Any working person would like to get more from work, both financially and materially. By working more efficiently, you can get more done and get the same amount. The realization that time does not go to waste and is used as productively as possible gives strength and confidence. In addition, seeing how a person is doing well and quickly, the bosses may become interested in his candidacy, if a vacancy arises, the position is higher. Accordingly, this person will receive much more from work than if he neglected his duties. How do you find the right incentive?
If you honestly analyze your working day, many will come to the disappointing conclusions that at least two hours were spent on work per day, and the rest of the time was spent on lunches, smoke breaks, discussing insignificant topics with colleagues, viewing mail and social networks... If the salary and position suits you, you can continue to "work" like this, putting off important things and life for later. But you can manage to do not only work, but also find time for yourself, your self-development or a hobby.
In fact, in ancient times, a stimulus was called a pointed stick, which was used to push donkeys when they did not want to go forward. That is, in order to find an incentive, one must also find a driver, or become such a driver for oneself.
As in any other business, be it losing weight or studying foreign language, incentives should be different.
First of all, you need to decide on priorities. What is really important to you? That for which you are ready both day and night to work tirelessly, and it will be a joy to you. For example, the level of income is important for someone. This can be advised to make a journal in which the cost of an hour of working time will be recorded and what this hour was spent on. Such a journal can be done before starting or at the end of work. In order not to spend a lot of time on it, you can make a generalization, breakdowns not by the hour, but by the day. If a person earned a certain amount in a day, at the same time managed to fulfill his duties and found time for himself, this may be another reason for pride. If he wasted the day, then he could be blacklisted for the manager and risk being fired or deprived of the bonus.
A possible career advancement can also be an incentive. Let's take another situation: a woman works in an insurance office, but the direction of the firm is not close to her. Moreover, she would like to open her own shop selling wedding accessories, but for this she needs to earn start-up capital. If she reminds herself every day that she is working here for the sake of realizing her cherished dream, then things will go much better. In other words, you need to try to find something interesting in your job specifically for yourself: it doesn't matter whether you save money, get a high position, or something else. If this did not succeed, then you should find something to your liking in another company or professional field.
Besides the fact that the person will come up with motivation for themselves to work harder, they also need to organize their day efficiently. Distribute in time the solution of complex and easier problems, if possible, delegate to others simple issues that can be solved without his participation, etc. However, how to effectively plan your day and work is a topic for a separate article.
To find an incentive, you just need to determine your goals in life, in work. If you have a specific goal, and it really inspires you, then the question of finding motivation will no longer arise.
Let me remind you that in the EquiFlow method adequate incentive we call an irritant that will surely cause the reaction we need, but at the same time will not cause side effects.
The tricky part is that there is no one-size-fits-all list of adequate horse training incentives!
All horses respond differently to different stimuli: sound, visual, tactile. One horse can be very sensitive to sounds, while the other can ignore them. For one horse, a wave of the hand will mean nothing, while for another it will cause panic. One horse can perceptibly click on the rump with the end of the whip and cause a lazy climb into a trot, while such a click will make the other horse rush around the arena in panic for about five minutes.
There is no one-size-fits-all list of adequate horse training incentives!
Not to touch means not to "crush"?
For a horse, visual and auditory stimuli can be as significant as tactile stimuli in terms of the degree of discomfort!
It is also impossible to abstractly assert what affects the horse more strongly: visual, sound or tactile stimulus. That is, which of the incentives will bring her more discomfort and prompt action.
Traditionally, it is believed that only that which is tactile is uncomfortable: pressure from a nose strap or iron, pressing a leg or spur, hitting or slapping with a whip, pressure with a hand, finger, and so on. But if you are not using tactile stimuli in your work, it does not yet know that you are not stimulating the horse with discomfort!
As we have already found out in the article, these animals are predisposed to fear reactions, and fear is a very unpleasant and difficult to bear emotion. That is why horses, when exposed to a visual or sound stimulus, can perform no less active actions than when exposed to a tactile one.
“For horses unfamiliar with a person, apparently, the very approach of the trainer and his touch will be as unpleasant as a blow with a whip: they will try to avoid all these phenomena.”
Paul McGreevy, Horse Behavior
So many horses are scared of waving a rope, a bag (especially if he also rustles), a flag, a rag, and even just his hands. Horses that are wild and unfamiliar with humans will perceive the human body itself as a frightening stimulus. Therefore, they run away when a person begins to approach them. Horses will be frightened by harsh sounds such as gunshots, rumblings, whip clicks or rope strikes on the ground and shouts.
Since all of these stimuli elicit identical or sometimes even stronger avoidance responses than tactile stimuli, it is safe to say that for a horse these stimuli are no less significant in terms of the degree of discomfort than tactile ones!
Be wary of the “we don’t use pressure” statement. Speech can be reduced simply to the absence of physical pressure (whip, rope). However, in such cases, physical pressure is often simply replaced by an abundance of mental, and the horse is brought up in the same way on the "stimulation-release" link, just on a different type of pressure.
In such cases, see if the horse exhibits avoidance behavior at some stage during training. If yes, then some pressure is present in any case, no matter how different coaches may dissuade you from this.
Mental impact is also pressure! Working without tactile stimuli does not mean working without pressure.
Stimulation strength
It is impossible at the first contact with a horse to instantly establish an adequate stimulation force for it. Therefore, at first, you will most likely stimulate her either insufficiently (and she will not do what she needs to do) or excessively (there will be side effects).
Over-stimulation can cause conflicting behavior, which will be difficult to eliminate later.
