The dream of every manager and CEO is a highly motivated workforce, but it’s hard to figure out what drives individuals to operate at their optimal levels — different people respond differently to different approaches. Some respond best to the carrot, others to the stick, some don’t respond positively to either. And when you finally find an approach that seems to work in a majority of cases, you have to wonder, “For how long? Weeks? Months? A year…?”
Smart companies don’t invest in a short-term fix for a long-term problem. So the question is “How do you get people engaged — and keep them engaged — over the long haul?” In today’s post, you’ll learn the psychology behind maintaining human motivation, the things you need to offer to get the most motivated and productive employees possible, and a shortcut to getting it all fast.
Happy people are more motivated.
I think we can all agree that happy people are more productive — about 12% more productive according to a recent British study. But how do you define happy in the workplace? Behavioral economist, Dan Ariely, thinks that it’s people feeling good about their work, an idea he put forward in a recent TED Talk. Not surprisingly, he’s not a big fan of using cold, hard cash as a motivator:
When you look carefully at the way people work, you find out there’s a lot more at play—and a lot more at stake—than money.
He argues that the historical assembly-line approach to productivity no longer makes sense in a knowledge economy — things like meaning, creativity, challenges, ownership, identity, pride, and other results are equally important.
Ariely cites studies that imply there are three things people need/want that can affect their productivity, motivation, and performance:
- Seeing the fruits of their labor — People respond well to seeing progress on their tasks as well as the final results of their work.
- Knowing that their work helps others — Showing worker’s the effect and impact that their efforts are having subconsciously motivates them.
- Having their abilities positively reinforced — People who believe they can handle a task perform better than those who think it’s overwhelming.
People are driven to make themselves happy.
Along the same lines, Daniel Pink’s similar findings in his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us are based on Self-Determination Theory. Basically, Self-Determination Theory says that human beings have an innate drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected. And when those are fulfilled, people achieve more and live richer lives.
Pink postulates that you can help motivate your employees by providing these three things:
- Give employees autonomy — Let employees have control over what they do, when they do their job, how they do it, and who they work with.
- Help them master tasks — Help employees become better at something that matters to them with clear goals, and immediate, constructive feedback.
- Share your purpose — If employees understand the organization’s purpose and vision, they’re more likely to be satisfied at work.
How tibbr helps people stay happy.
Organizations should, therefore, create settings that support their employees innate needs in order to encourage higher productivity from each of them over the long-term. It’s no small task, clearly, but that’s where the leading Enterprise Social Network, tibbr, can help.
For starters, tibbr lets people stay connected to the people they work with and the subjects that interest them including successes they had a hand in, so people always get to see the fruits of their labor. Social conversations are visible to colleagues so employees can share praise and showcase work that’s helping customers, coworkers, and/or the company. tibbr Profiles lets people showcase their own accomplishments encouraging praise and recognition, positively reinforcing of their abilities.
Moreover, tibbr lets employees self-determine their own careers, letting them take full control of their projects and tasks. As a repository of company information and coworkers’ expertise, tibbr gives employees the tools to master new tasks, disciplines, and create new things. In addition, tibbr can convey your company mission, purpose, and vision through everyday social interactions and “unmissable” broadcast posts that don’t go away until dismissed.
Take a long-term look at tibbr.
In short, tibbr is a great way to give your employees everything they need to be happy and motivated over the course of their career. To learn more ways that tibbr can help motivate your employees, get a first-hand look with a free trial of the tibbr platform.
