{"id":2631,"date":"2021-04-20T13:55:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T20:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leadershipchoice.com\/?p=2631"},"modified":"2021-04-20T13:55:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T20:55:47","slug":"motivate-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.taylorsolutionsinc.com\/lc\/motivate-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"A Salary Breakthrough: Motivate Employees Without Paying them More"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”3.22″ transparent_background=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%”][et_pb_fullwidth_slider show_arrows=”off” show_pagination=”off” admin_label=”Fullwidth Slider” _builder_version=”3.16″ parallax=”on” custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”|||” custom_padding_phone=”|||” box_shadow_style=”preset6″ box_shadow_blur=”10px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.1)” remove_inner_shadow=”off” hide_content_on_mobile=”off” hide_cta_on_mobile=”off” show_inner_shadow=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0″ button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][et_pb_slide heading=”A Salary Breakthrough: Motivate Employees Without Paying them More” use_bg_overlay=”on” bg_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.23)” use_text_overlay=”off” _builder_version=”3.16″ header_font=”||||” body_font=”||||” background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”https:\/\/dev.taylorsolutionsinc.com\/lc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/AdobeStock_109374076.jpeg” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” sticky_transition=”on”]by Patrick\u00a0Bosworth
\n[\/et_pb_slide][\/et_pb_fullwidth_slider][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”||-40px|” transparent_background=”off” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Social Media Share” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid”] [feather_share] [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”off” custom_width_px=”1080px” custom_width_percent=”80%”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.6.6″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n

Motivating Employees without Just Raising their Salary<\/h1>\n

If you’ve ever been sucked into a conversation about compensation\u2014yours or anyone else’s\u2014you’ve probably heard the seemingly never-ending debate around what motivates people most. While there are many ways of rewarding good behavior, are commissions and other extrinsic financial rewards all we’ve got to work with here?<\/p>\n

Where does this philosophy of rewarding good behavior come from and is it really the most effective way to invigorate and motivate employees?<\/p>\n

Most of us who have survived an economics course or two are familiar with the concept that \u201cIn a perfect world of perfect information and low transaction costs, the parties will bargain to a wealth-maximizing result.”<\/p>\n

Actions, this theory suggests, is derived by human calculation to do what will most benefit oneself while minimizing harm.<\/p>\n

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us<\/h3>\n

The problem with this idea discusses Daniel H. Pink in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us<\/em><\/a>, and expressed by Daniel Kahneman<\/a>, the psychologist (yes, psychologist) who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2002, is that humans aren\u2019t always rational calculators of economic interest. In fact, in most cases, our decisions aren\u2019t driven solely by a wealth-maximizing result.<\/p>\n

In short, Kahneman and others in the field of behavioral economics concluded that the greatest shortcoming of this theory is that it focuses almost entirely on economics and forgets to take into account the human.<\/p>\n

In his New York Times Bestseller, Pink says \u201cFor as long as any of us can remember, we\u2019ve configured our organizations and constructed our lives around its bedrock assumption: The way to improve performance, increase productivity, and encourage excellence<\/a> is to reward the good and punish the bad. Then Pink embarks on a 217-page argument debunking this myth<\/p>\n

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Debunking the stick and carrot approach to motivation<\/h3>\n

In his in-depth analysis of motivation, Pink unveils the disconnect between what science has proven about the \u201cstick and carrot\u201d approach of motivation (the concept that good behavior can be driven by rewards and bad behavior can be discouraged by punishment) and what businesses use in their regular compensation structures.<\/p>\n

In his book, Pink cites a number of fascinating studies testing the effect of reward on performance, including one funded by the U.S. National Bank. The findings, said Pink, were\u2014to the researchers\u2014\u201creally <\/em>odd. In scientific terms, it was akin to rolling a steel ball down an inclined plane to measure its velocity\u2014only to watch the ball float into the air instead,\u201d because they went against everything people believed about behavioral economics. In these experiments completed by economists, psychologists, and sociologists alike, they found that in almost every case, a larger reward led to poorer performance<\/em>.
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Algorithms, rewards, and extrinsic motivators<\/h3>\n

There are cases in which rewards\u2014bonuses, incentives, commission or salary increase\u2014lead to higher performance, but according to the studies, this only works for tasks that are purely algorithmic. In other words, if the task had one direct formula to a fixed outcome requiring no\u00a0<\/strong>creative thinking or innovative problem solving then a reward can improve performance.<\/p>\n

The problem is that most jobs today are heuristic, meaning they require a person to \u201cexperiment with possibilities and devise a novel solution.\u201d In fact, a recent study by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co estimates that job growth in the United States now comes from only 30% algorithmic work and 70% heuristic work.<\/p>\n

This is because the repetitive tasks that take no creative thought can typically be automated by machines and computer programs, or can be inexpensively outsourced overseas. However, creative, intellectual labor is still in high-demand because, quite simply, it cannot be replicated or automated.
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Stay in Touch<\/h3>\n

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