Addressing side effects is usually much more difficult than correcting a lack of response to a stimulus, so general rule will be like this: first we apply a stimulus of a sufficiently weak level (a quiet voice signal, a moderate gesture or body movement, a light tactile touch), and if there is no response to it, then we gradually strengthen it. And we strengthen it until we get the desired answer.
The ability to accurately calculate the correct strength of stimulation and immediately exert the desired effect is a great skill that comes only with practical experience.
Why does stimulation often fail?
One of the common mistakes is the inability of many people to raise the stimulation to the right level: i.e. it is enough to actively work with your voice, give an expressive gesture or tangibly touch the horse with a whip or rope.
One of the most common examples is "tight" horses and "dumb leg" horses. In these cases, the problem usually arises because the rider cannot give the horse sufficient stimulation. He keeps it low and quite tolerable for the horse, and he knows that nothing can be done, since the pressure will not increase.
“The terms“ tight ”and“ dumb on the leg ”are often used to refer to horses that are accustomed to a certain extent to not responding to signals with the reins, leg or even spur of the rider. This response of the horse to the rider's signals is more correctly explained by habituation to stimuli, rather than "laziness."
Paul McGreevy and Andrew McLean, Equitation Science
Most often, a person is unable to raise the stimulation to the desired level for two reasons. He thinks:
1) "If I push, the horse will stop loving me and I will ruin my relationship with it."
2) "When I move like this and do it, I look like an idiot."
Let's take a closer look at these two cases.
Insufficient stimulation has the opposite effect: the horse stops responding to your command.
If I push, the horse will stop loving me
In fact, the correct statement should be "If I ONLY push, the horse will stop loving me."
No relationship problems will arise if we use sufficient reward along with adequate stimulation.
In our work from the very beginning, along with stimulation, we also use rewards that bring pleasure to the horse (see article). This balance allows you to effectively manage the horse and not lose its love. And by itself, stimulation does not deprive us of the horse's love for the following reasons.
Pressure and discomfort are an integral part of our life and animal life. And so it has been for many millions of years of evolution.
Read any more or less serious book on behavior, motivation, psychology, biology or evolution, and you will understand that without discomfort there would be no development. It is one of the key driving and learning forces. If there were no uncomfortable stimuli around us, we would stop developing. Why move, do something, develop, learn, if you are in eternal bliss, you have everything and all your needs are always satisfied?
Discomfort is part of nature. Therefore, nature has provided us and animals with the ability to analyze it, react to it correctly, cope with it and, most importantly, treat it normally.
Therefore, if we use discomfort as an incentive, without violating the laws of its application (we will talk about them a little later!), Animals will treat it normally. This means that the discomfort will simply help them learn some rules in order to better cope with the new situation and get the most out of it for themselves.
Problems usually arise only when a person uses this tool incorrectly.
Discomfort is part of nature, and horses themselves actively use this tool.
Often using something incorrectly, people will not get the desired effect, get upset, call the method bad and refuse it. Therefore, in this article I will outline several rules that are important to follow so that these tools are useful and do not cause unwanted effects.
In my personal experience of working with horses, there were completely different periods: completely devoid of any stimulation, and when I used only sound and visual stimuli, but refused tactile ones, and the last period - it still lasts - with the use of all means.
In the first period, I had very little control over the behavior of the horses, the relationship was chaotic and extremely insecure. I can describe the second period as “too much effort, too little result”. But what we will do now allows us to maintain a wonderful relationship with horses, achieve interesting results in work, ensure excellent safety of interaction with all categories of horses and grow rapidly in all respects further.
But let each of you choose what is closer to him!
Stimulation alone does not rob us of the horse's love. Problems arise only when excessive and not correct application this tool.
Not be afraid of tactile influences!
Well-directed and adequate tactile stimuli bring clarity to your relationship with the horse and do not create problems. Examples of tactile stimulation: pressure with a whip, cord, or hand.
And one more piece of advice for those who are wary of exerting any tactile effect on the horse in any way: that is, to put pressure on it, say, with a hand or finger, or to slap with a whip or rope.
In fact, your tactile effect is the only thing that a horse can understand and interpret unambiguously from the very first moments of communication without prior learning! Why? Because horses communicate with each other in the same way using tactile signals. And because the systems of pressure receptors in our country and in theirs are very similar. The same cannot be said about the perception and understanding of visual and audio communication signals!
Horses actively use tactile signals to communicate with each other. The mare will nudge the foal with her nose or body if she wants to direct him in one direction.
If the horse does not like the attention of the neighbor - he can push, hit or bite him - this is a significant unpleasant tactile effect.
In play, horses shove, push and bite each other continuously, and this does not lead to the destruction of the relationship. If one horse starts playing and causes the second pain, he will remind you of the rules of behavior, again, with a good active kick or a sharp bite. This, again, will not ruin the buddy relationship. It's just that the second will clearly understand that he has crossed the border and will continue to behave more carefully.
The stallion, when stabilizing the mares, will actively shove, bite and push them in order to stimulate them not to fight back from the group. At the same time, the mares do not "take offense" at him and do not leave the herd.
You can give a lot of other examples when horses allow strong tactile interaction in communication and at the same time remain a single friendly herd or group.
They clearly understand tactile influences and react to them in a certain way. And therefore, tactile influences, when used correctly, only add clarity to your relationship, but at the same time they will not destroy them at all!
Sometimes a problem can be solved much faster and more efficiently if you hit the horse with the end of the whip on the rump once, rather than running around it for five minutes, swinging your arms, a bag, rope or anything else that comes to hand. But again: how to act all the same is up to you!
