Motivating Employees

There are many existing theories and models that argue the various approaches to "what motivates us?" A few include Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs," (Starling, 2011) which encourages employers to enable their employee’s potential, Frederick Herzberg's job enrichment theory that addresses certain factors that cause satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work (Starling, 2011).  In addition there's Elton Mayo's approach (Starling, 2011) to participative management that suggests workers are motivated when they believe that their organization or manager cares about them.  Finally there is Dan Pink (2010) who proposes that money is not what motivates us, but “it’s the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world” (Daniel H. Pink Drive 2011).  In his video, Dan Pink (2010), identifies these three factors as, Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

It’s interesting to note, that Maslow’s Hierarchy was developed during the 1940’s - 1950’s.  Frederick Herzberg’s motivational theories were developed in 1959 and Elton Mayo’s studies were conducted between 1927 - 1932.   I say this because their theories seem to be more pertinent today than ever. Money is important, but we all want and need more than compensation alone.  There is a sense of fulfillment that needs to be reached that money can’t replace.  People need to be recognized and feel they are part of a winning team or part of something that makes a difference. They want to know what they are doing is contributing to the success of their company, society, and or community.

FedEx had a company mission statement that read, “People Service Profit.”  It meant, the better you treat your people, the better service they will provide and the more profit the company would make.  Although the word profit was there, they never spoke about it.  In their mind, profit appeared as a result. Putting people first was the priority. If that was done right, profits came on its own.  Working at FedEx, was a demanding job. Many people were terminated for lateness even if it was for one minute.  The metrics in which you were reviewed upon were unlike anything I have ever seen, and the pressure to meet your goals were high.  The pay wasn’t that great, and there was no union.  However, as much as the employees complained about the strict policies, they would get together after work and talk about how they bled “blue, orange and purple” - The Company’s colors. In viewing Pink’s video, it made me reflect on that time and made me realize that Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx who was a war veteran and Yale Graduate “got it.” He understood, he needed to keep his employees motivated because he wanted more of a comradery. It couldn’t be only about money (Alsop, 2004).  His idea was simple, yet something that other companies are still learning to do.  FedEx used Autonomy by delegating and giving employees the freedom to approach their jobs in a way that suited their personalities and skill sets.  They included their employees in their policy and decision making.  They incorporated what Pink discusses in his video (Dan Pink, 2010) and book (Daniel H. Pink Drive 2011). They understood that their business can flourish as long as the metrics were met and proper methods were covered. They had to ensure they found a way to work within the structure of the business to find a solution that worked for them.   They used Mastery by paying attention to how employees were doing and feeling about a certain task.  They did something interesting.  They would develop quality action teams and instead of having a manager lead the team, they would pick an employee that was having performance issues or someone with low morale.  This employee would be tasked with leading a group of 5 or 6 people in helping identify something that wasn’t going well within their every day job and coming up with ideas of improvement.  This proved worthwhile and gave employees a sense of worth and achievement.   They felt important and empowered. It also made them want to continuously do better.  They received public recognition and many times their ideas became new policies. Lastly they used Purpose by helping employees connect to something that had meaning.  As much as FedEx is about metrics and on time delivery, they made sure to explain to the employee how their hard work contributed to many of the company’s missions including saving lives.  They would photograph employees and put them on the front cover of the company magazine, outlining their contribution to the customer.  They took time to educate everyone on how the company was developed. The orientation was extensive.  And they always attributed their success to the employee.   They made the employee whether a courier, handler, janitor or agent “feel” that their time mattered, (Alsop, 2004).  They were the reason people around the world received life changing packages within 24 hours.