Since I arrived in the States a few weeks ago, I have been quite surprised at just how false it has all become over here in various service establishments...it was always corny, but not having lived here for a long time, the insincerity of it all gets really annoying to deal with non-stop. It's hard to motivate people sometimes. That I fully understand. But saying the supposed 'right thing' seems to be what passes for motivation in more than a few places I have been in.

Today, I bought a magazine and placed it on the counter.

- "7 dollars, fiddy"
- "Sorry?"
- "7-fiddy"
I produced a twenty.
- "You got nuthin' smaller?"
- "No, Sorry. I don't 'got' nothing smaller"
- "tzzzz, or some similar sound made from air being sucked through teeth, as he roots through the register.
Change thrown on counter. Literally.
Dirty look thrown back. Metaphorically.
Money gathered, I turn to leave.
- "Have a nice day, Sir."
"F*** you too, pal" (Thought, but not expressed).

Since I arrived in the States a few weeks ago, I have been quite surprised at just how false it has all become over here in various service establishments...it was always corny, but not having lived here for a long time, the insincerity of it all gets really annoying to deal with non-stop. It's hard to motivate people sometimes. That I fully understand. But saying the supposed 'right thing' seems to be what passes for motivation in more than a few places I have been in.

Of course, the difficulties associated with motivating your team, and the individuals within it, are not exclusive to this side of the pond. And they never fully disappear either, because people can rise and fall in terms of motivation. For sure, recruitment is a critical step to ensure you have something to work with in terms of potential to be inspired, but there are some common sense principles that apply in terms of bringing the best out of people over the longer term.

The first thing to recognize about motivation is that there is no one thing that will motivate all of your people, all of the time; that's seems so obvious, I know, but one of the most frequent questions I get asked when I go into any business is "how can I motivate my staff?" Like there was a magic pill or something. Some points to consider here include:

  • People are human and as such different so they will all be motivated in different ways. But there are common motivating factors which apply.
  • People at work are more likely to be motivated by an effective leader, when communication is open and regular, when they feel valued and when their achievements are recognized and appreciated.

Motivating your team at work is therefore primarily about two challenges. The first is to create a 'total environment within the team which contains as many of the common motivators as possible. The second is to get to know your team as individuals over time so that you can identify their individual motivators.

There are of course many established theories regarding motivation, in life and at work, but it's best to try and avoid an overly theoretical analysis of the subject in a short article like this. Instead, let's briefly examine how the theory can be applied in practice and we will start with the issue of money as a motivator.

When you ask a group of employees what motivates them, often the first answer they give is money. Give me more money and I'll be more motivated. Whilst this is often the common reply, when analysed further, money is actually not so much of a motivator, but more a factor that makes people feel unhappy. Don't get me wrong, money is a crucial consideration in the work environment, as we don't get out of bed each day just for the love of it. Actually, we stay in bed for love but we have to get up because we need money. So money is an important component but as a motivator, it has at best short term positive impacts.

For example, if you were able to give each of your team members a large increase in their next pay packet, do you think they would be happy? Well of course they would. But would they be more motivated? Perhaps, in the short term. But after a few weeks they would have assimilated the extra income into their lifestyles and like all humans would be looking for the next increase. To use money as a motivator we would have to regularly increase the rate of pay and this is not sustainable in the longer term

But people do make important career decisions based on the level of pay available. They leave one company to go to another because there is better pay on offer. But research has shown, unless the new company does things that motivate them, they find themselves de-motivated after a period. This is bad for the new company of course as they are now paying the individual more, but are not getting the desired increased performance they would expect in return.

Take another monetary example often prevalent in companies, such as the annual or Christmas bonus. People often see this as being a motivating factor for employees. Again, of course they are happy to receive the extra cash, but it doesn't mean they work harder because of it. In a year where the company doesn't do so well and can't pay the bonus, staff are up in arms about it because after getting one for a few years they now see it as an entitlement and not a bonus.

The important thing to remember here is that money is at the root of why we work, but it does not motivate us over the long term - unless the rewards are performance related when, if well structured, they can serve as a motivator. But here again, be careful, because some individuals who perform best will get rewarded, whereas others who don't do as well may feel short changed (this is wrong of course, but that is their perception nonetheless). In any case, if money was all we had at our disposal in terms of motivating people, then we would have to forget about the concept of motivation, because pay levels are often the one thing over which we have little control.

Thankfully, research has consistently shown that there are other things that serve as common motivators for people and one of the key ones is the relationship they have with their boss. An effective leader will always motivate their people because they are focused on them and do a range of things that show the team that they are valued. This includes; communicating with them on a regular basis in an open and honest way; involving the team in decision making where appropriate, giving positive feedback and praise when team members achieve or surpass expectations. And indeed keeping them in line when they don't. In essence, the effective leader creates a work environment which contains as many of the common motivators as possible and, as consequence, their people feel valued and respected. That is what really motivates people over the long term.

Enda Larkin has over 25 years experience in the hotel industry having held a number

of senior management positions in Ireland, UK and the US. In 1994 he founded HTC Consulting, a Geneva based firm, which specialises in working with enterprises in hospitality and tourism. Since that time, he has led numerous consulting projects for public and private sector clients throughout Europe and the Middle East. He is author of Ready to Lead? (Pearson/Prentice Hall 2007), How to Run a Great Hotel (How to Books 2009), 'Quick Win' Leadership (Oak Tree Press 2010) and Journeys – Short Stories and Tall Tales for Managers which is due to be published in March 2012. He may be contacted via www.htc- consult.com or at [email protected]. Read his Blog at www.htc-consult.com/new/blog

Enda Larkin
HTC Consulting
+41 (0) 22 700 8675
HTC Consulting