In the EquiFlow method, we do not notice any side effects with moderate and competent use of stimulation, including tactile stimulation. Adequate stimulation does not hinder, and even, on the contrary, contributes to the formation of understanding, respect and harmonious relationship between man and horse.
We do not notice any side effects with moderate and competent use of stimulation, including tactile stimulation.
When I move like this and do it I look like an idiot
Don't be afraid to be expressive and open around your horse! Active and clear signals and tactile stimuli will tell the horse clearly what to do.
The second reason why a person is not able to provide proper stimulation, in my opinion, draws roots from our human upbringing. Indeed, in our society, excessive expressiveness is not encouraged (unless, of course, you are an actor on stage), especially if it is expressed in tactile signals!
From childhood we are taught “do not let your hands go”, “ask politely”, “don’t push”, “don’t push”. If we behave inappropriately, it is condemned and we are deprived of our benefits.
As a result, we learn to meet the requirements of the world around us, and at some point they become a part of our essence, an inner ideal.
The average adult has a massive, poorly penetrated block in his head for bodily manifestations of emotions and active tactile interaction. For some, it is so strong that they cannot liberate themselves even alone with themselves.
If we think about actively waving our hands, making expressive movements, raising our voice, and even more so pushing someone or pushing someone, our self-esteem system starts to sound the alarm! We cease to correspond to our own ideal, and this usually causes very unpleasant feelings and leads to completely physical paralysis. Maybe we would really like to be more expressive, but our brain simply does not give, not allowing the body to relax!
However, the use of clear body language signals is critical to communicating with your horse. Visual, sound, tactile! A horse is not a person, and with the help of our main human communication tool - speech - we cannot convey anything to it. It will turn out if our "other" language - body language - does not work, we will simply be dumb in communication with her. Of course, the horse is not able to understand what we need from it under such conditions. What to do?
To solve the problem!
To begin with, try to understand all of the above in order to rethink your self-esteem and free yourself from holding thoughts. After all, we were just taught!
Consider how different things are with your horse. In her eyes, there is no need to try to be "polite", "not to let go" and so on. This is a cliché of a purely human society. All animals communicate quite normally with expressive signals, including tactile ones. This is part of their language. If we come to them, why not learn the new rules? For some, this alone may be enough to remove body blocks and allow themselves to be liberated.
If this does not help, and the thought of unacceptable expression stuck on the physical level (i.e. the body simply forgot how to react like that), bodily practice is needed. The body can be forced to return to its former expressiveness. Once this becomes a habit, it will be emotionally easier too.
Activities such as dancing can be great at helping you train the right qualities to work with your horse.
In my experience, any activity in which control of one's body and, preferably, also interaction with a partner, is trained: acting, dancing, combat sports, team games like volleyball or basketball, tennis, and so on.
In these activities, we train at once a whole heap of qualities that will be useful to us in working with horses: reaction speed, partner orientation, partner tracking, coordination of actions, plasticity, expressiveness. To act in concert with a partner or team and achieve good results, we will have to be clear in our body language and movements.
Thanks to these practices, you can stop being afraid of expressive body movements, and even start enjoying them! This important step on the way to the state of Stream in the work with the horse.
We can only explain something to a horse with the language of our body. If we are afraid to be expressive, then for the horse we are like “dumb”.
In the next article, we'll look at the rules for dealing with stimulation and release.
One of the most important functions of a manager, a leader of any rank, is to encourage subordinate employees to effective and efficient work in order to achieve the goals of the organization. To perform this function, the manager can use the mechanisms motivation and stimulation... At the same time, the structure of motives of any person is very complex, and it is not so easy to build an effective and balanced incentive system. It is important to clearly understand what motive and incentive are, how they differ, and what principles should be followed in motivating and stimulating the work collective.
This article discusses the above range of issues.
Motive and motivation concept
As already mentioned, on work activity of an employee(that is, the performance by him of certain expedient operations, rigidly fixed in space and time) can be influenced with the help of motivation and stimulation. Let's take a closer look at these concepts and start with motivation.
Motive (from lat. "Motivatio" - "movement") - a conscious internal motivation of a person to any action.
Motivation- the process of motivating a person to any activity in order to achieve certain goals.
Motive and motivation are different concepts! Motive is motivation, motivation is the process of motivation.
Motivation is studied by various theories, which can be divided into two large groups theories of motivation:
2) Procedural theories of motivation- study the behavior of an individual, what causes this or that behavior, supports it and stops it (Vroom's theory of expectations, L. Porter-E. Lawler's theory of motivation, etc.). About →
Types of motives in work and types of employee motivation
Motives in labor activity worker are many and varied. There are always a lot of them. Together they form a motivational structure. Knowledge of the motivational structure allows the manager to develop and / or select tools (incentives) for external influence on the employee.
Motives can be classified according to various criteria. Motives are :
- biological and spiritual;
- external and internal;
- personal and social;
- short-term and persistent;
- conscious and unconscious.
Types of motives in work :
- herd motive - the employee's need to be in a team, to feel belonging to something in common;
- the motive of independence is the desire for innovation, risk, new types of activity;
- the motive for self-affirmation is the performance of complex work that only highly qualified employees can do or the occupation of a managerial position that gives a sense of significance and importance;
- stability motive - preference reliable work, with a stable salary, social benefits and guarantees;
- the motive for acquiring something new is the choice of the job that can provide opportunities for expanding experience, acquiring knowledge, connections, career growth, etc.;
- the motive of competition is the desire to compete with other employees for the status of the most successful, creative, hardworking, intelligent, etc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license. Attribution: Cmapm on commons.wikimedia.org
Hall of Fame- one of the tools of non-material motivation of employees, appealing to the motives of competition, self-affirmation, recognition.
