is currently occupying, then use this information to design a motivation program tailored specifically for that individual. Here's how to understand and then put these five structures to work for you:

-- Basics: This is the person who has either never been able to obtain the basics of life, or has lost access to them for one reason or another. They have reached bottom and now may or may not want out. What this person needs is food, shelter, clothing, medical care and the other physiological needs of life.

Many of these people are on welfare. Some want jobs; others might prefer to stay on welfare. But as welfare is trimmed, you may find many applicants in this area. Use caution.

-- Security: This is the level where most people find themselves when trying to come off welfare. This person craves security and safety for their self and family. They want to know they have enough money to pay the rent, buy the groceries and feel they have a job that will continue. Your task with this group is to devise an incentive plan that makes this happen while building a safety net in case the incentive program fails. Safety first, then a plan to grow. People in this area are aware of their basic need for security, and will work hard to achieve their desire.

A warning: When security is obtained, you will lose the employee unless you move them to the next level. Security is necessary, but after obtaining it, is not a motivating factor.

-- Belonging: "I am proud to work for the XZY Company, they take care of me" At this level, your employee has the basics, has the security and is looking for a family. Love, understanding, compassion and a sense of being part of a larger group are the most important items to this person. Your task in motivating these employees is to provide the family structure they need, to be there when they need you and to provide help when required. An employee at this level is extremely loyal and dependable. Many employees are happy and comfortable at this level and do not wish to be further challenged. Relish their attitude, it means dependability and quality service to you.

-- Recognition: There are three kinds of recognition - money, power and position, with power and position occupying almost the same area. Your plan to motivate this group must include tangible rewards; plaques, trips, money and similar achievement and recognition rewards. If this sounds like a plan for a sales force, it is. Most salespersons know they can survive, that they have the security based on past performance. They desperately need the belonging, so don't neglect this, but they also crave recognition of their talents and their contributions to your company. Give it to them and you will be amply rewarded in increased sales.

Don't make the mistake of thinking all sales people fit into this area, however. Many are firmly rooted in the security level and must work their way out of that and through the belonging phase before recognition can be addressed.

-- Desire to help: An employee at this level is not an employee but a mentor. People at this level obtain their rewards in helping other people to obtain theirs. Money, although a way of keeping score, is not anywhere near important as successes of others. If you should be lucky enough to have a person like this in your organization, turn over the management of your personnel to them and watch the growth!

Of course, by now you have identified the author of this structure as Abraham Maslow, and the plan outlined above is based on "Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs," formulated in the 1950's.

Maslow's theory was just that, a theory, and he performed no empirical studies. But like Dale Carnegie, Maslow had the right approach, and his theory works. It's up to us to put it to work for us.

(Paul Tulenko is a business marketing consultant based in Albuquerque, N.M.)