Happiness is not in money: how to motivate talented employees

Demanded professionals cannot be forced into efficiency or loyalty, but can be inspired through corporate values. We tell you how to motivate those who will not be surprised by a high salary

Recently, employers have faced intense competition for employees. If earlier there were easily a dozen applicants for the place of one employee, today it is often the employee who sets the hiring format. Professionals can no longer be tied even geographically – digitalization, the complication of business processes and the widespread remoteness have erased the boundaries, showing that, without leaving home, you can become part of a global company. Employees, who are waiting in line from employers and to whom the whole world has recently been opened, do not have enough high salaries. Those who have long closed their basic needs need meaning – something that is pleasant to sign in a contract of employment.

This trend is especially noticeable in European countries: trade unions and tariff agreements are strong here, and the procedural rules for terminating a contract (payment of compensation proportional to the number of years worked at the enterprise) adequately protect the interests of employees.

The desire of Russian companies to compete in the international market leads to the fact that these trends also apply to domestic organizations that hire foreign specialists and their own citizens with extensive experience working abroad. As a result, Russian business culture, albeit with certain reservations, is acquiring Western features. Specialists who cannot be replaced by technological advances are transformed from cogs in the system into strategic resources – and require appropriate treatment.

Corporate communities: inspire the best and upgrade beginners

In the 1950s, American psychologist Frederick Herzberg proved that money is not a motivating factor. Of course, a low salary or lack of a well-deserved bonus causes dissatisfaction and can be a reason for leaving, but this does not mean at all that the opposite thesis is true. Research has shown that money does not motivate you to work better, take on more responsibility, or find a creative approach to tasks. They are needed to the extent that they seem to be a fair compensation for the efforts expended relative to the level of prosperity of colleagues and people from the inner circle.

High or low salary becomes only in comparison with our surroundings. It also affects creativity and the growth of professionalism. Therefore, creating a community of professionals is becoming an important task for modern companies. I identify five main conditions that such organizations must meet:

1. Unite around an idea

People are ready to perform interesting tasks and participate in experiments even after hours. At the same time, it is not blind unanimity and readiness to follow the corporate mission that is important, but theses that are accepted by all team members.

Research by sociologists Robert Weinberg, Allen Jackson, and David Jakelson in the field of group cohesion has proven that specialists united by specifically formulated tasks are more responsible in their work. They voluntarily accept additional obligations and feel personally involved in the common cause and well-being.

2. Opportunity for growth and transfer of experience

The evolution of a “star” into a teacher is a logical stage in career development and the strongest motivation for those who are not interested in salary increases or a more solid job title. Thoughtful mentoring concepts emphasize the leading position of the “stars” in the hierarchy and inspire them in a new role as teachers. So rare competencies remain within the company and continue to work to strengthen human resources.

At the same time, for stable development, beginners are no less important than experts. Corporate communities and competence centers allow novice specialists to quickly upgrade both professional skills and non-core knowledge that increase market value. Access to the expertise of the “stars” and the opportunity to work with them in the same team are tied no weaker than various allowances. The undoubted advantage of this decision is that professionals grown from “juniors” on the basis of corporate values ​​are more modest in matters of payment and more loyal to the company that raised them than those already hired in the “star” status.

3. Having meaning in work

The human brain puts more energy into activities that are good for the species. It is worth remembering this evolutionary mechanism when prescribing values: the more specifically the benefits for humanity are described in the mission, the higher the chances of attracting caring motivated employees.

4. Not only participation is important

The Olympic principle is good, but, as practice shows, the desire to stand on a podium turns out to be much more important for many than participation. When a person sees the result of his actions, it is easier for him to take responsibility. And the positive consequences of work, recognized by the environment, inspire to grow in order to make the contribution even more valuable and approved by group members. Don’t be afraid to set up your “pedestals”.

5. The principle “from soldier to general.”

A specialist who has gone from a beginner to a company “star” will understand that his prestige and professional growth are directly related to his current place of work.

The example of such employees increases the motivation of newcomers to grow with the company, and also increases its prestige in the market. Not to mention the fact that growing your own “stars” from newcomers is financially profitable: summing up the costs invested in a young specialist, you can see the high cost of his loss. It turns out that the company not only loses a specialist, but also supplies qualified personnel to competitors at its own expense.

All this creates a common field of values, strengthens horizontal ties between employees and, importantly, gives freedom in conflicts. They are inevitable, but people who are united for a common cause and in solidarity in global things have every chance of reaching a deeper and more conscious level of communication with colleagues after disagreements, which means becoming even more productive.

Star coffee

The above does not mean that companies should devote all their efforts to satisfying every whim of employees. It is irrational to reward for the very fact of existence – it devalues ​​rare professionals, makes no sense for the growth of expertise, and from scratch increases the cost of insufficiently competent employees. For example, in an overheated IT market, the desire to eliminate the shortage of personnel led to the hiring of mediocre programmers at the price of rare experts, with the corresponding requirements for the employer.

Balance is important – an environment in which not the very fact of work is encouraged, but the specific benefit for the company and the ability of the employee to take responsibility. This, in my opinion, cannot be fully implemented within the framework of the Scrum role model, although the Agile approach does promote the exchange of “know-how” and allows you to effectively use the potential.

My experience and experiments show that in modern conditions, the existing roles are not enough – they do not correspond to real needs. As a result, scrum team members often complain about being overwhelmed by empty meetings and having to do work that is not up to their qualifications, while the mechanical use of tools and little meaningful stamping negate the benefits of Agile and make the use of methodologies counterproductive.

Therefore, I am not a supporter of a rigid concept and do not oppose Agile to a waterfall model.

The team and the roles in it should be distributed according to the task of the project – it turns out a haute couture project management, where the construction and distribution of roles in the team is approached individually.

This not only motivates those who have distinguished themselves to invest further – this approach inspires beginners. A system that rewards good examples, coupled with the right to make mistakes, provides employees with a sense of security. And if a new idea is born as a result of working on bugs, such experience should be shared. This increases the motivation to look for creative solutions.

Also, don’t underestimate gamification. It would seem that “smilies” for well-done homework remained far in childhood, and medals and orders are issued in war, but no. As experience shows, a conditional “asterisk” can be a good motivation for a team member, if awarded for a specific merit. But it is important to reasonably explain why the “asterisk” is awarded to this particular employee. Then after some time you will notice that the rest of the team members will also try to earn it.

Anything can mean “asterisk”. For example, I often encouraged creative solutions with a cup of cappuccino, certificates for going to the cinema with the family, visits to climbing walls and other bonuses that showed the employee that the company was truly interested in him as a person and was ready to invest resources in targeted promotion. What is important is not the symbolic equivalent, but attention – the fact that the company appreciates creative solutions, and employees understand this.