In this case, one can single out certain types motivating employees.
Motivation type- steady orientation of the employee to meet a specific group of needs.
The main types of employee motivation:
1. Focus on intangible assets ( public importance labor, interest in work, self-development).
2. Orientation to material values ( salary, bonuses, benefits).
3. Balanced motivation ( the employee focuses on intangible assets, but does not forget about the salary and benefits).
It is very difficult to manage the motivation of employees, to influence their motives. A simpler mechanism for influencing the workforce is the use of incentives.
Incentive, incentive and types of incentives
Close, but still different from the concept of motive, is the concept of stimulus.
Stimulus (from lat. "Stimulus" - the metal pole tip used to drive the bulls) - external influence on a person or a group of people, in order to induce to any result.
It is important to understand that while motive is an internal driving force, a stimulus is always an external driving factor. All employees react in their own way to the same incentives, depending on their interests, capabilities, expectations, goals, and motives. The effect of the stimulus will be the higher, the more it corresponds to the employee's internal motives.
Stimulation- the process of influencing the employee, through factors external environment, to increase his labor activity.
Classification of the main types of incentives for workers
1. Material incentives:
a) cash:
- wage;
- bonuses and allowances;
- compensation, etc.
b) non-monetary (benefits - a package of social benefits):
- vouchers to the sanatorium;
- medical care and insurance;
- tuition payment;
- provision of service housing;
- payment of transportation costs.
2. Intangible incentives:
a) social:
- opportunity for career growth;
- the prestige of the work;
- team communication.
b) moral:
- respect for professionalism;
- certificates of honor, diplomas and titles.
c) creative:
- the possibility of self-realization and self-development;
- creative and interesting work.
Basic principles of employee incentives
For incentives to be effective and efficient, a leader must adhere to a number of specific principles of incentives:
1. Availability- incentives should be applied to all employees, everyone should have access to them.
2. Gradual- the remuneration must be increased gradually, smoothly, so that the employee does not receive an unjustifiably large reward at a time.
3. Sensibility- the incentive must be meaningful and tangible for the employee.
4. Combination of tangible and intangible incentives- it is necessary not only to issue bonuses, but also to praise employees for their hard work and professionalism.
5. Minimizing the gap between performance and remuneration... The sooner an employee gets paid for his work, the better. This way he will clearly understand the relationship between his work and its reward.
6. Carrot and stick policy. In addition to incentives, in some cases it is appropriate to use anti-incentives. Not only bonuses for overfulfillment of the plan, but also fines for failure to fulfill it.
Interestingly, incentives don't always work. It so happens that despite all the efforts of the manager to stimulate employees, the effect of his actions is zero. Here are just some of the possible reasons why incentives don't work:
1. Lack of motivation. If an employee is not motivated to achieve a result, no amount of incentive will make him work faster and better.
2. Inappropriateness of the incentive to the needs of the employee. For example, an employee is absolutely not ambitious and does not care whether he gets on the honor roll or not. At the same time, he would be happy to be promoted. wages... But the manager only talks about the competition for the best employee of the month and not a word about the award ...
3. Addiction... If bonuses are given frequently and regularly, workers will soon get used to them. The prize is no longer perceived as a reward, but is considered as a self-evident additional payment.
4. Incomprehensibility of the incentive system. If employees do not clearly understand what indicators they are stimulated for and how the same bonus is calculated, there will be little sense from incentives. Discontent will begin in the team - everyone will think that they work the same way or more than their colleagues, and receive less.
Motivation and stimulation of work in brief
The work activity of employees is influenced by many factors. This is the climate, and working conditions (humidity in the room, the level of illumination, temperature, etc.), and the amount of wages, and relationships in the team and with the management, and much more.
Labor activity- the implementation by the employees of the enterprise of certain expedient operations, rigidly fixed in space and time.
The efficiency of workers' labor activity is determined by motivation and incentives.
Motive- a conscious inner motivation of a person to do something.
Motivation- the process of internal motivation for something.
Everything motivation theory are divided into 2 groups:
1) Substantial- consider the needs of the person (for example, the pyramid Maslow's needs).
2) Procedural- study the behavior of the individual (for example, Vroom's theory of expectations).
Motives are: biological and spiritual, external and internal, personal and social.
Stimulus- external influence on a person or a group of people in order to induce any result.
Stimulation- the process of external influence on the employee in order to increase his labor activity.
1. Material incentives:
a) cash (salary, bonuses);
b) non-monetary (vouchers, service housing, benefits).
2. Intangible incentives:
a) social (career growth, team communication);
b) moral (respect, certificates of honor);
c) creative (the possibility of self-realization, creative work).
Basic principles of incentives:
1. Availability of incentives to all employees.
2. Gradual increase in remuneration.
3. Perceptibility of incentives.
4. A combination of tangible and intangible.
5. Minimizing the gap between performance and remuneration.
6. Carrot and stick policy.
Competent incentives for employees, taking into account their motives, will allow the manager to achieve high efficiency the work of the workforce and their interest in achieving the goals of the organization.
Download the cheat sheet for motivation and incentives:
Galyautdinov R.R.
© Copying of the material is permissible only if there is a direct hyperlink to
When it comes to increasing profits in a company, sooner or later the question of employee motivation arises. But what if the organization is not ready to allocate additional funds for this?
Sales expert Dmitry Cherednik is sure that people do not always want to receive more money... To motivate them, you just need to be an attentive leader and read this article.
