Rewards Beyond Money

Why motivation strategies based solely on money fail, and how your business can get people energized with a proven three-step approach to compensation

It’s been said: “Money isn’t everything – but whatever’s in second place is a heck of a long way behind!”

It’s tough to disagree, which is probably why compensation tends to be the measure of success and progress in most people’s eyes. But if it’s true, then why are productivity, loyalty, and morale still such huge and costly problems in workplaces today? Why can’t companies just offer employees enough money to make them go the extra mile, and everyone wins?

There are three problems with the “it’s all about the money” approach:

1. Maslow’s view. Way back in the 1940s, when Abraham Maslow developed his famous Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid, he described the fallacy of relying on money to motivate and reward. As everyone remembers, you don’t move up through the five levels of needs until your current level is satisfied.

Money resides in Level 1: Physiological needs (basic survival, a roof over your head, food, and clothing). Most employees in our society live mainly in Level 4: Self-esteem (a desire to be loved and respected). That is, they have already achieved Level 1, Level 2 (safety, benefits, 401K, security) and Level 3 (social needs, friends, family, supportive colleagues).

Just look at advertising and this becomes quite clear. It’s all about how you look, how you feel, diet, exercise, clothing, makeup, plastic surgery, cars, lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with this, but it defines a huge amount of time that makes up most of employees’ lives.

Money, while everybody wants more, and while it is important, is no longer motivating, because it dwells in a completed level of the pyramid. It’s a want, not a need.

2. Money as the measure. Financial measurement has driven corporate thinking since the Industrial Revolution and is now the common denominator for the world economy. How else can you score the game of business?

The problem is that this fixation skips a very important aspect of human achievement, performance, and employee engagement. If you do a blanket survey, every employee wants money. That is universal and is nothing new. But, if you ask them why they do what they do and what personally excites them about their work, it’s never about money. It’s about the emotional aspects of their work, life and personal interactions.

Companies must understand and relate to the emotional needs of their people first (Maslow Level 4 thinking), before trying to motivate and incentivize with money. Only when people feel genuinely loved, appreciated and respected as human beings will they strive to make you (and themselves) more money in the long run.

Money is a quick-and-dirty fix, so it is seen as impersonal, manipulative, and self-serving. Organizations that rely on money alone find it to be a very expensive and short-lived recognition tool.

3. Brain biology. All financial thinking is left brain – the logical, calculating side. A decision involving money will always consider value, fairness, and time. On the other hand, love and respect are emotional and are processed by the right brain. They are considered from a warm, holistic, feeling viewpoint, not logically motivated.

The big problem with moving so quickly to money as the measuring and motivating tool is that it’s cold and calculating and must be refreshed regularly. This is expensive and time- consuming, even when it works.

The approach recommended by many today is to engage employees personally, emotionally and honestly first, then allow their rising self-esteem and feelings of value to drive their desire for more money. This approach, while requiring time and pushes leaders beyond their comfort zones, ultimately lasts longer, gets far better results, and costs significantly less money.

As a matter of fact, when done properly, it actually makes the company much more money than it costs – a true win-win solution. Money will always be the ultimate measure of business and personal success, but smart companies get there in three steps:

Step 1: Show the love. Let employees know you care about them as human beings, not just as workers; and be genuine about it, so they believe you really mean it.

Step 2: Treat them with respect. Keep everyone informed and make their work relevant. Show that they are important to the company and that you value their input.

Step 3: Share the wealth. Now that you’ve got their attention and they feel good about the place, offer well-organized, realistic, fair, and meaningful opportunities to share in the revenue that their improved performance brings to the organization.

Today’s technology allows you to orchestrate all your current employee programs into a single, cost-effective strategy. Finally, measure and evaluate the results so you can prove that your effort is paying off – and it will.



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