If the motivation of employees is insufficient, then the productivity and quality of their work inevitably decreases. As for, it also has a direct impact on motivation: if a person considers himself part of a close-knit team united by a common idea, then he accepts the company's goals as his own and invests maximum energy in achieving them.
Is motivation really that important?
In fact, motivation is much more important than many people think. Dean Spitzer, in his book Super Motivation, provides the following statistics:
- 50% of people work just as long as it takes to keep their jobs.
- 80% of workers can significantly increase their productivity if they want to.
Almost any company can make a powerful leap forward in growth and development if it is able to maintain a stable high staff motivation. How can this be achieved? There are many ways to motivate, which can be roughly divided into material and non-material.
Material motivation
- Raising salaries. Practice shows that raising wages is the least effective way to motivate. Studies have shown that the motivational effect of a wage increase lasts about 3 months on average. In addition, this incentive should not be used too often for obvious reasons.
- Awards and bonuses. Much more efficient way- division of employees' salaries into a fixed part and bonuses depending on performance. This is a common practice in sales or direct customer relationships. Employees can clearly see the dependence of their income on performance, and this encourages them to work harder. Bonuses can be paid for anything, depending on the current business tasks: for a completed plan, for attracting new customers, for no delays, for high sales of new products.
- Social package. TO material incentives a good social package can also be attributed. Some companies include voluntary medical insurance policies for employees and their family members, additional pension insurance, preferential insurance and others. This benefits package will not only attract more qualified employees to you, but also force them to hold on to the workplace.
11 ways to motivate employees without promising them money
Non-financial incentives are more diverse and, if used skillfully, can motivate employees without increasing costs. Emotional motivation is based on recognition of a person's merits, on the feeling of being needed and indispensable, on pride in one's work, as well as on a competitive spirit and team enthusiasm.
- Opportunity for career growth. This incentive is one of the most effective because it combines a rise in status and a rise in salary. Its disadvantage is limited application possibilities. But if you "grow" your top managers from own employees, then the prospects of promotion will force them to work with great zeal and dedication.
- Training. Providing your best employees with additional training, seminars or conferences will also motivate them to achieve better results.
- Providing additional rest. Introduce a special privilege for the best workers: an extra day off or the ability to leave early. By the way, a small Japanese company Hime & Company became famous for providing paid time off to its employees due to a "broken heart" (from 1 to 3 days depending on age).
- Contact with management. This is another way to show your best employees that their success is visible and appreciated. Sberbank CEO German Gref invites the best bank employees to a joint lunch at a restaurant on a monthly basis.
- Hall of Fame. Well-deserved praise is a great motivator! A message about distinguished employees can be included in a corporate mailing list, published in a corporate newspaper or wall newspaper, placed on your company's website or on its social network page. The company must know its heroes!
- Team spirit. If each employee feels like a part of the team, feels needed and important to it, this provides a stable emotional uplift. This also includes corporate field trips. Relaxing with games and fun competitions is a popular tool for building a team and creating a friendly atmosphere.
- Presentation of symbolic awards. This method has proven to be particularly effective on manufacturing enterprises... The best employees are awarded with commemorative cups and certificates in a solemn atmosphere.
- Honorary title of the position. Just by renaming the position, you can make it more status and attractive. An example is the consultants from the Store, who are proudly called "geniuses." And in the cafe chain of Artemy Lebedev "Cafeterius" instead of waitresses, "cafe owners" work.
- Discounts "for friends". In many companies, employee loyalty is maintained by providing them with discounts on the company's goods and services.
- Feedback. Give your employees the opportunity to speak up, verbally at meetings or in writing using an idea box. People are pleased to know that the management is ready to seriously consider their ideas, comments and suggestions for organizing work in the company. By the way, the authors of the best ideas can be encouraged with small gifts and public gratitude.
- The ability to work remotely and free schedule. You can reward the best people in the company by giving them the opportunity to work from home (if their occupation allows it). Agree, no one likes being in morning traffic jams or jostling on the subway during rush hour.
Where to begin
Remember that for different people, different ways motivation. Young, ambitious employees may prefer career prospects over cash bonuses; for older people, it can be key to show respect and recognition of their services to the company. Therefore, we recommend that you "keep your finger on the pulse" and periodically find out what exactly motivates your employees.
A natural question arises: how can this be done? Of course, you shouldn't ask head-on, because a significant proportion of the answers will be insincere. In addition, such questions from management can cause tension and negative emotions ("Do they want to motivate me somehow? I probably do not work well. What did I do wrong?").
To get the most accurate and true picture, the question should be formulated as follows: "What motivates people to work with maximum efficiency?" Answering a question in this formulation, each person will involuntarily describe their own deep motivation and their most effective incentives. We advise you to include this question in a short questionnaire and place it as naturally as possible among other questions.
The questionnaire may look like this:
- Describe ideal leader in three words.
- What motivates people to do their best?
- What do you like most about your job?
- What would you change in the way your department operates?
- What are the similarities between a flower and a brick?
Such a questionnaire can be handed out to employees at the beginning of the next planning meeting and asked to answer questions within one minute. Voila! You have the key to motivating each and every one of your employees. can take this information into account when further assigning tasks and organizing work.
For example, if the answer to the key question of the questionnaire includes "creative tasks", "free schedule" and "the possibility of professional growth", then such a person is unlikely to enjoy boring routine tasks. He will work most vividly and effectively in the areas of PR, marketing or advertising. And if an employee indicated “stability” as motivators, “ comfortable conditions in the workplace ”and“ a good atmosphere in the team ”- he will be able to calmly and efficiently perform routine tasks without suffering from a lack of creativity.
In conclusion, let us say that the non-material motivation of employees based on positive emotions and corporate spirit can prove to be a powerful engine of growth for your company. And the main thing is that it almost does not require financial investments. All you need is your attention to the needs of employees and a willingness to encourage their work.
Almost every businessman is interested in the issue of employee motivation. The most successful of them are well aware that employees need to be encouraged and stimulated in every possible way. After all, it is not often that there are people who are completely and completely satisfied with their position, which they, most likely, did not occupy by vocation. However, any manager is able to make the work process comfortable for the team, so that each person fulfills his duties with pleasure. Ultimately, labor productivity, the prospects for the development of the company, etc., will depend on this.
Many companies hold auditions, they search with staff, arrange psychological trainings and so on. And all this is only in order to increase the interest of their employees in the end result by any means.
Motivation
The issue of increasing the interest of personnel in the end result of their work is relevant not only in our country, but throughout the world. After all, the successful motivation of employees is the key to the success of the entire company as a whole. What does this concept mean?
Employee motivation is an internal process in the company. Its purpose is to encourage each member of the team to work towards the end result.
In addition, employee motivation is an indispensable component personnel policy any institution. Its role in the management system is quite tangible. With a well-designed process of increasing the interest of personnel, such events can significantly increase the profitability of the business. If the system is mediocre, then all the efforts of even the best specialists will be nullified.
Employee motivation is a set of incentives that determine the behavior of a particular individual. That is, it is a kind of set of actions on the part of the leader. At the same time, the goal of motivating employees is to improve their ability to work, as well as to attract talented and qualified specialists and keep them in the company.
Each leader independently determines the methods that encourage the team to be active and creative, which allow people to satisfy their own needs and, at the same time, to fulfill the common task assigned to the enterprise. If an employee is motivated, then he will certainly enjoy the work. He becomes attached to her soul, experiencing the joy of completing the tasks assigned to him. It is impossible to achieve this by force. But at the same time, encouraging employees and recognizing their achievements is a very difficult process. It requires taking into account the quality and quantity of labor, as well as those circumstances that serve as a prerequisite for the emergence and development of behavioral motives. In this regard, it is extremely important for each manager to choose the correct system of motivation for his subordinates for his company, applying a special approach to each of them.
Tasks performed
The development of employee motivation is necessary to combine the interests of each team member and the entire enterprise. In other words, the company needs quality work, and the staff needs a decent salary. However, this is far from the only task facing the motivation system. Its implementation allows:
- attract and interest valuable specialists;
- eliminate the turnover of qualified personnel;
- to reveal best employees and reward them;
- control payments to employees.
Many aspiring businessmen do not fully understand the importance of addressing motivation issues. Carelessly approaching the creation of an incentive system in their enterprise, they are trying to achieve the fulfillment of the task set by the payment of bonuses alone. However, such actions will not fully solve this problem, which will require a complete analysis and competent resolution. This can be done by first studying the theories of motivation created by famous people... Let's consider them in more detail.
Maslow's theory
- Physical. These needs are the desire of a person to satisfy the physiological need for food and drink, rest, home, etc.
- Security needs. Each of us strives to gain confidence in the future. In doing so, people need to feel emotionally and physically safe.
- Social needs. Every person wants to be a part of society. To do this, he makes friends, family, etc.
- The need for respect and recognition. All people dream of being independent, having authority and a certain status.
- The need for self-expression. People always strive to conquer the peaks, develop their "I" and realize their own capabilities.
Maslow's list of needs was based on their importance. So, the first point is the most important, and the last one is the least significant. A manager who chooses the theory of this author to increase employee motivation does not have to do everything one hundred percent without fail. However, it is important to try to at least address each of the above needs.
McGregor's "X and Y" theory
- Using the theory "X". In this case, the leader adheres to an authoritarian management regime. This should happen in cases where the team is extremely disorganized, and people simply hate their work, in every possible way trying to distance themselves from doing their job duties... That is why they need strict control from the leader. This is the only thing that will allow the work to be established. The boss is forced not only to constantly monitor the staff, but also to encourage them to conscientiously fulfill their assigned duties by developing and implementing a system of punishments.
- Using the "Y" theory. This area of employee motivation is fundamentally different from the previous one. It is based on the work of the team, performed with full dedication. At the same time, all employees take a responsible approach to fulfilling the duties assigned to them, show interest in them and strive to develop. That is why the management of such employees should be carried out with a loyal approach to each person.
Motivational-hygienic theory of Herzberg
It is based on the assertion that the performance of work can bring a person satisfaction or leave him dissatisfied for various reasons. A person will receive pleasure from solving the tasks assigned to him if the end result becomes an opportunity for his self-expression. The main motivation of employees is the development of specialists. And it directly depends on the prospects for their career growth, recognition of achievements and the emergence of a sense of responsibility.
What are the factors of employee motivation that lead to their dissatisfaction? They are associated with the shortcomings of the organizational process of the enterprise, with poor working conditions. Their list includes low salaries, unhealthy atmosphere in the team, etc.
McClelland's theory
- The need to control and influence other people. Some of these workers simply want to manage others. Others seek to solve group problems.
- The need to achieve success. Such people like to work independently. They have a need to perform a new task better than the previous one.
- The need for involvement in a particular process. Employees in this category want respect, recognition. They prefer to work in specially organized groups.
The leader, based on the needs of each of the team members, must implement a system of employee motivation.
Procedural stimulation theory
This direction is based on the statement that it is important for a person to achieve pleasure without experiencing pain. This is what the leader must take into account. According to this theory, he needs to reward his employees more often, using punishment as rarely as possible.
Vroom's expectation theory
In this case, the peculiarity of employee motivation lies in the acceptance of the fact that a person will perform his work as efficiently as possible only if he understands that the end result will satisfy his needs. This is the main incentive for people.
Adams theory
The meaning of the statements of this author boils down to the fact that the work of any person should have an appropriate remuneration. In case of underpayment, the employee will work worse, and in case of overpayment, all his actions will remain at the same level. That is why each of the work performed must be rewarded fairly.
Direct and indirect motivation
Exists a large number of ways that allow you to raise labor productivity by influencing the team of employees. Depending on the form used, motivation can be direct or indirect. In the first case, the employee understands perfectly well that the task quickly and efficiently completed by him will be additionally rewarded.
Indirect motivation is the ongoing stimulating activities that allow a person to renew their interest in the performance of their duties and cause him satisfaction after completing the task entrusted to him. In this case, each member of the team has a heightened sense of responsibility, which makes it unnecessary to control from the side of the management.
In turn, direct motivation is material (economic) and non-material. Let's take a closer look at these categories.
Material motivation
At times, business leaders are convinced that the most effective incentive for any employee is the amount of wages they receive. But actually it is not. If we consider the needs of a person that he described in his Maslow's theories, then it becomes clear that money can satisfy only the first two of them. That is why the system of motivating employees in an organization, which provides for an increase in the interest of specialists with only a high salary, is ineffective. Yes, it provides an increase in the productivity of people, but not for long. Usually this period lasts no more than 3-4 months. After that, specialists feel dissatisfaction with all other needs, which are more high level compared to physiological and safety issues.
What are the material ways to motivate employees? There are only three types of them, which include financial incentives for staff of various forms, as well as penalties for late or incorrectly completed tasks.
Employee motivation methods include:
- cash rewards;
- non-monetary awards;
- system of penalties.
The monetary reward is considered:
- allowances and bonuses;
- growth of wages;
- benefits and social insurance;
- percentage of sales;
- cash rewards for overfulfilment;
- large discounts on products or services of the company.
For example, cash rewards for overfulfilling a pre-planned plan are great motivators for salespeople.
In addition, the financial incentive is the reward that is relying for the victory in a particular competition. For example, a company was adequately represented by an employee at an ongoing industry competition in a region, country or world. At the same time, the specialist took a prize, for which the management of the company encouraged him with a large prize.
Non-monetary remuneration includes the implementation of social corporate projects:
- provision of discounts or free use of the organization's institutions (kindergartens, clinics, etc.);
- the opportunity to relax on a voucher purchased by the company in sanatoriums, rest homes or health camps (for the children of the company's employees);
- provision of tickets for a variety of cultural events;
- advanced training or taking a training course at the expense of the organization;
- the provision of paid time off or extraordinary days off;
- direction to overseas business trips;
- good equipment of the place of work.
- material punishment of a specific member of the team, which occurs in case of his delay, failure to complete the task and other administrative violations;
- deprivation of bonuses for all employees for failure to fulfill the plan for a separate time period;
- introduction of the so-called penalty hours of work.
When using punishment as one of the ways to motivate employees, the manager should remember that the main task of such an event is to prevent certain actions that can harm the enterprise in a certain way. The employee, realizing that if the plan is not fulfilled, he will certainly be fined, he will begin to treat his business with greater responsibility.
However, it should be borne in mind that the punishment system is effective in cases where it is not revenge for the employee's misconduct. Fines should be a measure psychological impact per person. One example of motivating employees of this type is the slogan that an employee, in order to feel comfortable, must play by the rules of the company. At the same time, failure to comply with such rules should be punished in accordance with the level of the offense committed.
Will it be enough to just intimidate people with fines? Will they then work with due dedication? Not! Such a system should only be applied when it is closely linked to bonuses, bonuses and incentives. It is important for a leader to find a middle ground in order to act fairly, rewarding successes and punishing failures.
Intangible motivation
This method should also be applied when stimulating company employees. He will allow them to come to work, while having a genuine desire to bypass competing firms in everything.
What is non-financial motivation of employees? It is a set of effective forms and types of staff incentives, which are:
- praise for successes and their public recognition;
- career prospects;
- comfortable atmosphere in the team and throughout the organization;
- holding cultural events and corporate events;
- congratulating employees on important dates for them (happy birthday, wedding, anniversary);
- conducting motivating meetings;
- prize drawings and professional contests;
- involvement of specialists in making strategic decisions.
The non-material motivation of employees is also understood as feedback in the form of a manager's response to the claims of employees, their wishes, etc.
Other types of incentives
What other steps can a manager take to improve productivity in the enterprise? For this, there are such methods of employee motivation as:
- Social. The person realizes that he is part of the team and an integral part of the entire mechanism. This makes him afraid of letting his colleagues down. To prevent this, he does everything to maximize the quality of the task assigned to him.
- Psychological. The head of the enterprise must contribute to the creation of a friendly atmosphere within the team. Good relationships in the company lead to the fact that a person willingly goes to work and takes part in the production process. At the same time, he receives psychological satisfaction.
- Labor. This method of stimulation is aimed at the employee's self-realization.
- Career. In this case, movement along the career ladder.
- Gender. The motivation of the employee in this case lies in his ability to boast of his own successes and successes in front of others.
- Educational. When using this method, the desire to work appears when a person wants to know, develop and get an education.
For getting effective result the employee motivation system should be built in such a way as to use all methods of personnel incentives in a complex, which will allow the company to receive a good stable profit.
Motivation levels
Each person is undoubtedly individual. So, in the team there will always be careerists for whom it is extremely important in life to climb the career ladder. Others prefer the absence of change and stability. This is what the manager should take into account when developing a system of employee motivation. That is, you will need to find your own approach to each of them.
Today, there are three levels of motivation for the activities of the company's employees. It happens:
- Individual. With this motivation, a decent wage is provided for employees. When calculating the amount of payments, it is necessary to take into account the skills and abilities inherent in the employee. The subordinate must understand that if he fulfills the tasks assigned to him with high quality and on time, he will definitely climb the career ladder.
- Command. With such motivation, a team united by one business works more efficiently. In this case, each of the team members understands that the success of the entire group directly depends on the results of his work. When developing team motivation, it is important to understand that the atmosphere that exists within the team must certainly be friendly.
- Organizational. In this case, the collective of the enterprise must be united into a system. At the same time, people need to realize that their team is a single mechanism. All work performed will directly depend on the actions of each employee. Maintaining the company at this level is one of the most difficult tasks for a manager.
Organization of a systematic approach to the motivation system
How to properly carry out activities aimed at increasing the productivity of employees? To do this, you need to remember that motivation is a system consisting of 5 sequential stages. Let's consider them in more detail.
- At the first stage, the problems that exist in the motivation of personnel are identified. To do this, the manager will need to conduct an appropriate analysis. Obtaining the necessary data is possible with the help of anonymous questionnaires, which will reveal the reasons for the dissatisfaction of subordinates.
- At the second stage, taking into account the data obtained during the analysis, the team is managed. In this case, the head needs to closely interact with subordinates. Given the research data, it will be necessary to implement methods that can bring more value to the enterprise. One example of motivating employees at this stage is changing the daily routine, if the majority of specialists do not agree with the one that exists on this moment.
- At the third stage, there is a direct impact on the behavior of workers. But, carrying out activities to develop a motivation system, the manager must accept criticism and timely reward employees. In addition, the boss must demonstrate the correct behavior on himself, thereby teaching the same to his employees.
- The fourth stage is characterized by activities aimed at improving the existing motivation system at the enterprise. During this period, intangible ways of stimulating employees are being introduced. Workers must be convinced of the importance of improving productivity. The leader will need to "ignite" each of his subordinates, finding an individual approach to each of them.
- At the fifth stage, employees should receive a well-deserved reward for their work. To do this, each of the companies develops its own system of incentives and awards. When the team realizes that their efforts are not without reward, they will begin to work even more productively and better.
Examples and ways of motivation
There are quite a lot of methods to increase the activity of employees at work. However, before putting them into practice, the leader should consider which of the methods is right for his company.
Among the best motivation methods are the following:
- Salary. It is a powerful motivator, forcing the employee to perform the assigned tasks with high quality. With low wages, it is unlikely to satisfy the employee, who, most likely, will not give all his best.
- Praise. Every employee who is doing their job conscientiously wants to hear words of approval. The manager needs to regularly analyze the performance of tasks by specialists, while not stingy with praise. With this method, without spending a single penny, the boss can significantly increase the productivity of staff.
- Address by name. In order to constantly maintain the authority of the director, he needs to know his employees by name. Addressing a person by a different name is a show of respect. The subordinate in this case realizes that he is a person who is appreciated by the leader.
- Additional rest. This method allows you to stimulate people to do their job better and faster. So, for example, motivation of department employees who are not directly related to clients can be carried out. The one of the team members who shows the best result according to the results of the week, can go home earlier on Friday. The use of this method causes excitement among subordinates and the desire of each of them to become a winner.
- Promotion perspective. People should understand that with high-quality and fast performance of their work, they will certainly achieve a rise in the career ladder. A similar perspective able to motivate no worse than material reward.
- An opportunity to be heard and express your opinion. It is important for every specialist to know that his opinion is considered and heeded.
- Rewarding. When any memorable date it is advisable for employees to present gifts. Such a sign of attention can be an ordinary trinket, which will be engraved. Such a memorable gift will be remembered by a person for life.
- Hall of Fame. Placing photos on it refers to intangible methods motivation, remarkably increasing labor productivity. The organization posts pictures of the best employees of its team on such a board. This allows you to create such a direction as industrial competition, which allows you to stimulate personnel to improve labor performance.
- Providing the opportunity to work from home. This method of motivation is only suitable for certain companies. In the event that an office employee has to do routine work, he can do it without leaving the walls of his home. The main condition for this is quality performance the task at hand.
- Corporate events. Many businesses throw parties to celebrate big holidays. People present at such celebrations relax, their communication takes place in an informal atmosphere. Corporate events help distract employees and demonstrate that the company cares about its employees.
- Public expression of gratitude. The manager should not only praise the employee personally. It is very good if this is done publicly. The implementation of such an idea is possible different ways... For example, the announcement of the best employee through the media, on the radio or through a loudspeaker installed at the enterprise. Such praise will motivate other workers to work much better, so that their success is known as much as possible. more people.
- Motivational board. This method is simple but very powerful. The idea is realized when placing on the demo board the productivity graph of each of the participants production process... In this way, the motivation of the sales staff can also be carried out. Each of the team members will immediately see who is doing the best, and he will have the desire to become a leader himself.
- Formation of a bank of ideas. It can be created in an organization in the form of an electronic mailbox. Everyone who wishes is given the opportunity to send their own letter with proposals. Thanks to this approach, employees will certainly develop a sense of their own worth.